On Wednesday Talen Energy and the Sierra Club announced an agreement that will require the Brunner Island Power Plant to operate on natural gas during the summer ozone season-- May 1 to September 30-- starting on January 1, 2023 and cease coal operations after December 28, 2028.

The agreement does allow for use of coal during the ozone season before December 31, 2028, subject to limits on annual CO2 and ozone season NOx emissions, as well as during emergencies, as determined by the operator of the electric grid, PJM Interconnection, after December 31, 2028. The Brunner Island station currently has dual-fuel capability, which means it can operate on coal, natural gas or in combination.

Brunner Island received a DEP Air Quality permit in 2015, renewed in 2017, to operate the power plant on natural gas as well as coal.

The agreement will be memorialized in a Consent Decree, filed concurrently with a court Complaint filed by the Sierra Club.  The Consent Decree will be reviewed and approved by the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania and fully resolves all of the Sierra Club's claims against Brunner Island.

(Photo: Brunner Island Power Plant, York Dispatch 2016)

NewsClips:

Sisk: Agreement: Brunner Island Power Plant Will Move From Coal To Natural Gas

Crable: Brunner Island Power Plant To Phase Out Coal In Settlement With Environmental Group

York Haven’s Brunner Island Agrees To Stop Burning Coal

[Posted: Feb. 16, 2018]

2/19/2018