The Boardman Coal Plant was a coal-fired power plant located in Boardman, Oregon. The facility had a nameplate capacity of 550 megawatts (MWs) and is owned by Portland General Electric.[1] In 2010, the plant was the only remaining coal powered plant in Oregon and received much attention from regional media due to its being the largest single source of greenhouse gas emissions in the state with environmental groups such as the Sierra Club calling for its closing.[2][3]
In 2014, PGE built a new $500 million, 450 MW combined cycle natural gas power plant, named Carty Generating Station, next to the coal plant.[4][5][6]
In October 2020, Portland General Electric announced that the coal plant has been permanently closed and was demolished in 2022, ending Oregon's legacy of coal-fired power generation.[7][8]
Background
editThe Boardman plant was authorized in 1975, just two years before the 1977 Clean Air Act amendments, which would have required the plant to meet stricter emission standards.[9] When it was operating, the plant accounted for 65% of stationary SO2 emissions, and 7% of CO2 emissions in Oregon.[10][11]
The Boardman plant was one of PGE's largest power stations, producing 15% of the utility's electricity in 2009.[12]
Recent action
editPortland General Electric's original plan involved operating the plant until 2040; this would require installing over $500 million of pollution control equipment on the plant by 2017 in order to comply with federal and state clean air standards. In early 2010, however, PGE announced that they were considering an alternative plan for the Boardman plant that would close it in 2020.[13][14][15]
In April 2010, PGE decided to close the plant in 2020 to save $470 million in upgrades they would have been required to install had they kept the plant operating until 2040.[16] The decision is contingent upon favorable decisions in a lawsuit and possible federal regulations.[16] In December 2010, the state's environmental protection agency approved the plans for the 2020 closing.[17]
PGE started building a second gas-fired generating station at Boardman (the Carty Generating Plant) in 2014.[4]
The plant was being dismantled in 2021, with the structure being demolished in 2022.[18][8]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ Oregon Energy Facilities Siting Council (2008-05-17). "Energy Facility Siting - Boardman Coal Plant". Oregon Department of Energy. Archived from the original on 2010-06-06. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
- ^ Sickinger, Ted (2009-09-25). "Pressure grows for PGE to shutter Boardman coal plant". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2009-12-12.
- ^ Preusch, Matthew (2010-01-31). "Boardman coal-burning power plant may have a future after all: biomass". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
- ^ a b "PGE building Boardman natural-gas fired power plant". The Oregonian. The Associated Press. June 8, 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
Portland General Electric has started building a natural gas-fired power plant in Boardman. The plant is next to a coal-fired power plant that is slated to close or be converted to a different fuel source by 2020.
- ^ Plaven, George (2015-12-15). "Construction halts on PGE project near Boardman". Tri-City Herald.
Construction has come to a halt at Portland General Electric's Carty Generating Station near Boardman as the project contractor teeters on the brink of bankruptcy. Workers were turned away Monday at the Carty site next to the Boardman Coal Plant on Tower Road, leaving the 440-megwatt natural gas-fired power plant in a temporary state of limbo. ... The plant could cost up to $514 million when all is said and done.
- ^ "Carty Generating Station". Oregon Department of Energy. Archived from the original on 2017-02-11. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
The Carty Generating Station is a 450 megawatt, combined-cycle natural gas-fueled electric generating power plant, and includes a not-yet-constructed 50 megawatt solar PV electric power generating unit on 315 acres (0.49 sq. miles). The facility is located within an overall site boundary of approximately 4,997 acres.
- ^ "Portland General Electric announces end to coal-fired power generation in Oregon". 2020-10-15. Retrieved 2020-10-16.
- ^ a b Banse, Tom (15 September 2022). "Boardman smokestack demolished, marking the end of a coal-fired era in Oregon". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
- ^ Learn, Scott (2008-08-14). "Proposal would cut Oregon coal plant's haze-causing pollution". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2009-12-12.
- ^ Staff (2006-06-28). "Environmental and Health Effects Caused by PGE Boardman Pollution". Lewis & Clark Law School. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
- ^ Staff (June 2010). "PGE Seeks to Eliminate Coal at Boardman" (PDF). Portland General Electric. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-11-28. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
- ^ Manning, Rob (2009-01-29). "PGE Considering Fate Of Boardman Coal-Fired Plant". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Retrieved 2010-07-29.
- ^ Duin, Steve (2009-10-03). "PGE's Boardman plant: Bad air, worse energy policy". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2010-02-15.
- ^ Baer, April (2010-01-15). "PGE To Close Boardman Plant By 2020". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Retrieved 2010-02-15.
- ^ Sickinger, Ted (2010-01-14). "PGE plan suggests shorter time frame to close Boardman coal-fired power plant". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
- ^ a b Learn, Scott (2010-04-02). "PGE files to close Boardman coal plant early, rekindles concerns". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2010-04-03.
- ^ Learn, Scott (December 9, 2010). "PGE's coal-fired Boardman plant gets approval to close in 2020, with fewer pollution controls". The Oregonian. Retrieved 11 December 2010.
- ^ "Workers reflect on Oregon's first and last coal plant". High Country News. 21 January 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.