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Thank you for your interest in getting the facts about Catoctin
Power. We hope the information here helps to answer any questions
you might have, while providing a greater understanding of
the partnership we are proposing between Sempra Generation,
Eastalco and the residents of Frederick County, Md.
Please note that many of the questions featured in this section
are questions you have asked us directly through community
meetings. We welcome more of your questions and comments.
Feel free to submit
more questions you may have about this proposed project.
Again, we welcome your feedback.
Last updated on August 24, 2004.
Water quality
- What will happen to the Frederick
County water system?
What impact will we see?
If current effluent water is available, the project won't
require a major amount of extra fresh water resources. Using
wastewater should lessen impacts to the Frederick County
water system.
- What's the quality of the discharged
water?
Water discharge from power plants contains the same
elements that were in the water when it was received at
the plant, but at slightly higher concentrations due to
evaporation.
We haven't had any problems meeting water-discharge standards
with other projects, and we don't expect any here. Also,
the permitting process will require that water discharge
from the project meet all applicable water-quality standards.
Click
here to view the application for the permit to discharge
wastewater to sanitary sewer.
To learn more about water quality, see the 5/13/04 Community Meeting Presentation.
- Has the water issue been resolved
with the county?
Based on a May 27, 2004, Board of County Commissioners meeting,
Frederick County officials are developing a "concept
plan"for the use of county effluent. A preliminary
report was due on at a July 12, 2004, public forum in Frederick.
- How much water will the plant
use on a 90-degree day? Can you estimate Catoctin Power's
average daily water requirement?
The plant will use about 4.0 million gallons of water per
day on a 90-degree day at maximum plant output. The average
daily water requirement for Catoctin Power will total about
2.5 million gallons per day.
- If the treated waste (gray)
water is not available what will Catoctin
Power do?
The state has asked for an alternative analysis if effluent
isn't made available. Throughout this process, we have stated
our preference to use treated effluent for Catoctin Power's
water supply. We have also stated that we would need to
withdraw from the Potomac River if we can't obtain treated
effluent from Frederick County.
- What will you do with the
discharge water and what kind of materials will
it contain?
The materials in the water at its source will be the same
materials in the discharge water. Due to the evaporation
of the water in the cooling process, these materials will
become more concentrated. We will discharge this water in
accordance with all regulatory requirements.
- How often can we expect to
see a plume from the cooling towers?
The cooling towers will have plume-abatement technology.
The amount of plume varies based on the cooling-tower design,
but the industry has used 40 feet for 5 percent of daytime
hours in the winter. Given the local climate, a visible
plume more than 40 feet above the cooling-tower height would
occur mostly at night or in the early morning.
Cooling technologies
- What are 'wet' and 'dry' cooling,
and why is Catoctin Power using
'wet cooling'?
In a power plant, you must cool the steam that is produced
and used to generate electricity back into water for reuse.
In a "wet-cooled" plant, water is used to cool
the steam. In a "dry-cooled" plant, air is used
to cool the steam.
A wet-cooling process has a number of major pluses compared
to a dry-cooling process, including much lower capital and
operating costs, lower noise levels and much greater operating
efficiency, which means lower power-plant emissions than
dry cooling. Wet cooling uses more water than a dry-cooled
plant.
Wet cooling is used where the water supply is large enough.
Both the U.S. EPA and the Electric Power Research Institute
have found that wet cooling is the best technology for plants
like Catoctin Power. Where possible, wet cooling plants
are using nonpotable water to preserve "fresh"
water for other water users who can't or who don't want
to use nonpotable or recycled water sources. Catoctin Power
proposes to use nonpotable water sources for power-plant
cooling.
- What are the drawbacks and benefits
of wet-cooling vs. dry-cooling technology at power plants?
- Dry cooling most often requires
a much larger structure and is much more more visible
than a wet-cooling tower.
- Dry cooling is most often noisier
than wet cooling.
- Dry cooling most often uses 90
percent less water than wet cooling.
- Dry cooling causes the plant to
work less efficiently and requires more burning of fuel
than a wet-cooled plant, chiefly in the summer heat. This
creates more air emissions. Due to these inefficiencies,
dry-cooled plants are also more costly to run and build
that wet-cooling systems.
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