Luminent Technology, which is owned by National Conglomerate Energy Future Holdings, has negotiated a deal to avoid a lawsuit with the Sierra Club over two cheap and quick to build coal fired electric generation facilities that are almost ready to go on-line in Oak Grove, Texas. For those of y'all that don't know where Oak Grove is located, it is about due southwest of the DFW Metroplex. Further - why should you care if you live in the DFW Metroplex? Well, years ago I remember hearing a bunch of funny stories about the forming Southwest Airlines to be based out of DFW's Love Field. I distinctly recall "getting it" when the hint about it's new name was to associate the airlines with the prevailing wind's in this part of North Texas... not just that it was to target the southwest geographic flying populace
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Yup - the prevailing winds in this area are from the southwest, folks. And, as a matter of fact, there are a number of former TXU power plants a bit shy of a hundred miles southwest of DFW and they are currently a primary source of coal fired generator pollution that wafts up and spreads into DFW from Oak Grove almost daily; thus contributing in no small measure to the brown haze and often cause the blowing of our irritated noses having breathed the mercury, sulfur dioxide, other irritants and carcinogens and carbon dioxide these cheap and profitable coal plants produce; that we enjoy the electrical "benefits of" every day. I for one would like a moratorium on all coal fired construction - You might get my support if there were a TPUC clause agreement to the affect that guarantees that Luminent MUST also grid tie two Megawatts of solar cells or wind turbine energy for every one Megawatt a mercury scrub capable coal plant will make... That's for starters, just to put a fine point on it. Who know, North Texas might even deserve it green progressive self-proclamation if the pollution index were ever to actually go down a significant amount.
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Here's the full online version of the story:
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