Tampa Electric said that, compared to 1998 levels, it reduced sulfur dioxide by 93%, nitrogen oxide by 60%, particulate matter by more than 70%, mercury by 70% and carbon dioxide by 20%.
The utility noted that these reductions make it one of the cleanest utilities in the US utilizing coal and with no nuclear generation. The reductions are the result of a 10-year, $1.2 billion environmental improvement program, which is in its final stages.
The plan involved the repowering of the company’s oldest coal-fired plant from coal to natural gas, which has been completed, and the addition of pollution controls to a second coal-fired facility, which is underway.
As a result of the installation of selective catalytic reduction equipment, Tampa Electric expects overall reduction of nitrogen oxide to be 90% by 2010. The company has already surpassed its original 2010 sulfur dioxide projection of an 89% reduction.
Chuck Black, Tampa Electric’s president, said: We are enormously proud of the leadership our team has demonstrated to achieve this positive environmental profile.
