October 18, 2007
Toquop Draft Environmental Impact Statement Ready for Review

By Dave Maxwell

Photo by Dave Maxwell
Tom Johns, explaining about the Sithe Global Toquop power plant project.

Thomas Johns, Senior Vice President of Sithe Global, from Houston, Texas, was on hand at the Lincoln County Commissioners meeting Monday to report that the EIS for the Toquop Energy project is now available for public review and comment through December 11, 2007.

The Bureau of Land Management has scheduled a series of five public meetings in Caliente, Mesquite, Las Vegas, Reno and St. George. At these meetings, the public will be able to gather information on the Draft EIS, ask questions of technical experts and learn about commenting on the document. The first meeting will be held in Caliente, November 5, from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Caliente Youth Center. Other meeting dates are November 6 in St. George at the Dixie Convention Center, November 7 in Mesquite at City Hall, November 8 in Las Vegas at the Cora Coleman Senior Center and November 13 in Reno at the Best Western Airport Plaza Hotel. A BLM presentation will be given at 4:30 p.m. and again at 5:30 p.m. at each meeting.

The proposed coal-fired power plant is planned for construction on a 640-acre parcel approximately 12 miles northwest of Mesquite. The plant would be constructed on the same site and in the same place as a proposed gas-fired power plant that was considered, but abandoned in 2003. The BLM determined that new components associated with coal-fired power warranted the preparation of an updated EIS. Some of the differences between the 2003 gas-fired plant and the currently proposed coal-fired plant include a decrease in plant capacity from 1,100 megawatts to 750 megawatts, a different and larger site plan to accommodate the coal and coal handling facilities, a 31-mile-long rail line for transporting coal to the plant site, and different air emissions than those studied for the gas-fired plant in 2003.

The plant would require up to 2,500-acre feet of water annually and would be supplied by existing water rights purchased via the Lincoln County Water District. The water supply and pipeline were addressed in the previous EIS. The Toquop project would interconnect with existing 350Kv and 500Kv transmission lines that have already been studied.

Johns told the Commissioners that his company, Sithe Global, expects to have all of the permits for the project by early 2008 and “be in a position to begin construction in the third quarter of 2008.”

He said even with Sen. Harry Reid’s outspoken opposition to any more coal-fired power plants, John said, “We’re keeping our heads down and keeping the project moving forward.” He said Sithe Global “supports Senator Reid in his concern for renewables, but our position is that renewables by themselves, frankly, aren’t going to be enough to keep the lights on with the growth rates that we’re having in Southern Nevada especially when you look at the age of some of the existing power plants that are going to be retired.”

Another issue that comes into play is the fact that solar energy is about twice as expensive to produce as coal. “Wind is less expensive that solar,” Johns said, “But wind is really a non-predictable resource. Sometimes the wind blows, sometimes it doesn’t.”

Johns said Sithe Global has also been looking at developing a combination of solar power along with the coal-fired plant at the Toquop project, which would allow them to fully utilize their entire 640-acre site. He said the plant would produce much less pollution than the Reed-Gardner plant at Glendale.

Construction of the $1.4 billion plant Johns said, will last about 4-and-a-half years, averaging a labor force of about 800 people. “At peak employment, about months 16 to 35, there will probably be well over a thousand people working on the project site,” he said. When the plant finally goes into operation, he said, it will employ about 130 full-time workers, with 30-50 doing contract and seasonal type work.

For those who would like more information about the project, the website is www.toquopenergyproject.com and the BLM website is www.toquopenergy.com.