Coal Age

JUL 2015

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supplies about 2.5 million tons of lignite coal annually to the power plant. Since December, Dakota Westmoreland has adjusted the mine's production to meet the lower demand for fuel. The mine produced 572,000 tons of coal in the first quarter of 2015 compared to nearly 2.8 million tons in 2014, according to the federal Mine S afety and Health Administration. Meanwhile, Hoot Lake should resume running summer as well, Oehler said, after the plant's two units, in operation since 1959 and 1964, respectively, were temporarily idled for economic reasons ear- lier this year. Power prices in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, a regional grid operator, are expected to be sufficiently high this summer to allow for Hoot Lake's restart, she said. Hoot L ake, which burns subbituminous coal, had not yet returned to ser- vice as of early July, however. Otter Tail invested in pollution controls to enable Hoot Lake to comply with the federal Environmental Protection Agency's new Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) rule that took effect in mid-April. The plant currently will retire in 2020. At this time, Otter Tail has not decided to extend Hoot Lake's life despite the Supreme Court's June 29 ruling that remanded MATS back to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., for further review. Otter Tail's largest plant, the 475-megawatt Big Stone station near Big Stone City, South Dakota, is expected to continue operat- ing indefinitely. It also burns subbituminous coal. DTE Makes Plans to Upgrade Plants to Comply With MATS Rule Starting in July, DTE Energy Co. began recovering $190 million in new electricity revenue in Michigan to help finance a $300 million plan for an environmental upgrade at four coal-burning power plants so they can comply with the federal Environmental Protection Agency's new Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) rule and continue operating at least into the early 2020s. The utility intends to install activated carbon injection and/or dry sorbent injection technology on its St. Clair, Belle River, River Rouge and Trenton plants to reduce mercury emissions. DTE has spent about $2 billion on pollution controls in recent years at it's largest baseload coal plant, the 3,000-megawatt Monroe generating station on the western shore of Lake Erie, enabling Monroe to meet the MATS rule that took effect in mid-April. Monroe's four units went into commercial operation between 1971 and 1974. The plant is the largest electric generator in Michigan and one of the largest in the Midwest. It burns nearly 10 million tons of low-sulfur Powder River Basin coal annually. To help pay for the new environmental spending, DTE self- implemented more than half of a $370 million annual electric rate increase still pending before the Michigan Public Service Commission (PSC). Under a 2008 Michigan law, utilities are permit- ted to self-implement rate hikes, subject to possible refund, if the commission has not acted within six months on a new rate request. The company filed its latest rate case in December 2014. A final PSC order is expected by the end of this year. DTE is getting strong pushback from environmental groups such as the Sierra Club and Michigan Environmental Council for the new pollution controls at St. Clair, Belle River, River Rouge and Trenton, which together total more than 3,000 MW of generating capacity. n e w s c o n t i n u e d July 2015 www.coalage.com 49 SOME THINK LONG-DISTANCE TRANSPORT IS INFRASTRUCTURE- INTENSIVE. WE THINK DIFFERENT. Transporting materials from remote locations has traditionally required signifi cant infrastructure investments in road or rail links, vehicles, personnel and fuel. BEUMER of ers an economical, ef cient and environmental alternative – long-distance overland conveying. This gives you a dedicated, around-the-clock transport link at the fraction of the cost of infrastructure development. The reduced noise and air pollution minimises environmental impact and improves personnel safety. Add to that a high degree of design fl exi bility and customisation and you can see why overland conveying makes a big dif erence to operational ef ciency and environmental protection. For more information, visit www.beumergroup.com Visit us! Mining Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia September 9 - 12, 2015 Visit us! EXPOSIBRAM 2015 EXPOMINAS, Belo Horizonte Minas Gerais, Brazil September 14 - 17, 2015 Stand D14, Diamante Street in the Pavilion News Continued from Page 17

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