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Tom dwyer boardman coal plant
The Boardman Coal Plant is a coal-fired power plant located in Boardman, Oregon. The facility has a nameplate capacity of 550 megawatts (MWs) and is operated by Portland General Electric. The plant is the only remaining coal powered plant in Oregon and has received much attention from the regional media in recent years due to its being the largest single source of greenhouse gas emissions in the state with environmental groups such as the Sierra Club calling for its closing.
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Boardman coal plant dumping railroad cars
Background
The Boardman plant was authorized in 1975, just two years before the 1977 Clean Air Act amendments, which would have required the plant to meet stricter emission standards. The plant currently accounts for 65% of stationary SO2 emissions, and 7% of CO2 emissions in Oregon.
The Boardman plant is one of PGE's largest power stations, producing 15% of utility's electricity as recent as 2009.
Recent action
Portland General Electric's original plan involved operating the plant until 2040; this would require installing over $500 million of pollution control equipment on the plant by 2017 in order to comply with federal and state clean air standards. In early 2010, however, PGE announced that they are considering an alternative plan for the Boardman plant that would close it in 2020.
In April 2010, PGE decided to close the plant in 2020 to save $470 million in upgrades they would have been required to install had they kept the plant operating until 2040. The decision is contingent upon favorable decisions in a lawsuit and possible federal regulations. In December 2010, the state's environmental protection agency approved the plans for the 2020 closing. PGE started building a second gas-fired generating station at Boardman in 2014.