Texas Governor Pushing for More Coal-Fired Power Plants

Texas is known for having some of the worst air pollution in the United States. The American Lung Association ranked Houston, Texas as the fifth most smog-polluted cities in the US, and Dallas came up in the number ten position in the 2004 rankings.

And yet, Texas Governor Rick Perry wants to approve the building of 19 new coal-fired power plants in the state, so much so that he has "fast-tacked" the approval for these plants by an executive order last year. The "fast-track" approval process cuts the time that the public can submit comments from 18 months to six, and in some cases, hearings are scheduled in two cities at the same time, so that those who want to attend both hearings will have choose which one to attend.

TXU Energy has submitted plans to construct eleven new plants and add on to existing facilities at eight other power plants, which will in effect add nineteen new coal-fired power plants in Texas. The planned facilities will cost an estimated $10 billion, and TXU is planning on spending another $7 million on lobbying and advertising alone to push the plans forward, according to an article in the Houston Chronicle.

The TXU website claims that the new facilities will be at the cutting edge of technology, and the new coal-fired plants will be the cleanest coal-fired plants in the country. However, coal-fired plants are considered the dirtiest power-generating plants, much more polluting than natural gas or other alternatives.

Texans are fighting the plants, even the Texans that don't normally fight for pro-environmental causes. The Christian Life Commission, part of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, are going so far as to encourage their membership, which totals nearly 2.3 million, to attend rallies in Texas cities to oppose the new plants and contact their local lawmakers to voice their opposition to the plans. The problem is that the new plants, even with their "cutting edge" technology, are still going to increase the amount of air pollution in some of the most polluted areas in the country.

A University of Texas at Austin study has shown that a net-increase in ozone emissions, which when combined with particulates causes smog, will affect the Dallas-Fort Worth area, as well as Houston, Austin and Waco. Dallas, Houston and Austin are already in "non-attainment" status of EPA standards, and if the new plants open around the Waco area, that area will be pushed into "non-attainment" as well. Furthermore, a study released in late 2006 has estimated that the emissions from the new coal-fired plants will cause approximately 240 premature deaths per year, and close to 12,000 premature deaths over the lifetime of the plants. That study was commissioned by the Clean the Air organization, and was completed using EPA methodology.

Many Texans also raise opposition in the plants on the basis that "non-attainment" status could mean the loss of federal funds for highways and also federal restrictions in new construction, but also increased regulations concerning carbon dioxide emissions, which are not regulated at the present. Even the mayors of Houston and Dallas have joined the opposition to the plants. However, some groups are pushing for the plants, claiming that Texas needs cheap energy and only coal can provide it. Texans for Affordable and Reliable Power (TARP), headed by Fairfield, Texas Mayor Roy Hill said to the Houston Chronicle that, "I've got an obligation to my folks to make sure the light switch works and it's as cheap as possible." TARP receives funding from TXU.

The Texas Commission for Environmental Quality is currently reviewing the permits for the proposed power plants, and so far a few of the permits have been denied due to their plan to burn lignite, which is also known as "brown coal" as it is the lowest grade coal, much dirtier than bituminous coal. The remaining plants will use Powder River Basin (PRB) Coal, according to TXU. PRB coal is cleaner than lignite, as it is lower in sulfur and ash. However, the State of Wyoming, which is where PRB comes from, suffers from extensive strip mining and its own environmental degradation.