CoaLogix's Reaction to the Recent CAIR Decision

The recent decision by a U.S. federal court of appeals to re-instate CAIR, or the Clean Air Interstate Rule, will have a significant impact on the electric generation industry as a whole.  

The Recent CAIR Decision & NOx

On December 23, 2008, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals re-instated the Clean Air Interstate Rule, or CAIR, to give the Environmental Protection Agency a chance to fix flaws found by the court in a previous decision.  The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the EPA's emission regulations in July 2008, siding with the state of North Carolina, Duke Energy Corp. (DUK) and others in a ruling that threw into disarray emission-allowance markets and the environmental plans of many utilities.  The circuit court had originally ruled against implementation of the rule, saying it was too legally flawed to be even partially implemented.

After strong outcries from the industry, lawmakers and the EPA itself, the court considered their petitions in a re-hearing and was convinced that vacating CAIR "would at least temporarily defeat the enhanced protection of the environmental values covered by [the rule]." The court therefore re-instated the rule "so that EPA may remedy CAIR's flaws."  No time limit was given by the court for the EPA to complete the changes.  The changes required by the court do not affect SCR usage or emission limits required.

The regulations are aimed at cutting emissions of unhealthy pollutants and particulate matter in 28 states by tightening the cap on sulfur-dioxide emissions and establishing a new cap on emissions of nitrogen oxides.  As a result, power plants will be requiring year-round operation of SCRs rather than the 5 month operation currently required. When fully implemented in 2015, the current CAIR rule is projected to have reduced SO2 emissions in these states by over 70 percent (5.4 million tons) and NOx emissions by over 60 percent (2 million tons) from 2003 levels.

This decision requires that compliance under CAIR commence  January 1, 2009. CAIR requires substantial reductions in year-round emissions of nitrogen oxides.  The pollution reductions required by the Clean Air Interstate Rule are to be implemented in two phases beginning on January 1, 2009 for NOx and 2010 for SO2, and a second phase in 2015 for both contaminants.  

Utility Reaction to CAIR

In general, the industry was confused by the law being vacated and then reinstated. Many utilities had already initiated capital investments to comply with CAIR and were confused on how to proceed.   Many plants have put capital projects on hold because of the confusion and the current financial climate.  Although many companies had anticipated the reinstatement, the swiftness at which CAIR has been reinstated has caught many utilities off guard.  Capital projects that were once postponed are now being reevaluated on an accelerated timetable.  

To further exacerbate the confusion, more stringent requirements for NOX reductions in the recently finalized CAIR will necessitate year-round operation of some or all of SCRs by January 1, 2009. The requirement to run the SCRs 12 months per year in lieu of the current 5 month operation will require operation during the cold weather seasons which will have significant consequences for plants in the northern United States.  Consequently, with longer operating cycles, SCR catalyst will need to be replaced at least twice as frequently.  

The interest in catalyst management and catalyst regeneration has reached new levels.  Many utility companies will have huge amounts of catalyst replaced during their normal outages.   The planning and reduction of cost of this catalyst is critical with current catalyst lead times of over 1 year.  Many utilities have had to change outage schedules to incorporate the changes that are needed to comply with CAIR.  Despite these outage changes, utilities are still pursuing cost effective measures to comply with CAIR requirements.      

CoaLogix’s Reaction to CAIR

CoaLogix is the leading provider of catalyst management, regeneration technologies and management services for Selective Catalyst Reduction (SCR) systems used by coal fire plants to reduce emissions.   CoaLogix specializes in reducing the environmental footprint of coal fired power plants at a reduced cost.  CoaLogix’ proprietary knowledge of SCR catalyst management, catalyst regeneration and NOx and SO2 emissions can prove to be a valuable tool for power plants.

To  accommodate customers’ changing outage schedules, CoaLogix has increased its throughput capacity and its overall stock catalyst inventory to meet demand throughout the year. CoaLogix currently owns SCR catalyst modules that are ready for purchase, regeneration and installation. CoaLogix has purchased over 2,000 MW of catalyst which is now in stock.  The stock consists of plate and honeycomb catalyst of varying pitches.  In addition, CoaLogix’ subsidiary SCR-Tech has recently completed an increase in the capacity to regenerate catalyst by over 100%.  CoaLogix currently has over 10,000 MW of SCRs under management and has the capability for significant increases  with in-house proprietary technology and software.
On average, Coalogix’ customers can regenerate their catalyst 40% below the cost of purchasing new catalyst.  In addition to catalyst regeneration, catalyst management can save our customers an additional 30-40% in catalyst cost, which cumulatively results in a total savings of 70-80% in catalyst cost. In a tough economic and regulatory environment, CoaLogix can be a logical, sound investment for all power plants’ environmental needs.  

For further information contact:

Lloyd Swaringer
CoaLogix
SCR-Tech | MetalliFIX  
11701 Mt. Holly Rd.
Charlotte, NC 28214
Office:   (704)812-4068
Mobile:  (980)939-2905
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