LG&E withdraws landfill permit application for Cane Run Station
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
As many in the community are aware, LG&E is moving forward with the construction of a natural gas combined-cycle unit at our Cane Run facility in southwest Jefferson County.
The new unit is intended to replace part of the generating capacity that will be lost through the retirement of coal-fired units at Cane Run, in addition to our Green River Generating Station in Central City, Ky. and Tyrone Station in Versailles, Ky. The reason we are moving to a natural gas unit, or NGCC, is due to more stringent Environmental Protection Agency regulations. The coal-fired units — representing more than 13 percent of our coal-fired fleet — are scheduled to be retired by the end of 2015.
With nearly all of the permits secured for the new NGCC, LG&E has withdrawn the Cane Run landfill permit application from the Division of Waste Management.
After studying the available space in the existing landfill, it was determined that on-site options will meet the storage needs until the NGCC is placed into operation. The withdrawal of the landfill permit application amounts to a savings of about $54 million, which was the estimated total capital cost of the proposed four-phase landfill expansion.
A mechanically stabilized earth wall — similar to those seen along expressways — will be installed to better utilize the remaining space within the existing landfill. No permit modification is necessary for this type of wall since it does not change the footprint of the existing landfill.
LG&E filed the landfill application in January 2010. It was designed to comply with the most stringent EPA standards. Plans included a protective liner with a leachate collection system, and it was expected to have been built in four phases, based on storage need.
Approvals or permits had already been obtained from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Kentucky Division of Water and the Kentucky Heritage Council. This latest development marks another milestone in the process of replacing part of the lost generation from Cane Run, Green River and Tyrone with natural gas.
The new unit is intended to replace part of the generating capacity that will be lost through the retirement of coal-fired units at Cane Run, in addition to our Green River Generating Station in Central City, Ky. and Tyrone Station in Versailles, Ky. The reason we are moving to a natural gas unit, or NGCC, is due to more stringent Environmental Protection Agency regulations. The coal-fired units — representing more than 13 percent of our coal-fired fleet — are scheduled to be retired by the end of 2015.
With nearly all of the permits secured for the new NGCC, LG&E has withdrawn the Cane Run landfill permit application from the Division of Waste Management.
After studying the available space in the existing landfill, it was determined that on-site options will meet the storage needs until the NGCC is placed into operation. The withdrawal of the landfill permit application amounts to a savings of about $54 million, which was the estimated total capital cost of the proposed four-phase landfill expansion.
A mechanically stabilized earth wall — similar to those seen along expressways — will be installed to better utilize the remaining space within the existing landfill. No permit modification is necessary for this type of wall since it does not change the footprint of the existing landfill.
LG&E filed the landfill application in January 2010. It was designed to comply with the most stringent EPA standards. Plans included a protective liner with a leachate collection system, and it was expected to have been built in four phases, based on storage need.
Approvals or permits had already been obtained from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Kentucky Division of Water and the Kentucky Heritage Council. This latest development marks another milestone in the process of replacing part of the lost generation from Cane Run, Green River and Tyrone with natural gas.
