Update, April 5, 2011

We’ve crunched real air pollution smokestack emission numbers from company permits to show that show that biomass burning for electricity is dirtier than coal when it comes to at least three significant air pollutants: carbon dioxide (CO2), particulate matter, and nitrogen oxides (NOx).  How much dirtier?

67% more carbon dioxide

367% more particulate matter

62% more NOx

Where do these numbers come from?  We compared the air pollution smokestack emissions from the Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU) coal plant in Gainseville, Florida to its neighbor, a newly permitted 100 megawatt (MW) wood burning biomass electricity project called Gainesville Renewable Energy Center (GREC).   We looked at the 2007 air operating permit for GRU’s coal plant and compared them to GREC’s “actual projected emissions” in its 2010 air pollution permit.

The GREC biomass incinerator isn’t operating yet, but Florida has given the OK for construction.  Our comparison is significant because its “apples to apples” – comparing a newer, “cleaner” coal plant to biomass. GRU was re-permitted in 2007 after putting on upgraded air pollution controls.  Not only is GRU “cleaner”, but shockingly, Florida illegally let GREC “offset” its smokestack emissions with GRU’s coal plant 2007 emission reductions.  That is, since GRU put in new pollution controls in 2007, the biomass incinerator was allowed to emit more pollution in 2010!

Find the documents here:

GRU 2007 Permit GRU 2007 Permit  GRU Air Permit No. 001006-005-AC, 2007: http://arm-permit2k.dep.state.fl.us/psd/0010006/00002AEF.pdf

GREC 2010 Permit http://www.dep.state.fl.us/Air/emission/bioenergy/gainesville/GRECFPermit.pdf, Section 9, Emissions Standards, and GREC Technical Report, Preliminary Application, Table 3

Florida DEP website with links to permits: http://www.dep.state.fl.us/Air/emission/bioenergy/gainesville.htm

Comparison of permit numbers: