Minneapolis Coal Plant to Close: City's Biggest Polluter Shut Down

The conversion of the Riverside coal-burning power plant, operated by Xcel Energy, from coal to natural gas will be commemorated tomorrow at a public ceremony on site in Northeast Minneapolis. Riverside is located on the Mississippi River between North and Northeast Minneapolis. The coal plant has been operating since 1911 and was the largest single source of air pollution in Minneapolis.

Changes made to the way the plant operates and the switch from dirty coal to more clean burning natural gas will cut dangerous air pollution substantially:

Sulfur dioxide (SO2)  is a precursor to fine particulates, which can cause people to develop asthma and aggravate existing lung and circulatory problems – cut 99%.
Nitrogen oxide (NOx) or smog will damage lung tissues, causing asthma attacks and other health problems – cut 96%
Particulates or soot, which are linked to lung and circulatory system problems – cut 86%
Mercury, a potent neurotoxin which can lead to developmental problems in kids and the reason every body of water in Minnesota is under a fish consumption advisory – cut 100%

How Communities United to Clean Up Coal Plants

In May 2002, Xcel Energy proposed a plan called the Minnesota Metro Emissions Reduction Project (MERP) to reduce air pollution from three Twin Cities coal plants while increasing the amount of electricity they can produce. The plan was the result of legislation which allowed power companies to propose pollution clean up projects and charge ratepayers for the expenses of renovating the plants, which utilities had been slow to do since the Clean Air Act was passed int he early 1970s.

When the plan was released, environmental organizations like Clean Water Action, the Izaak Walton League and the Sierra Club teamed up with local communities members from Twin Cities' neighborhoods like SECIA (South East Como), MCNC (a Northeast Minneapolis group), and WSCO (West Side of St. Paul) to push Xcel and the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to go as far as possible in cleaning up the plants.

The combined efforts of hundreds of local people called Clean Energy Now— including a yard sign campaign, numerous community meetings and presentations, hours of public testimony and hundreds of letters to the PUC — pushed the Xcel to issue and improved version of their original plan and the PUC to approve it in December 2003.

Testimony from EJAM members from Mineapolis' North Side on asthma and the environmental justice implications of having such a terrible source of pollution sandwiched between the predominately African-American North Side and the working-class NE neighborhoods was particularly compelling to PUC members, according to their own words.

"This conversion took the voluntary efforts of Xcel, $230M and dedicated efforts from many across our community and the metro area. It took many years of dedication and vigilance from community members, organizations, businesses, and elected officials. It should be celebrated far and wide that a hundred year old facility in a huge metropolitan area will finally be completed. It will reduce 100 pounds of mercury being emitted into the atmosphere annually as well as literally tons of other greenhouse gas and heavy metal reductions. In Xcel Energy's words "Carbon dioxide reductions at the three MERP plants are the equivalent of removing 592,213 cars from the road.'" said Amy Luesebrink, a staffer with the Lind-Bohanon neighborhood group.

What Conversion Means
A natural gas-fired, combined-cycle plant will replace Riverside's coal boilers. The gas turbine uses natural gas as fuel in a combustion turbine, which operates much like a jet engine. Exhaust gases from the combustion turbine are also used to make steam in a heat recovery steam generator. Both processes then drive turbines and electric generators to produce electricity, making a much more efficient — about 60 percent more — process than coal burning.

Repowering will cut air pollution and boost energy production by about 73 megawatts — enough electricity to supply more than 70,000 typical homes.

The new gas plant is already operational. Demolition and removal of coal handling and related portions of the existing plant should be complete in 2010.
  
The event will be held Tuesday October 13, beginning with a meet and greet at 4:00pm, a with ribbon cutting ceremony at 4:30 and small site tour following the ceremony.  Guests are asked to park and enter the gate at 29th and Marshall.