Alameda Journal

June 29, 2004

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Greenaction

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PUB to hold meeting on trash burning energy study

By Susan Fuller, STAFF WRITER

If Alameda does nothing to boost its supply of electricity, the city will run short of power next year.

That's why Alameda Power & Telecom is looking at new means of production, including the controversial "municipal solid waste gasification." That method involves burning garbage in a controlled environment to produce combustible gases that would be burned to generate electricity.

Don't do it, say environmental activists with San Francisco-based Greenaction. Such a plant, like the medical waste incinerator on Oakland's High Street that Greenaction shut down in late 2001, emits extremely dangerous dioxins and other pollutants, said Bradley Angel, executive director of the environmental justice organization.

The Public Utilities Board, which has commissioned a study of the technology, will hold a town hall meeting on the issue tonight.

Advanced Energy Strategies, the consultant that prepared the report, found that solid waste gasification is a viable technology, however, combining its three stages into a single process isn't completely mature. To protect itself from risk, the city shouldn't build such a project until the technology has demonstrated its reliability, according to the report.

" Alameda has to make the decision whether or not we want to be among the first to capitalize on this technology," said AP&T spokesman Matt McCabe. "A lot of questions remain -- siting, sizing, economics and assurance that the plant will meet our standards for cleanliness and environmental responsiveness, which could be higher than state standards."

" We're hoping they will decide that gasification isn't realistic or desirable for many reasons," Angel said. He charged that AP&T learning and evaluation processes are dominated by the waste and incinerator industries.

" We can confront them with Brightstar's statement that there is pollution emitted from their gasification plant," Angel said. Brightstar, An Australian firm, is one of the companies consulted in the Advanced Energy Strategies report.

" We're not just saying don't do something bad," Angel said. "We're saying let's work together in a transparent public process. We hope (electricity needs) can be met through true conservation."

AP&T is in talks with the Northern California Power Agency, which provides electricity to many municipal utilities, to acquire power from two renewable sources, wind and landfill gas that is already being emitted and burned, McCabe said.

If those negotiations are successful, Alameda would have enough electricity to get to 2011. The other alternative is purchasing power on the open market, but that can be expensive, McCabe said.

" We want to be sure we have power and also want to maintain other goals, like economical power," he said.

Alameda will need five megawatts in 2005 and another 30 in 2020 to meet increased demand. The city currently uses 55 to 70 megawatts and will lose more than 11 megawatts at the end of this year because of a change in the contract with one of the city's suppliers.

AP&T budgeted $500,000 over multiple years to study ways to meet that need.

SPEAK OUT

The Public Utilities Board will hold a public forum tonight at 7 in the council chamber of City Hall, 2263 Santa Clara Ave., to discuss its report on using garbage as the fuel in a new power plant.