Columbia Energy Center Embarks on $627 Million Pollution-Control Project

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Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Alliant Energy Corporation (NYSE:LNT) (Madison, Wisconsin) will install $627 million of pollution-control equipment at the two-unit, 1,023-megawatt (MW) coal-fired Columbia Energy Center in Portage, Wisconsin. The decision, approved Feb. 24 by Wisconsin utility regulators, will enable Columbia to comply with a state law that coal-fired power plants reduce mercury emissions by 90% from 2008 levels by January 1, 2015.

Columbia's $627 million price tag reportedly would make it the largest power plant environmental project in Wisconsin. The second-largest project of this type is a $150 million project under way in Sheboygan.

The Columbia project will include construction of a dry flue gas desulfurization system to lower SO2 emissions from Unit 1, upgrading the existing dry scrubber on Unit 2, and constructing an activated carbon-injection system and baghouse, to lower mercury emissions. The 512-MW Unit 1 entered commercial operation in 1975, while the 511-MW Unit 2 began operating in 1978. The scrubbers are expected to lower SO2 emissions by 90%. Columbia has no equipment to lower emissions of nitrogen oxides.

The 36-month construction project is scheduled to begin before the end of 2011, Alliant Energy spokesman Steve Schultz told Industrial Info Resources. He said that the utility has not yet selected an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) firm or equipment provider, although those decisions are expected to be made soon. The project will create about 500 construction jobs at its peak.

Columbia is one of about a dozen coal-fired power plants in Wisconsin that are required to lower mercury emissions by 90% by January 1, 2015. Columbia emitted about 627 pounds of mercury in 2009 and about 482 pounds in 2010, according to Alliant Energy.

"By making these investments, we expect that we'll be in compliance with the Clean Air Transport Rule, which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (Washington, D.C.) proposed last year, and which should be finalized this year," Schultz said in an interview. "We also hope that Columbia will be in compliance with the forthcoming EPA rule on mercury emissions, though we won't know that for sure until that draft rule is issued and finalized."

Columbia's other owners include Wisconsin Public Service Corporation (Green Bay, Wisconsin), a unit of Integrys Energy Group Incorporated (NYSE:TEG) (Chicago, Illinois), and Madison Gas and Electric Company, a unit of MGE Energy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MGEE) (Madison, Wisconsin). Alliant will pay about $290 million of the project, while Wisconsin Public Service will pay about $197 million. Madison Gas and Electric will contrubute about $140 million.

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