[Federal Register: August 11, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 154)]
[Notices]
[Page 46825-46828]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr11au05-55]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for
the Orlando Gasification Project, Orlando, FL
AGENCY: Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces its intent to
prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) pursuant to the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.), the Council on Environmental Quality NEPA regulations
(40 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] Parts 1500-1508), and the DOE
NEPA regulations (10 CFR Part 1021), to assess the potential
environmental impacts associated with the construction and operation of
a project proposed by Southern Company in partnership with Orlando
Utilities Commission (OUC), which has been selected by DOE under the
Clean Coal Power Initiative (CCPI) program. The proposed project would
demonstrate advanced power generation systems using Integrated
Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) technology at OUC's Stanton Energy
Center near Orlando, Florida. The facilities would convert coal into
synthesis gas for generating between 285 and 330 MW (megawatts) of
electricity while substantially reducing emissions of sulfur dioxide,
oxides of nitrogen, and mercury, as compared to conventional coal-fired
power plants.
The EIS will help DOE decide whether to provide approximately $235
million in cost-shared funding (about 42% of the total cost of
approximately $557 million) for the proposed project. Accordingly, the
EIS will evaluate the potential impacts of the proposed project and
reasonable alternatives. The purpose of this Notice of Intent is to
inform the public about the proposed project; invite public
participation in the EIS process; announce the plans for a public
scoping meeting; and solicit public comments for consideration in
establishing the scope and content of the EIS.
DATES: To ensure that all of the issues related to this proposal are
addressed, DOE invites comments on the proposed scope and content of
the EIS from all interested parties. Comments must be
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received by September 16, 2005, to ensure consideration. Late comments
will be considered to the extent practicable. In addition to receiving
comments in writing and by telephone, DOE will conduct a public scoping
meeting in which agencies, organizations, and the general public are
invited to present oral comments or suggestions with regard to the
range of alternatives and environmental impacts to be considered in the
EIS. The scoping meeting will be held at Timber Creek High School, 1001
Avalon Park Boulevard, Orlando, Florida, on Tuesday, August 30, 2005,
at 7 p.m. The public is also invited to an informal session at this
location beginning at 5 p.m. to learn more about the proposed project.
Displays and other forms of information about the proposed agency
action and the demonstration plant will be available, and DOE personnel
will be present at the informal session to discuss the proposed project
and the EIS process.
ADDRESSES: Written comments on the proposed EIS scope and requests to
participate in the public scoping meeting should be addressed to: Mr.
Richard A. Hargis, U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy
Technology Laboratory, 626 Cochrans Mill Road, P.O. Box 10940,
Pittsburgh, PA 15236-0940. Individuals who want to provide comments
orally or electronically should contact Mr. Hargis directly by
telephone: 412-386-6065; toll-free number: 1-888-322-7436; fax: 412-
386-4775; or electronic mail: Richard.Hargis@NETL.DOE.GOV.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: For information about this project or
to receive a copy of the draft EIS when it is issued, contact Mr.
Richard A. Hargis as described in ADDRESSES above. For general
information on the DOE NEPA process, contact Ms. Carol M. Borgstrom,
Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance (EH-42), U.S. Department
of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585-0119;
telephone: 202-586-4600; fax: 202-586-7031; or leave a toll-free
message at: 1-800-472-2756.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background and Need for Agency Action
Since the early 1970s, DOE and its predecessor agencies have
pursued research and development programs that include long-term,
technically complex activities that support the development of
innovative concepts for a wide variety of coal technologies through the
proof-of-concept stage. However, the availability of a technology at
the proof-of-concept stage is not sufficient to ensure its continued
development and subsequent commercialization. Before any technology can
be considered seriously for commercialization, it must be demonstrated
at a sufficient scale to prove its reliability and to show economically
competitive performance. The financial risk associated with such large-
scale demonstration is, in general, too high for the private sector to
assume in the absence of strong incentives.
The CCPI program was established in 2002 as a government/industry
partnership to implement the President's National Energy Policy
recommendation to increase investment in clean coal technology. The
goal of the CCPI program is to accelerate commercial deployment of
advanced coal technologies that provide the United States with clean,
reliable, and affordable energy. Through cooperative agreements
established with industry, including an agreement with Southern Company
for the proposed project, the CCPI program plans to advance selected
coal technologies to commercialization.
Proposed Action
The proposed action is for DOE to provide, through a cooperative
agreement with Southern Company, cost-shared financial assistance for
the proposed Orlando Gasification Project. Southern Company is leading
a project team that includes OUC and Kellogg, Brown, and Root (KBR),
the company responsible for engineering and procurement of the
gasification equipment. The Orlando Gasification Project would be
designed for long-term commercial operation following completion of a
4.5-year demonstration period under a 9.5-year cooperative agreement
with DOE, and would cost a total of approximately $557 million; DOE's
share would be approximately $235 million (42%). The proposed project
would be located at OUC's existing Stanton Energy Center near Orlando,
Florida, which currently generates electricity using two coal-fired
units, each rated at approximately 465 MW, burning low-sulfur
bituminous coal, and a natural gas-fired combined-cycle unit rated at
approximately 633 MW.
The Stanton Energy Center is located approximately 3 miles east of
the eastern city limits of Orlando and about 13 miles east-southeast of
the downtown area. The overall site encompasses 3,280 acres, of which
approximately 1,100 acres have been licensed by the state of Florida
and have been developed for power generation and supporting facilities.
Most of the remaining 2,180 acres are undisturbed, providing a natural
buffer between the facilities and the surrounding offsite area. The
topography of the area is relatively flat. The Orlando Gasification
Project would be constructed on approximately 35 of the 1,100 acres of
land that were previously cleared, leveled, and licensed for power
plant use. The project equipment would be located between the existing
coal-fired units and the existing natural gas-fired combined-cycle
unit. An existing temporary warehouse may be dismantled to accommodate
the ancillary facilities required by the proposed project.
The proposed facilities would demonstrate IGCC technology, which
uses synthesis gas derived from coal to drive a gas combustion turbine
and hot exhaust gas from the gas turbine to generate steam from water
to drive a steam turbine; both turbines generate electricity. At full
capacity, the new coal gasifier would use up to 3,700 tons of coal per
day to produce synthesis gas. Up to three trains per week would deliver
subbituminous coal from the Powder River Basin in Wyoming. Combined,
the two turbines would generate between 285 and 330 MW (net) of
electricity. This combined-cycle approach of using a gas turbine and
steam turbine in tandem increases the amount of electricity that can be
generated from a given amount of coal.
The overall objective of the project is to demonstrate the
feasibility of this selected IGCC technology at a size that would be
attractive to utilities for commercial operation. The coal gasifier is
based on a KBR technology that Southern Company and DOE have been
developing since 1996 at a research facility near Wilsonville, Alabama.
The technology is unique among coal gasification technologies in that
it is cost-effective when using low-quality coal, as well as coals with
high moisture or high ash content. These coals comprise half the proven
U.S. and worldwide reserves. The project is expected to provide OUC
customers with a generating resource that is reliable, low-cost,
environmentally-sound, and efficient (approximately 40% net efficiency
compared to about 33% for a conventional coal-fired power plant).
Construction and installation of the combined-cycle facilities
would be completed approximately 6 months prior to gasifier completion
and integration of the facilities. The gas turbine would be capable of
operating on either natural gas or synthesis gas. While the proposed
project consists of
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the gasifier, synthesis gas cleanup systems, and supporting
infrastructure only, the EIS will address the construction and
operation of the gas turbine and steam turbine as a related action and
include the combined facilities in the analyses of environmental
impacts because the facilities are so intertwined.
The proposed project would minimize sulfur dioxide, oxides of
nitrogen, mercury, and particulate emissions. The project is expected
to remove up to 95% of the sulfur dioxide produced in the IGCC process
using coal that contains up to 0.4% sulfur. The removal of nearly all
of the fuel-bound nitrogen from the synthesis gas prior to combustion
in the gas turbine would result in appreciably lower oxides of nitrogen
emissions compared to conventional coal-fired power plants. Over 90% of
the mercury would be removed. Over 99.9% of particulate emissions would
be removed using high-temperature, high-pressure filtration (rigid
filters housed in metal cylinders). Approximately 25% less carbon
dioxide would be produced compared to typical emission rates at
conventional coal-fired power plants. The proposed project would
discharge no liquid effluent from the site. Ash generated by the
gasifier would be combusted in the existing coal-fired units, marketed
for use as activated carbon, or trucked to the existing onsite landfill
for permitted disposal. A key performance target for the proposed
technology would be achieving an availability of 80% without the use of
a spare gasifier.
In addition to the gasifier and turbines, new equipment for the
project would include a stack, mechanical-draft cooling towers,
synthesis gas cleanup facilities, and particulate filtration systems.
The height of the proposed stack is expected to be approximately 200
feet. The project would also require modifications to existing systems
such as the coal conveyance and storage system. Wherever possible,
existing facilities and infrastructure located at the Stanton Energy
Center would be used for the proposed project. These include plant
roads, administration buildings, coal delivery and handling facilities,
water and wastewater treatment systems, and electric transmission lines
and towers. However, a short, new transmission line (approximately
3,500 feet in length), including several new structures, would be
required from the new turbines to the existing onsite substation to
serve as an electrical interconnection.
Project activities would include engineering and design,
permitting, equipment procurement, construction, startup, and
demonstration of the commercial feasibility of the technology. Upon
completing the EIS and issuing a Record of Decision, if DOE decides to
implement the proposed action, the 2.5-year construction period would
commence in early 2008 and demonstration of the technology would begin
in early 2011. If the 4.5-year demonstration is successful, the
facility would continue in commercial operation immediately afterward.
Alternatives
NEPA requires that agencies evaluate the range of reasonable
alternatives to the proposed action in an EIS. The purpose for agency
action determines the range of reasonable alternatives. The CCPI
program was established to help implement the President's National
Energy Policy recommendation to increase investment in clean coal
technology, thus ensuring the reliability and affordability of domestic
energy supplies while simultaneously protecting the environment. The
CCPI program was structured to achieve National Energy Policy goals by
promoting private sector initiatives to invest in demonstrations of
advanced coal technologies that could be widely deployed commercially.
Private sector investments and deployment of demonstration facilities
places DOE in a much more limited role than if the Federal Government
were the owner and operator of the facilities. In the latter situation,
DOE would be responsible for a comprehensive review of reasonable
alternatives. However, in dealing with applicants under the CCPI
program, the scope of alternatives is necessarily more restricted. In
such cases, DOE must give substantial consideration to the applicant's
needs in establishing a project's reasonable alternatives.
The range of reasonable options to be considered in the EIS for the
proposed Orlando Gasification Project is determined in accordance with
overall NEPA strategy. Because of DOE's limited role of providing cost-
shared funding for the project, DOE currently plans to give primary
emphasis to the proposed action and the no-action alternative. Under no
action, DOE would not provide partial funding for the design,
construction, and operation of the project.
In the absence of DOE funding, Southern Company and/or OUC could
reasonably pursue at least one option. This option will be analyzed
under the no-action alternative. The combined-cycle facilities could be
built at the Stanton Energy Center without the gasifier, synthesis gas
cleanup systems, and supporting infrastructure. The combined-cycle
facilities would operate using natural gas as fuel without the
availability of synthesis gas. This scenario would not provide a low-
cost fuel source for the combined-cycle facilities and would not
contribute to the goal of the CCPI program, which is to accelerate
commercial deployment of advanced coal technologies that provide the
United States with clean, reliable, and affordable energy.
Alternatives considered by Southern Company in developing the
proposal for the Orlando Gasification Project, including alternative
sites and technologies for the proposed project, also will be presented
in the EIS. DOE will consider other reasonable alternatives that may be
suggested during the public scoping period.
Preliminary Identification of Environmental Issues
The following environmental issues have been tentatively identified
for analysis in the EIS. This list, which was developed from
preliminary scoping of the proposed technology, the proposed project at
Stanton Energy Center, and similar projects, is neither intended to be
all-inclusive nor a predetermined set of potential impacts, but is
presented to facilitate public comment on the planned scope of the EIS.
Additions to or deletions from this list may occur as a result of the
public scoping process. The environmental issues include:
(1) Atmospheric Resources: Potential air quality impacts resulting
from air emissions during construction and operation of the proposed
Orlando Gasification Project (e.g., effects of ground-level
concentrations of criteria pollutants, and trace metals including
mercury, on surrounding residential areas and resource areas of special
concern, such as Prevention of Significant Deterioration Class I
areas); potential effects of greenhouse gas emissions.
(2) Water Resources: Potential effects from withdrawal of
groundwater (the proposed project would discharge no liquid effluent
from the site).
(3) Infrastructure and Land Use: Potential effects on
infrastructure and land (including wetlands) resulting from the
proposed facilities; potential traffic effects resulting from trains
required to transport coal for the proposed project; potential impacts
from a new electrical interconnection consisting of a short, onsite
transmission line and several associated structures.
(4) Solid Waste: Pollution prevention and waste management,
including potential solid waste impacts caused by
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the generation, treatment, transport, storage, and disposal of ash and
other solid wastes.
(5) Visual: Potential aesthetic impacts associated with a new
stack, mechanical-draft cooling tower, and other plant structures.
(6) Floodplain: Potential impacts (e.g., impeding floodwaters, re-
directing floodwaters, onsite property damage) of siting new structures
and infrastructure within a floodplain (e.g., onsite transmission line
for electrical interconnection from the combined-cycle facilities to
the existing onsite substation).
(7) Wetlands: Potential reduction of wetlands due to new
construction (e.g., onsite transmission line for electrical
interconnection).
(8) Ecological: Potential onsite and offsite impacts to vegetation,
terrestrial wildlife, aquatic wildlife, threatened and endangered
species, and ecologically sensitive habitats.
(9) Safety and Health: Construction-related safety, process safety,
and management of chemicals and catalysts.
(10) Construction: Potential impacts associated with noise, traffic
patterns, and construction-related emissions.
(11) Community Impacts: Potential congestion and other impacts to
local traffic patterns; socioeconomic impacts; noise associated with
project operation; and environmental justice with respect to the
surrounding community.
(12) Cumulative effects that result from the incremental impacts of
the proposed project (e.g., incremental air emissions affecting ambient
air quality) when added to other past, present, and reasonably
foreseeable future actions, including the existing Stanton Energy
Center and the related action of the combined-cycle turbines.
Issues will be analyzed in the EIS in accordance with their level
of importance. The most detailed analyses are tentatively expected to
focus on issues associated with air quality, traffic, aesthetics, and
ecological resources.
Public Scoping Process
To ensure that all issues related to this proposal are addressed,
DOE will conduct an open process to define the scope of the EIS. The
public scoping period will end on September 16, 2005. Interested
agencies, organizations, and the general public are encouraged to
submit comments or suggestions concerning the content of the EIS,
issues and impacts to be addressed in the EIS, and alternatives that
should be considered.
Scoping comments should clearly describe specific issues or topics
that the EIS should address in order to assist DOE in identifying
significant issues. Written, e-mailed, faxed, or telephoned comments
should be communicated by September 16, 2005 (see ADDRESSES).
In addition, DOE will conduct a public scoping meeting at Timber
Creek High School, 1001 Avalon Park Boulevard, Orlando, Florida, on
Tuesday, August 30, 2005, at 7 p.m. The public is also invited to an
informal session at this location beginning at 5 p.m. to learn more
about the proposed project. DOE requests that anyone who wishes to
speak at this public scoping meeting contact Mr. Richard A. Hargis,
either by phone, fax, computer, or in writing (see ADDRESSES).
Individuals who do not make advance arrangements to speak may
register at the meeting and will be given the opportunity to speak
following previously scheduled speakers. Speakers who need more than
five minutes should indicate the length of time desired in their
request. Depending on the number of speakers, DOE may need to limit
speakers to five-minute presentations initially, but will provide
additional opportunities as time permits. Speakers can also provide
written material to supplement their presentations. Oral and written
comments will be given equal weight.
DOE will begin the meeting with an overview of the proposed Orlando
Gasification Project. DOE will designate a presiding officer to chair
the meeting. The meeting will not be conducted as an evidentiary
hearing, and speakers will not be cross-examined. However, speakers may
be asked questions to ensure that DOE fully understands their comments
or suggestions.
The presiding officer will establish the order of speakers and
provide any additional procedures necessary to conduct the meeting.
Issued in Washington, DC, this 5th day of August, 2005.
John Spitaleri Shaw,
Assistant Secretary, Environment, Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 05-15906 Filed 8-10-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P