Xcel Energy to significantly reduce mercury emissions 
Xcel Energy is a major U.S. electricity and natural gas company with regulated operations in eight Western and Midwestern states. Xcel Energy has filed with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency plans to significantly reduce mercury emissions from Sherburne County (Sherco) Generating Plant Unit 3 and the Allen S. King Plant.
“These plans outline a major effort to reduce mercury emissions at our King plant in Oak Park Heights and our Sherco plant in Becker and put us at the forefront nationally in efforts to cut mercury emissions,” said Dave Sparby, acting president and CEO of Northern States Power Co.-Minnesota, an Xcel Energy company. “The plans complement our efforts to increase conservation and to add more renewable energy to our system to reduce our environmental impact.”
Xcel Energy proposes to control mercury emissions at King and Sherco Unit 3 through installation and operation of a sorbent injection system. Under the plans, a fine powder would be injected into the ductwork of the plants’ air quality control equipment to capture mercury. Mercury would collect on the surface of the powder, which would be captured by the air quality control equipment.
The company estimates the systems will remove up to 90 percent of the mercury in the coal burned at King and Sherco Unit 3.
The plans must be approved by state regulators before they can be implemented. Each system is expected to cost $4.5 million to install and $3.8 to $5.5 million annually to operate and maintain. The average rate impact for a residential customer is expected to be about 16 cents a month.
If approved, Xcel Energy will implement mercury reductions by Dec. 31, 2009, at Sherco 3 and by Dec. 31, 2010, at King.
The plans for King and Sherco Unit 3 are required under the Minnesota Mercury Emissions Reduction Act, which Xcel Energy and other stakeholders agreed to in 2006.
The act requires mercury reduction plans for Sherco Units 1 and 2 by the end of 2009. Xcel Energy has proposed major investments in new pollution control technology for those units that will allow them to also achieve up to 90 percent mercury reductions, as well as other environmental benefits. If approved by state regulators, these investments largely will address the state's mercury reduction goals for Xcel Energy's system.
Related categories: Eco-friendly Power generation Pollution control technologies
