Oakland Tribune

Wednesday, June 30th, 2004

For more information, contact:

Bradley Angel Greenaction

(415) 248-5010

Alameda 'gas' plant proposal draws fire

Power agency hears critics of proposal to turn garbage into electricity

By John Geluardi
CORRESPONDENT

ALAMEDA -- The Public Utilities Board got an earful Tuesday from concerned community members who oppose a proposal to build a gasification plant that would convert garbage into electricity.

At issue is a $500,000, 155-page study that analyzed the feasibility of building such a plant of which there is currently no working example. According to the theory, the plant would heat organic waste materials such as paper and some plastics to temperatures as high as 1,650 degrees. The heated materials would be transformed into a synthetic gas, or "syngas," which would then be used to fuel traditional electricity-generating turbines.

Although the proposal is only in the exploratory stage, it has already generated a great deal of opposition. About 55 people from Alameda, Oakland and San Lean-
dro attended the meeting. Of the 21 speakers who addressed the utility board, the vast majority opposed the project.

Most speakers said they would be against the plant because gasification emits toxins such as dioxin, mercury and sulfur trioxides. They also claimed the plant would require large quantities of waste materials to function and would reduce the amount of materials currently being recycled. Such a plan conflicts with the spirit of Measure D, which mandates California communities achieve a 50 percent recycling rate.

One of the sites kicked around as a possible location is the Davis Street Transfer Station in San Leandro because of the existing supply of garbage. San Leandro Mayor Shelia Young has voiced strong opposition to the project and was the first to address the Alameda PUB.

" For the record, the city of San Leandro does not and will not support the construction of a gasification plant anywhere in San Leandro," she said. "There is no site in San Leandro where such a facility would not have significantly detrimental impacts to our residential community."

Other speakers who expressed concerns about the proposal included Pamela Evans, a senior hazardous materials specialist with the Alameda County Health Agency, and Bradley Angel, executive director of the San Francisco-based Greenaction.

Oakland resident David Gassman said residents of Oakland and San Leandro are "mortified" at the prospect of a gasification plant. "What you are proposing reminds me of the medieval alchemists who hoped to transform lead into gold," he said.

But Alameda Power and Telecom officials and members of Advanced Energy Strategies, which prepared the study, said Alameda is anticipating an energy shortfall over the next 10 years because of major residential and retail developments on the horizon.

According to AP&T spokesman Bill Garvine, gasification could provide as much as 20 percent of Alameda's electricity needs. "Gasification is an emerging technology, and with the responsibility of providing Alameda's future electricity needs, we thought maybe we ought to look at the possibility of constructing a plant," he said. "That's why we commissioned the study." Garvine pointed out no decisions have been made on developing a gasification plant, and the proposal is only in an exploratory stage.

AP&T, which is a municipally owned power company, currently uses renewable energy sources, such as geothermal, hydroelectric and solar, to provide 80 percent of the electricity used on the Island. In comparison, California has set a goal of reaching 20 percent renewable energy resources by 2017.