By David Modeer, General Manager, Central Arizona Project:
At Central Arizona Project, we are fully committed to operating in the most efficient and environmentally sensitive manner possible. That’s why it’s unfortunate when our efforts are mischaracterized, as they were in the Dec 31 opinion piece by John Neville. I’d like to provide a brief summary of CAP’s actions and plans for the future regarding our power supplies.
The Navajo Generating Station (NGS) provides approximately 95 percent of the power CAP requires to deliver Colorado River water to central and southern Arizona. It’s important to note that the decision to build the NGS to provide power to the Central Arizona Project was an alternative to constructing additional dams along the Colorado River in the upper Grand Canyon. Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall strongly advocated this decision, which had the support of environmental, tribal, government and energy stakeholders.
We’ve designed the CAP canal system to take advantage of gravity to move water over long distances. However, our service area is uphill from the Colorado River, so pumping plants are necessary. Efficient use of these pumps requires power on a 24-hour basis, 365 days a year.
CAP is very interested in using renewable power sources to operate the canal system, and we have and will continue to support efforts to develop alternative energy supplies. However, in the absence of effective power storage, solar power cannot replace the round-the-clock power supplied the Navajo Station.
The fact is, there are currently no solar or wind power supplies available to CAP that can guarantee a constant source of electricity. Solar power, whether from photovoltaic (PV) panels or from solar concentrators, is not only unavailable at night, it is vulnerable to weather conditions which reduce the intensity of sunlight hitting the solar panels or mirrors. In addition, there are no PV solar power plants of large enough capacity to meet CAP’s power needs. According to the Arizona Department of Commerce, the world’s largest central photovoltaic power plant generates a maximum of only six megawatts of electricity – 125 times less than each of three units at the Navajo Generating Station.
In terms of power plant emissions, CAP and the other entities which share ownership of the power produced at NGS have been proactive in reducing those produced by fossil fuel combustion. Beginning in the 1990s, the partners have now invested more than $400 million to minimize sulfur dioxide and particulate emissions from the power plant. More recently, we have been voluntarily installing nitrogen oxide (NOx) emission reduction technology, in advance of any regulations which require this step.
Far from discouraging the Environmental Protection Agency from setting appropriate regulations for NOx, we are encouraging the agency to allow time to rigorously evaluate the newly installed technology. This technology will meet the standards set by the EPA for these emissions, and is much, much less expensive than the alternative technology being considered by the EPA.
CAP is also deeply concerned about the potential for climate change to impact the Colorado River basin, and we are partnering with universities, climate scientists and other research agencies to determine how best to address these issues. Over the next decade, as renewable energy technologies mature and effective power storage methods are developed, solar, wind and other resources that meet the needs of the CAP system will become available.
CAP is the steward of Arizona’s primary renewable water resource, but our commitment to the environment and long-term sustainability is much broader. We support water conservation education programs, work with allies to preserve wildlife habitat and reestablish native vegetation along the Colorado River, sponsor climate research, and are actively pursuing ways to become more efficient in our own operations.
For more information about any of these issues, visit our web site at www.centralarizonaproject.com, or contact us at 623-869-2333.
Mr. Modeer, I’m sorry that you felt my editorial mischaracterized your efforts. I was simply responding to an editorial written by the CAP board chair for the Arizona Republic. In that editorial, she requested that the people of Arizona contact the EPA and discourage them from regulating the emissions from the Navajo Generating Station because it would increase the costs for water. She did not state anything about your ongoing efforts to reduce water consumption or to reduce the emissions at the plant. She specifically requested that we join in the CAP efforts to discourage tighter emission requirements on the plant.
Before I wrote the piece, I researched the data so that I was sure it was correct. Nothing I stated in my piece was a mischaracterization – given what was stated in the newspaper editorial and the facts about the plant emissions and their impacts on human health and the environment.
I came into sustainable development through a business and economic avenue. I have been a sustainable development consultant to large multinationals for decades and am fully aware of the challenges facing big energy users, such as the CAP. I am also aware of the difference between sustainable water supplies and transporting water from other locations to support population growth in naturally dry areas. Now the CAP is part of the infrastructure of the state, and its reliance on a polluting power supply is unfortunate. As you seemed to state, that condition must be corrected. I agree.
You should know that I did contact the EPA about the Navajo Generating Station. My recommendation was that the agency set tight standards on emissions of hazardous pollutants. However, I recommended against the imposition of prescriptive technologies. I have always agreed with the engineers: let the community set the standards – let the engineers determine the best way to meet them.
I believe in collaborations toward the achievement of sustainable development. My editorial would not have been written if you had written your piece for the Arizona Republic instead of what appeared, a plea to fight clean air regulations to keep CAP water cheap.
By the way – to find out more about the CAP, you need to go to http://www.cap-az.com – the URL in the article is not working.