skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

The Real Cost of Pollution Controls for San Juan Generating Station?

play audio
Play

Tuesday, August 9, 2011   

FARMINGTON, N.N. - The San Juan Generating Station near Farmington was built nearly 40 years ago, and Friday the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ruled that the coal-fired plant should be retrofitted with new technology to reduce the smog and air pollution it emits. Plant co-owner PNM Resources contends the cost would be prohibitive, at a billion dollars.

David Van Winkle, energy chair for the Rio Grande chapter of the Sierra Club, says the EPA's estimate for the retrofit is only $345 million.

"PNM talks about this billion-dollar cost, but the cost to New Mexicans is really more likely to be 160 million dollars. "

That figure represents the percentage of the plant PNM owns. Van Winkle says that, no matter what the cost, the company will likely ask for another rate increase.

"We've seen rate increases of 25 percent, and they currently have in front of the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission another 20 percent rate increase. When you multiply those two together, you have a 50 percent increase in just a few years."

The company plans to appeal the ruling, saying the EPA bypassed an alternative technology approved by the state that would meet the same federal visibility rules for a tenth of the cost.

Van Winkle says if PNM is concerned about costs, it should also consider a transition to generating cleaner energy.






get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …

Many factors affect a customer's bill amount, including energy usage, weather, and the number of days in a billing period, according to Arizona Public Service. (Jason Yoder/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021