Our view: Signs of progress in Lake Julian saga

In the best of worlds, Duke Power’s plant at Lake Julian will stop burning coal within four years. That would remove one of the major sources of air pollution in Western North Carolina. Also, it would assure that no more coal ash would be produced, lessening a threat to the French Broad River.

Under a bill that Gov. Pat McCrory allowed to become law without his signature, Duke must stop using water to carry away ash from coal turbines at the Lake Julian plant no later than the end of 2018. That leaves the utility with several options.

The cheapest would be to shutter the two coal units while continuing to operate the two gas-fired units, which now are used to meet peak demands. That also is the option that environmentalists favor.

“We have seven coal plants in the state that have come offline since 2007 and there hasn’t been a reduction in reliability and rates have not gone up as a result,” said local resident Kelly Martin, North Carolina representative for the Sierra Club’s “Beyond Coal” campaign.

“Duke has a decision in front of them. I hope they choose the decision that’s best for our quality of life and community,” Martin said.

But, would that leave the Asheville area, which already imports electricity, short of sufficient power to keep its homes, businesses and industry humming? The situation is complicated by the fact that the Lake Julian plant is relatively isolated from the state’s power grid.

“Those conversations are ongoing right now,” Duke spokesman Scott Sutton said. “It really is a complex jigsaw puzzle.”

Alternatively, Duke could switch to a “dry ash” disposal process. That would cost millions of dollars and, while making the ash pits safer, would not lessen air pollution.

Environmentalists do not believe this is necessary, and that Duke will be able to handle demand from other sources. “It does not make sense to throw good money after bad,” said D.J. Gerken, a local attorney involved in coal-ash litigation.

Those other sources, in addition to importing fossil-fuel power, include more use of renewable energy sources and conservation programs.

A long-shot solution would be to convert the coal-fired units to use natural gas. Besides the expense involved, that would necessitate construction of a larger gas pipeline into the mountains. That pipeline also would facilitate the changeover to gas at the Champion Paper mill in Canton.

The environmental benefits from phasing out coal at Lake Julian are substantial. While emissions have been reduced a lot since scrubbers were installed, the plant still puts out more than 90 percent of the nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide from stationary sources in Buncombe, said Ashley Featherstone of the Western North Carolina Regional Air Quality Agency.

Those gases contribute to smog and formation of ozone, a lung irritant. In addition, nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide are greenhouse gases, which contribute to global warming. The Lake Julian plant is the largest single emitter of greenhouse gases in Western North Carolina, Martin said.

Another question that must be resolved in any case is disposal of the coal ash in two ponds at Lake Julian. Some four million tons will be used as fill at Asheville Regional Airport, but two million tons will remain at the plant.

Duke could install liners and a leakage-capture system in the two existing ponds, move the ash elsewhere or find another fill project. Duke has not yet decided on options, Sutton said.

We would prefer that the ash were moved farther from any waterways. And we believe emphatically that the coal-fired units at Lake Julian must be phased out.