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EPA issues permit to Palmdale Power Plant

by The AV Times Staff • November 16, 2011

Palmdale Hybrid Power Plant
Palmdale Hybrid Power Plant

PALMDALE  – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently issued a permit to the City of Palmdale, for the construction and operation of the Palmdale Hybrid Power Project.

The 570-megawatt natural gas-fired power plant, with 50 megawatts of solar energy generation, is the first of its kind in the nation required to limit greenhouse gas emissions.  Commercial operation is planned for the summer of 2013.

“Palmdale’s use of solar technology is a model for new electric power plants across the nation,” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest Region. “This hybrid design proves that plants can provide energy while having less impact on the environment.”

The permit sets limits for carbon dioxide emissions at 774 pounds per megawatt-hour of power produced, while the clean solar component can generate enough energy each hour to recharge about 750 electric vehicles.

“This is yet another milestone for a project that will not only benefit the residents of Palmdale and the Antelope Valley, but will also help the State of California meet its needs for clean, reliable energy,” said Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford. “The Palmdale Hybrid Power Plant, with its natural gas and solar components, will be the cleanest project of its kind in the world, create much needed jobs and help expedite the retirement of older, higher polluting plants.”

The Palmdale project combines the use of natural gas-fired technology with that of solar, using mirrors to capture sunlight for conversion into electricity. The solar input will provide around 10 percent of the peak power generated by the plant during periods of highest energy demand. This innovative combination will result in one of the cleanest and most efficient fossil fuel-fired power plants in the nation.

The EPA issued the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permit on October 18 based on the project’s ability to meet Best Available Control Technology for greenhouse gases and other pollutants as well as the projects demonstrated compliance with all applicable National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for the pollutants regulated under the permit.

The Clean Air Act requires a PSD permit for new and modified major sources of air pollution such as power plants, manufacturing facilities, and other facilities that emit air pollution. PSD permits apply to regulated pollutants that do not exceed the NAAQS in an area.  The NAAQS establish maximum pollution concentration levels to protect public health from harmful levels of pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, ozone, sulfur dioxide, fine particulate, carbon monoxide, and lead.

In January 2011, the PSD program began covering new construction projects that emit at least 100,000 tons of GHG emissions per year, requiring the facility to install the Best Available Control Technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

For more information on the PSD program, visit EPA’s website.

(Information via press release from the City of Palmdale)

Filed Under: Palmdale

3 comments for "EPA issues permit to Palmdale Power Plant"

  1. Doc Rivers says

    November 18, 2011 at 1:41 pm

    King Doofus is not a happy camper, but his control ends within the city limits of Lancaster. Big fish or small pond?

    • Ted says

      November 18, 2011 at 2:07 pm

      T-Rex = Small fish, small pond, BIG EGO!!

  2. William says

    November 18, 2011 at 9:05 am

    The power plant won’t produce as much pollution in Lancaster as comes outta Parris’s big mouth.

    Like I’ve written before, Parris and the rest of them at City Hall didn’t care about the effects of the Walmart on Quartz Hill and its high school as long as they benefited but, like hypocrites, they complain that Palmdale gets the power plant and they get the pollution that will kill millions of Lancaster’s residents.

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