Why did state OK new natural gas power plant in Killingly?
For those of us who follow the development of energy policy in Connecticut, June 6, 2019, will be remembered as the day of cognitive dissonance in the Nutmeg State.
On that day, while the Senate in the state legislature unanimously passed a 2,000 MWoff-shore wind turbine bill, which had been previously passed by the House by an overwhelming majority, 134-10), the Connecticut Siting Council approved a controversial proposal to build yet another natural gas power plant — a 650 MWfacility — in Killingly, a small town near the border of Rhode Island, already burdened with air pollution from an existing power plant.
Wasting no time, Gov. Ned Lamont signed the bipartisan, off-shore wind turbine bill on June 7. On that occasion, the governor stated, “Connecticut should be the central hub of the offshore wind industry in New England. This emerging industry has the potential to create hundreds of good paying jobs for the residents of our state and drive economic growth in towns along our shoreline … By adopting this new law, we are sending a clear message — Connecticut is serious about becoming a major player in the clean energy economy.”
In other words, the state of Connecticut has taken a determined and enterprising step in entering the postfossil fuel, clean energy age. Yet, the siting council made an unwise decision that negates that bold and timely move by Connecticut’s legislature.
Some two years ago, a similar proposal to construct the natural gas power plant in Killingly by the Floridabased company, NTE Energy, was rejected by the siting council. At that time, the siting council stated that “the proposed facility is not necessary for the reliability of the electric power supply of the state or for a competitive market for electricity at this time.” This decision was made during Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration, which had championed the increased use of natural gas in Connecticut. Now that Gov. Lamont and the legislature have taken steps to move the state in a different direction, it is even more puzzling why the siting council has seen fit to approve a fossil-fuel based power plant.
What is particularly disturbing about this ill-considered decision is how it fails to meet the state’s current goal of curbing greenhouse gas emissions to address global climate change. Under its Global Warming Solutions Act, adopted by the legislature in 2008, Connecticut has a commitment to reduce its state-wide carbon emissions by 80 percent of its 2001 baseline by the year 2050. According to Connecticut Fund for the Environment — one of the legal parties to the siting council’s proceedings — the council didn’t include the proposed greenhouse gas reduction program as a legally-binding requirement, with no recourse for taking action if such emission reductions aren’t met.
Although it is widely believed that natural gas is cleaner than oil or coal, this is not necessarily the case. Here’s why: natural gas consists mainly of methane gas, which is a potent greenhouse gas. Its impact on global warming is over 20 times greater than that of carbon dioxide. Thus, with natural gas, in addition to its endpoint use, it is important to examine the environmental and health impact of its entire supply chain — how it is obtained from the ground, how it disposes its drilling wastes, and how it is transmitted by pipeline to the power plant.
Since over two-thirds of natural gas in this country is derived from fracking operations, it is imperative to take its heavily polluting activities into account. Extensive air and water contamination are associated with fracking, caused by site-related combustion and flaring, along with groundwater seepage from a mixture of toxic chemicals used in drilling. If the estimated 2 to 3 percent of natural gas pipeline leakage is taken into account, with its copious release of methane gas, natural gas can no longer be considered a safer alternative or a stepping stone to a renewable energy economy.
Knowing what we know today, there is no justification whatsoever to construct another natural gas power plant in the state of Connecticut.
A. Karim Ahmed is an adjunct professor of occupational and environmental medicine at the University of Connecticut Health Center and a board member of the National Council for Science and the Environment in Washington, D.C. Theresa Eickel is the executive director of the Interreligious Eco-Justice Network.