TAMPA, December 5, 2003
By WILL RODGERS
Published: Dec 5, 2003
Mowing your lawn may some day help Tampa Electric Co. keep the air clean while providing power for your home. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection granted permission Thursday for TECO to test Bahiagrass as a fuel to generate electricity at the Polk Power Station, said Ross Bannister, Tampa Electric spokesman.
In January, Tampa Electric plans to burn 60 tons of Bahiagrass grown and harvested on the 4,300-acre plant site along State Road 37 near Mulberry. After drying, the grass will be ground and mixed with the pulverized coal typically used to fuel one of the generators at the power station.
"It's a test," Bannister said. "We're not sure if we can maintain this, but it's certainly worth taking a look at."
The project is part of TECO's ongoing effort to continue producing electricity while reducing power-plant air pollution.
Since 2000, the utility has offered the Smart Source Renewable Energy program, where customers can sign up to pay $5 per month and TECO will generate a portion of its power from cleaner, renewable energy sources. The program has reduced TECO's coal use by 700 tons, Bannister said.
Grass is part of a group of plant materials known as biomass, considered a renewable energy source that reduces air emissions and greenhouse gases released from traditional fuel sources such as oil and coal.
But there's a long way to go before such practices will have a significant impact. Electricity generated from burning biomass represents 1.5 percent of the power produced nationally from January through August of this year, according to data from the Energy Information Administration in Washington.
TECO tested biomass, about 10 tons of crushed eucalyptus, in 2001 with some success, but the material requires more testing, Bannister said.
"The more that [people] participate, the more we can try these types of projects out," he said. "Bahiagrass is fast growing, grows well. Who knows how much we potentially can blend into the fuel stream."
TECO's coming test project is timely, according to Holly Binns, clean air and energy advocate for the Florida Public Interest Research Group.
Her group and the National Environmental Trust released a study Thursday ranking Florida the fourth-worst state for toxic emissions - mercury, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide - from power plants.
Binns said that she has talked to TECO officials extensively and that the utility has vowed its commitment to reducing pollutants from its power plants.
More analysis would be needed on what TECO burns now and the fuels biomass might replace. But burning biomass, if it is continued, would be good for the air in the Tampa Bay area, she said.
"The bottom line is it should have a net positive impact. How much of a positive impact remains to be seen," Binns said.
Reporter Will Rodgers can be reached at (813) 259-7870
