| clean air policy advances
Emission Standard Will Close Older Coal Plants
by ROBERT UKEILEy
Robert ukeiley (rukeiley
igc.org) is a lawyer
who represents envi-
ronmental nonprofits in
clean air act litigation
affecting energy issues.
The United States still generates approximately 45 percent of its electricity from burning coal. Hap- pily, that percentage is trending downward. The
United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
is working on two air pollution regulations, which, accord-
ing to most utilities and financial analysts, will significantly
reduce the percentage of electricity we get from coal-fired
power plants.
Almost all new coal-fired power plants have three major
pieces of air pollution control: a baghouse or electrostatic
participator, a scrubber and a selective catalytic reduction
system. However, most of our coal-fired power plants are
very old — 83 percent of the units are 30 years old or older,
and 60 percent are 40 years old or older. Most of these
old coal-fired power plants do not have all three of the air
pollution controls. The EPA’s two new regulations, when
finalized and implemented, should require all coal-fired
units to have all three pollution-control devices. However,
for many older coal-fired units, it will not be economically
justifiable to install new pollution-control devices. Thus,
many of these units will retire.
The National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pol-
lutions (NESHAP), which imposes a Maximum Achievable
Control Technology requirement, is one of the regulations.
The other is commonly referred to as the Transport Rule
because it forbids interstate transport of emissions from 31
states, to help downwind states meet their air-quality goals.
The NESHAP for coal-fired units is expected to be pro-
posed by the EPA in early 2011 and finalized in late 2011,
with actual emission reductions required in late 2014. The
EPA proposed the Transport Rule in July and is expected to
finalize it in 2011, with actual emission reductions required
in 2012. In addition, the EPA expects a second, more strin-
gent round of the Transport Rule to be proposed in 2011
and finalized in 2012. The EPA predicts that the Transport
Rule alone will save up to 36,000 people from premature
death caused by air pollution.
book review
“Power for
the World”
Karl W. böer is a founder
and Fellow of the ameri-
can Solar energy Society.
by Karl W. Böer
“Power for the World” by Wolfgang Palz is more than
an encyclopedia of solar cells. Palz recruited 41 pioneers
in the photovoltaic field, asking each one to contribute a
chapter. Every chapter is fascinating, and through them,
we relive the history of the technology from its beginnings
to the present day. Palz let his authors describe both their
successes and their frustrations.
For instance, Mort Prinz describes the discovery that
properly doped silicon can transform sunlight into electric
energy at an efficiency more than five times that of any
cell sold previously. This discovery transformed the light-
sensitive photocell, as it was known then, into a genuine
source of power. Dieter Bonnet describes the discovery
that cadmium telluride in combination with cadmium
sulfide makes an attractive thin-film solar cell. Despite the
see-saw nature of the research funding he depended on, he
managed to improve the cell and adapt it for mass produc-
tion, in effect founding what has become a multibillion
dollar industry.
Palz was uniquely qualified to assemble this collection.
Now chairman of the World Council on Renewable Ener-
gy, he began his career managing photovoltaic research
programs in France, starting in 1965. Since 1976, he has
managed the European Union’s renewable energy initia-
tives and oversaw programs to launch renewable energy
projects in Africa and South America. The work took him
all over the world, and with his charming personality, he
forged friendships between scientists, engineers, industries
and politicians worldwide — all in support of a common
goal to make this the dawn of the solar age.
This remarkable 574-page volume belongs on the book-
shelf of anyone working on or interested in solar power. It
will be taken out again and again to rediscover history as
it was actually lived. The timing of creating this book was
exactly right. As solar power achieves grid parity, we can
use a reminder of its early struggles.
“Power for the World,” by Wolfgang Palz. Hardback,
574 pages, color photos. Singapore: Pan Stanford Publish-
ing Pte Ltd. ISBN 978-981-430-337-8, panstanford.com
