Since the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality plans its own such program, NRG Texas Power LLC sent a brief June 19 letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 6 office withdrawing an air permit application for a gas-fired power project.
NRG Texas Power applied in February 2013 at Region 6 for a prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) greenhouse gas (GHG) permit. The Texas commission issues PSD permits for non-GHG emissions, but up to now hasn’t been issuing the GHG variety.
This permitting covers new gas-fired peaking capacity at the P.H. Robinson Electric Generating Station in Bacliff, Galveston County, Texas. NRG Texas proposes to add six simple cycle generating units to be used for peaking purposes only. These are existing units that will be relocated and installed at the site. The units are General Electric 7B combustion turbines that have been modified to include 7E components. Each of the six units has an ISO rating of 65 MW but is capable of a nominal maximum capacity of about 80 MW. The turbines will be fired exclusively with natural gas.
The proposed gas turbines are currently installed at an existing electric generating station in Mississippi, the company said. The turbines were originally manufactured in the 1970s as Frame 7B turbines. In the 1998/1999 period the turbines were remanufactured and converted to Frame 7E turbines, which include dry low NOx (DLN) combustor technology. The turbines were put into operation as peakers at the current New Albany, Miss., location at that time.
