PRPA's permit for new gas turbines gets challenged in court
PRPA’s permit for new gas turbines gets challenged in court
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- The suit alleges the Colorado Air Pollution Control Division unlawfully bypassed a required review process.
- The new turbines are intended to help replace a coal plant that is set to retire by 2030.
- Plaintiffs argue the review can be skipped only if emissions decreases due to the coal plant’s retirement are in effect at the time the increase in emissions from the gas plant occurs.
Corrections and clarifications: This story has been updated to correct the name of the Clean Air Act.
After Platte River Power Authority won state approval to build five new gas turbines, a lawsuit is now challenging that decision.
In April, PRPA won approval from the Colorado Air Pollution Control Division for a construction permit for to build the aeroderivative gas turbines at its Rawhide Energy Station, which is about 20 miles north of Fort Collins.
But Fort Collins resident Fred Kirsch and Longmont resident Ethan Augreen say they believe the Air Pollution Control Division unlawfully bypassed a review process required by the Clean Air Act when it granted that permit.
That review process is called Prevention of Significant Deterioration, or PSD, and it applies to new major sources of pollution or where major modifications are being made at existing sources of pollution, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
PRPA is building the turbines to help replace the electricity produced by the Rawhide 1 coal plant, set to be retired by 2030. The turbines are meant to supplement PRPA’s renewable energy sources, like wind and solar.
The wholesale power provider is planning for the turbines to begin a testing phase before the coal plant is retired, which means both will operate at the same time.
But Kirsch and Augreen’s challenge says PRPA can avoid the PSD review only if the emissions decreases due to the coal plant’s retirement are in effect at the time the increase in emissions from the gas plant occurs.
“The division skipped that review based on relying on the future retirement of Rawhide Unit 1,” a news release from Kirsch and Augreen stated.
Their challenge asks for a stay of the Air Pollution Control Division’s permit while the case proceeds. Ultimately, the lawsuit seeks to vacate the permit and disallow PRPA from beginning construction or operating the turbines without the review.
But “this lawsuit does not seek to halt lawful energy development or prevent PRPA from transitioning away from coal,” the release said.
”PSD review is specifically designed to occur before construction begins, so that findings about the best available pollution controls, air quality impacts, and visibility effects on places like Rocky Mountain National Park can actually shape how a project is built,” the news release said. “A PSD analysis conducted after turbines have been procured and site work is underway is seriously constrained in its ability to influence the project’s ultimate configuration.”
And the plaintiffs argue that it’s particularly consequential because the northern Front Range has been designated a nonattainment area for ground-level ozone.
The Rawhide station has been the top source of greenhouse gas emissions in Larimer County, and in the top 10 for Colorado.
In response to the lawsuit, Kendal Perez, senior manager of communications, community relations and public education for PRPA, provided a statement to the Coloradoan: “Platte River maintains that the aeroderivative turbines are essential to supporting system reliability and financial sustainability as we continue advancing toward a noncarbon energy future for our owner communities.”
Who is involved in the court challenge?
Kirsch is the director of the Community for Sustainable Energy. He is a Fort Collins outdoor services business owner, and he and his employees work outdoors 20 hours per week and recreate in Rocky Mountain National Park, according to the court filing.
Augreen is a member of the city of Longmont’s Sustainability Advisory Board and a cyclist who regularly commutes and recreates on a bike, according to the filing. He also submitted 340 pages of written comments about the permit.
PRPA is jointly owned by and provides electricity to Fort Collins, Loveland, Longmont and Estes Park.