US power plant looks to reduce mercury emissions by 90 per cent

A power plant in the US is looking to reduce emissions of mercury by 90 per cent with an investment of $350 million (£217 million) to $400 million (£248 million) over the next several years by Minnesota Power.

Minnesota Power will invest the money in their coal-burning Boswell Energy Center Unit 4 in Cohasset, Massachusetts, where they hope to see a significant reduction in air pollution from the plant.

Allete Chairman, president and CEO Al Hodnik told shareholders: "This capstone event of our six-year environmental control effort will transform Boswell 4, the workhorse of our generation fleet, so it continues to provide reliable, safe and affordable electric power to our customers."

The Boswell project is a necessary move by the company in order to comply with state regulations to reduce mercury emissions. The Environmental Protection Agency has recently finalised regulations which affect coal power plants, which prompted the company to take action on their plant.

It is hoped that the project will cut emissions of mercury by 90 per cent, which is a significant reduction considering that the plant is the biggest in Minnesota Power's infrastructure. The plant has the capability to produce 585 megawatts of electricity, and the new investment will also look to reduce emissions of particulates and sulfur dioxide and will extend the reliability of the plant.

Mr Hodnik continued: "We can use cost-effective technology to greatly reduce emissions and keep our largest and newest base-load plants operating for many more years.

"This will allow us to serve the growing energy needs of our customers economically and reliably, while meeting our environmental responsibilities."

The CEO of parent company Allete was upbeat about investing in new pollution-control equipment. It was one of five primary growth opportunities outlined in the speech, where he also outlined plans to invest in transmission and renewable energy projects.

Posted by Lauren Steadman