As Californians have been scrambling to cope with the immediate effects of the energy crisis, attention has also been directed to the problem of assuring medium- and long-term, reliable sources of power. Air quality impacts associated with energy production are among the possible effects of proposed solutions on other aspects of our lives which will need to be considered.
For years, California has imported an increasing proportion of the electricity it uses from areas that have surpluses to export, much of it from the Pacific Northwest and Canada. High construction costs and rigorous air quality regulations in California, among other factors, have made building more power plants a less economical choice than importing power, as long as other areas have had surplus power to sell.
Into this scenario was thrust the confusion caused by the process of deregulating the state's huge and complex power industry, resulting in the current power shortage.
The state had already taken steps to remedy the tight electric power situation. The California Energy Commission (CEC) has approved licenses for 8 power plants, 2 of which are in the Bay Area, in Contra Costa County. Four of the fifteen licensing cases currently being considered by the CEC are also Bay Area sites, in San Francisco and in Contra Costa, San Mateo, and Santa Clara Counties. Ten more licensing cases are expected to include 3 in the Bay Area—1 in Alameda County and 2 in San Mateo County.
Combustion processes such as those used for generating electricity from diesel fuel or natural gas cause the emission of oxides of nitrogen (NOx), an air pollutant. While about 85 percent of the NOx emissions in the Bay Area come from motor vehicles and other mobile sources, most of the remaining Nox emissions, from stationary sources, are from power plants. Over the past 15 years the trend has been for NOx emissions to decline, so that they are now about a third of their level 15 years ago. When the new power plants are built which will make the state and the Bay Area more energy self-sufficient, NOx emissions can be expected to increase.
The Bay Area has met the national and state clean air standards for NOx. However, besides being a harmful air pollutant in its own right, NOx is also a precursor of the air pollutant ozone. NOx and volatile organic compounds react together chemically in the air on warm, sunny days to form ozone. The Bay Area has not attained either the national or state ozone standards.
To minimize NOx emissions, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (Air District) has required older power plants to install the Best Available Retrofit Control Technology. New plants must have the Best Available Control Technology to minimize emissions. However, during the current energy crisis, the existing power plants are being pushed to the limits of their capacities. Added to that, the power grid—the generating plants and the transmission and distribution systems—is aging and therefore diminished in efficiency. These factors can be expected to increase NOx emission levels.
Now a surprise element has been added to the NOx equation. To offset the power outages from the rolling blackouts that are made necessary by acute shortages of electricity, some facilities rely on diesel-fueled auxiliary generators. Their use is more frequent, as power outages move from emergency occurrences to techniques for rationing limited supplies of electricity. In addition, sales of back-up generators to other power customers are booming, as they prepare to keep their electricity on. At present, mitigation of emissions from these stand-by generators is not required, so a marked increase in NOx emissions can be expected.
As the state strives toward assuring future power supplies and repairing the flawed deregulation process, the Air District will work with the legislature and the CEC to promote energy efficiency and protect air quality. The Air District will also require continued compliance with the California Environmental Act, including public participation in the process.
Adelia Sabiston