Hot air is its speciality
Anyone else notice that TXU isn’t part of the United States Climate Action Partnership? You know, the one that thinks the U.S. government should require “significant reductions of greenhouse emissions” and includes Alcoa, BP America, Duke Energy, DuPont, General Electric, and PG&E Corporation.
But it’s good to know that TXU believes that their plan is consistent with the USCAP report.
TXU Corp. Outlines Climate Change Principles, Recognizes USCAP Efforts
McCall concluded, “We need to fully review the USCAP report, but it appears that our plan to develop carbon capture and storage-ready units and other advanced coal technology to meet Texas’ substantial electric power needs is consistent with USCAP’s position. TXU will continue to actively participate with key stakeholders and policymakers to develop long-term, comprehensive solutions to this global challenge.”
Unlike the USCAP members, TXU doesn’t think that carbon emission controls are commercially feasible yet.
Star-Telegram | 01/23/2007 | Major corporations join to reduce CO{-2} emissions
They say the 11 coal-fired power plants TXU wants to build are being designed to allow carbon emission controls to be added once the technology is advanced enough to become commercially feasible. They say the company is spending billions of dollars to study and develop many of the carbon emission control technologies that will one day be used at power plants worldwide.
So while they are committed to cleaner plants, they aren’t willing to support and carbon dioxide emission caps.
Star-Telegram | 01/23/2007 | Major corporations join to reduce CO{-2} emissions
But that reduction commitment does not include carbon dioxide emissions.TXU’s proposed plants would emit an estimated 78 million tons of carbon dioxide a year, according to company officials.
McCall declined to support any proposal that caps carbon dioxide emissions. He also said the company would need to study any proposal to mandate deadlines to install pollution controls.
But, hey, their plans are consistent with those of USCAP. Never mind the fact that TXU is now threatening not to make any emission cuts if it doesn’t get it’s eleven coal plants. And if it gets the permits, TXU doesn’t think it needs to tell anyone where exactly those emission cuts might come from.
The testimony also reveals that TXU could reconsider its entire emissions plan if it does not receive any of the requested coal plant permits. And Mr. McCall confirmed that his company has no immediate plans to disclose where, specifically, pollution cuts would be made.
The reason why it shouldn’t matter which plants reduce emissions is because TXU would probably just sell the credits anyway so it won’t reduce local pollution at all.
In a deposition released Tuesday, Mike McCall, the chairman and CEO of TXU Wholesale, acknowledged the possibility of selling the credits — a move that would transfer permission to pollute to another company, essentially nullifying any improvement in air quality.
TXU executive’s comment draws fire from power plant opponents
Mike McCall, chairman-CEO of TXU Wholesale, said the power company could earn credits for reducing its emissions of nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and other pollutants. Under federal clean air rules, those credits could be “banked†for the future regulatory benefit of TXU or another industry, McCall said. He made the comments in a Jan. 5 deposition for a state contested-case hearing involving six pending TXU permits for coal-fired power plants.
Asked by opposing attorneys whether TXU will in fact bank the credits, McCall said “that will all be dependent upon the economics at the time.†The transcript was released to the news media this week by Dallas Mayor Laura Miller, who heads a coalition of cities challenging the proposed coal plants.
And just in case things don’t work out locally, TXU is hedging it’s bets in Washington.
TXU executives take their coal-plant case to Congress
WASHINGTON — Officials of TXU Corp. went to Washington this week, seeking to to convince skeptical members of Congress that the Dallas-based utility’s plans for building 11 coal-burning power plants in the next decade will be compatible with efforts to control emissions of carbon dioxide.
A spokesman for the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee confirmed that committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., met Tuesday with TXU chairman and CEO Mike McCall to talk about the climate change implications of TXU’s proposed plants.
So when TXU says that “it will continue to actively participate with key stakeholders and policymakers to develop long-term, comprehensive solutions to this global challenge” that doesn’t mean it plans to actually positively contribute to the solution. More likely it means that TXU chairman, Earl Nye, will just up his campaign contribution of $50,000 to governor Rick Perry.
Filed under: Carbon Emission Controls, Earl Nye, Emission credits, Mike McCall, TXU, Texas Rick Perry, USCAP, United States Climate Action Partnership
