C.O.G.E.N.T. (Connection for Oil, Gas & Environment) reported last Sunday IMGmidstream has applied for DEP permits for four more small electric facilities bringing the total in Bradford County to 7 plants and Niles Valley Energy LLC has proposed another plant in Charleston Township, Tioga County bringing the total there to three. 

The new Bradford County power plants are proposed to be located in Wilmot, Granville, Litchfield and Stevens townships.

There are 14 proposed or located in the Northern Tier Region in all.   These 14 plants will generate an approximately just over 300MW of electricity, according to C.O.G.E.N.T.

These new small plants generate approximately 22MW of electricity each.  They would be much more efficient if they utilized the waste heat option, according to C.O.G.E.N.T., but in most of the IMG proposed locations -- they don't. 

Eight of these small plants will generate nearly the same emissions as the Panda Liberty Plant in Wysox yet, these combined facilities do not follow the same scrutiny by the DEP in regards to evaluations to protect our air quality.  

Further, eight facilities will only produced about 18-19 percent of the electricity of Panda Liberty, yet for nearly the same  air emissions.  This is not protective of our air quality.

There is no public information available to compare the efficiency of the quantity of natural gas used to generate a MW of electricity from either the Panda or smaller IMG facilities.  However, wise practice would indicate that the resource be conserved - using the best technology to generate electricity for the least amount of natural gas, along with the least amount of air emissions.  Which of these methods will do that?  

We are not contrary to natural gas generating electricity.  We fully expect power plants to be located within our region - based alone on the close proximity of the resource, natural gas.  However, we should be benefiting from the best technology, the best utilization of the resource in the process. 

We should also have the benefit of more detailed information concerning our regional air quality.  One part of that, is the DEP locating fully operating weather stations in each of our five counties. 

There is no provision for this in the governor's current severance tax proposal.  Is this eating cake?  Well, not for our Region.  We need weather stations so the DEP is able to have a better understanding what is happening with our Regional air quality - where unlike the state as a whole is improving -- here, we are having quite the opposite effect.

For more information, join the C.O.G.E.N.T. Google+ circle or visit the C.O.G.E.N.T.   website.

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10/12/2015