Environmentalists challenge biomass burning at Dayton utility’s plant

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By John Nolan, Staff Writer 5:25 PM Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Environmentalists are challenging Ohio’s approval of a permit to allow Dayton Power & Light Co. to mix grasses and wood sawdust into the coal that is burned to generate electricity at the utility’s Killen coal-fueled plant, along the Ohio River.

Under the permit issued by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency on Dec. 29, DP&L is allowed to burn a mixture of coal with up to a 7 percent content of the grass and sawdust biomass material in the Adams County generating plant, DP&L’s second-largest. The company did test burns of the mix in the fall of 2009.

Biomass can also include animal manure, nut and grain hulls, orchard prunings, cornstalks and coffee grounds. DP&L’s permit emphasizes “clean cellulosic biomass” that would not include treated wood, construction waste, animal waste or municipal solid waste, the Ohio EPA said.

The Ohio Environmental Council, Buckeye Forest Council and Sierra Club contend that DP&L provided little detail about the material it will burn and, as a result, the state EPA cannot know what the effect will be on air quality.

The test burns indicated the biomass burning could increase emissions of pollutants including carbon monoxide and cancer-causers like benzene and formaldehyde, the environmentalists said.

The environmentalists said Tuesday they filed an appeal last week with the Ohio Environmental Review Appeals Commission, which could take months or even several years to rule.

The Ohio EPA concluded that emissions from burning the coal-biomass mixture at Killen, which has operated since 1982 and has emission-control scrubbers, will comply with state and federal air quality laws.

DP&L said its use of the biomass mix is in response to a requirement of the state’s 2008 energy legislation that says 12.5 percent of energy consumed by Ohioans must be generated from renewable resources by 2025. Biofuels are considered renewable in Ohio.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2242 or jnolan@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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