LCRA and Austin Energy, co-owners of FPP units 1 and 2, in March 2011 celebrated the completion of a five-year construction project to install scrubbers on each unit. The $400 million project is removing more than 95 percent of sulfur dioxide emissions from the two units. In addition, LCRA in spring 2012 completed upgrading the scrubber on Unit 3, which was included when the unit was built in 1988.

FPP has a long history of helping LCRA’s electric customers provide affordable, reliable and environmentally responsible power to more than 1 million Central Texans. The scrubbers help LCRA continue that tradition.

The emission-reduction equipment targets emissions of sulfur-dioxide. The new scrubbers also provide the added benefit of having the potential to remove up to 20 percent of mercury emissions from units 1 and 2, and will lead to significant reductions in particulate matter emissions from units 1 and 2.

LCRA is also in the process of installing technology to further reduce mercury emissions. The process will enable LCRA to meet new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Mercury and Air Toxics Standards for allowable limits of mercury and particulate matter. Particulate matter includes both solid particles and liquid droplets found in emissions. Once the project is complete, LCRA expects at least 80 percent of mercury will be removed from the flue-gas of each of the three coal-fired units at FPP. LCRA is on target to complete the project to meet the EPA compliance deadline of April 2015.

Residents and passers-by will see plumes of water vapor from the scrubber chimney for units 1 and 2 and the chimney for Unit 3. That means the scrubbers are doing their job of removing almost all of the sulfur dioxide emissions from the plant.

For more information about the scrubbers, read the news release.

Learn more about the Fayette Power Project.