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New Mexico Coal Plant ProposalsNew Mexico currently receives approximately 90 percent of its electricity from coal-fired power plants, and plans are in place to build more. Here is a list of the current proposals. Follow the links to find out more about each proposal and what efforts are underway to oppose them:
1. MustangLocation: Farmington Company: Peabody Type: Conventional pulverized coal Megawatts (MW): 300 Customer: Merchant More information: In September 2006, Peabody announced its plans to withdraw the Mustang application. The New Mexico Environment Department demanded that Peabody look into Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) technology as the best available coal technology, and Peabody refused to provide more information about why it believed that IGCC was neither technically nor economically possible. Peabody has stated that it may construct a synthesis gas (syngas) plant instead, but has not provided more information. Contact: Mike Eisenfeld of San Juan Citizens Alliance at meisenfeld@frontier.net. 2. Desert RockLocation: Farmington Company: Sithe Global and Dine Power Authority Type: Supercritical pulverized coal Megawatts (MW): 1,500 Customer: Merchant Power Producer More information: The Desert Rock plant would be constructed on Navajo lands in Northwest New Mexico – home to the Four Corners and San Juan power plants. Health statistics have shown that people living near existing coal plants in the area are experiencing elevated levels of asthma, cancer and other diseases. Although the Navajo people would be forced to suffer from the health impacts of the coal plant, the power generated by the plant would not go to the Navajo people, but rather into Las Vegas and Arizona. Diné Citizens Against Ruining Our Environment (Diné CARE) and the San Juan Citizens Alliance have collaborated to stop the development of the Desert Rock plant. The two organizations are working to educate the community and raise grassroots support both on and off the Navajo Reservation to stop the plant. In January 2008, Dine CARE released a detailed report outlining energy and economic alternatives to the Desert Rock Energy Project. The report has been used to educate community members and tribal leaders about the health impacts of coal plants and the possibilities for a safer energy future for the Navajo Nation. After the EPA’s issuance of a draft air permit in 2007, Sithe Global filed a notice of intent to sue the EPA over its failure to issue a final air permit in a timely manner. To settle the suit, the EPA issued a final air permit for the Desert Rock facility on July 31, 2008. On October 2, the state of New Mexico filed an appeal against the EPA’s decision to grant an air permit for the plant, arguing that the permit was issued before the completion of a required consultation with the US Fish and Wildlife Service thus violating the Endangered Species Act. The Center for Biological Diversity and the Sierra Club have joined San Juan Citizens Alliance and Dine CARE in filing similar petitions against the permit to the EPA Environmental Appeals Board. Contact: Mike Eisenfeld of San Juan Citizens Alliance at meisenfeld@frontier.net. |
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