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San Miguel Electric Cooperative is an operating power station of at least 410-megawatts (MW) in Jourdanton, Atascosa, Texas, United States.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| San Miguel Electric Cooperative | Jourdanton, Atascosa, Texas, United States | 28.704397, -98.477428 (exact) |
The map below shows the exact location of the power station.
Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):
- Unit 1: 28.704397, -98.477428
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | Start year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | operating | coal: lignite | 410 | subcritical | 1982 |
Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details
| Unit name | Owner | Parent |
|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | San Miguel Electric Cooperative Inc [100%] | San Miguel Electric Cooperative Inc [100.0%] |
Legal challenge over pollution control at 8 Texas coal plants
In October 2022, the Environment Integrity Project and the Sierra Club filed legal action against the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over the effective exemption of 8 coal plants from fine particle pollution control standards.[1] According to the lawsuit, the EPA failed to approve an amendment to Texas' State Implementation Plan (SIP) for the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. By neither approving nor rejecting the new SIP by the statutory deadline, the coal power stations were free to continue emitting dangerous levels of pollution for “for hundreds and in some cases thousands of hours each year.”[2]
The legal action was targeted at 8 coal plants: Pirkey Power Plant, Fayette Power Project, Martin Lake Steam Station, Limestone Generating Station, San Miguel Electric Cooperative, Harrington Station, Gibbons Creek Steam Station, and Oklaunion Power Station.[3]
EPA Emissions Data
- 2002 CO2 Emissions: 3,589,409 tons [4]
- 2002 SO2 Emissions: 13,173 tons [5]
- 2002 NOx Emissions: 7,120 tons [6]
- 2006 Mercury Emissions: 287 pounds [7]
Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from San Miguel Electric Cooperative
In 2010, Abt Associates issued a study commissioned by the Clean Air Task Force, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization, quantifying the deaths and other health effects attributable to fine particle pollution from coal-fired power plants.[8] Fine particle pollution consists of a complex mixture of soot, heavy metals, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides. Among these particles, the most dangerous are those less than 2.5 microns in diameter, which are so tiny that they can evade the lung's natural defenses, enter the bloodstream, and be transported to vital organs. Impacts are especially severe among the elderly, children, and those with respiratory disease. The study found that over 13,000 deaths and tens of thousands of cases of chronic bronchitis, acute bronchitis, asthma, congestive heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, dysrhythmia, ischemic heart disease, chronic lung disease, and pneumonia each year are attributable to fine particle pollution from U.S. coal plant emissions. These deaths and illnesses are major examples of coal's external costs, i.e. uncompensated harms inflicted upon the public at large. Low-income and minority populations are disproportionately impacted as well, due to the tendency of companies to avoid locating power plants upwind of affluent communities. To monetize the health impact of fine particle pollution from each coal plant, Abt assigned a value of $7,300,000 to each 2010 mortality, based on a range of government and private studies. Valuations of illnesses ranged from $52 for an asthma episode to $440,000 for a case of chronic bronchitis.[9]
Table 1: Death and disease attributable to fine particle pollution from San Miguel Electric Cooperative
| Type of Impact | Annual Incidence | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths | 5 | $40,000,000 |
| Heart attacks | 8 | $880,000 |
| Asthma attacks | 110 | $6,000 |
| Hospital admissions | 4 | $92,000 |
| Chronic bronchitis | 4 | $1,600,000 |
| Asthma ER visits | 6 | $2,000 |
Source: "Find Your Risk from Power Plant Pollution," Clean Air Task Force interactive table, accessed February 2011
Toxic Waste Data
Environmental Protection Agency Toxic Release Inventory: San Miguel Electric Cooperative[10]
- Chromium Waste: 28,472.1 pounds
- Air Release: 13.1 pounds
- Land Release (Land Treatment/Surface Impoundment): 28,459 pounds
- Dioxin Waste: 5.35 grams
- Air Release: 5.35 grams
- Lead Waste: 52,259.2 pounds
- Air Release: 1,452.2 pounds
- Land Release (Land Treatment/Surface Impoundment): 50,807 pounds
- Mercury Waste: 1,341 pounds
- Land Release (Land Treatment/Surface Impoundment): 1,054 pounds
- Nickel Waste: 19,409.1 pounds
- Air Release: 9.1 pounds
- Land Release (Land Treatment/Surface Impoundment): 19,380 pounds
- Selenium Waste: 20,787.1 pounds
- Air Release: 10.1 pounds
- Land Release (Land Treatment/Surface Impoundment): 20,777 pounds
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ "Coal-fired plants in Texas bypassing pollution controls, lawsuit says", Reuters, October 11, 2022
- ↑ "Environmental Integrity Project v. Michael Regan: Civil Action No. 1:22-cv-3063", United States District Court for the District of Columbia, filed October 10, 2022
- ↑ "Environmental Groups Sue EPA Over Pollution From Eight Texas Coal Plants", Environmental Integrity Project, October 10, 2022
- ↑ "Carbon Monitoring for Action: San Miguel Electric Co. Data". Center for Global Democracy.
- ↑ "Criteria Air Pollutants: San Miguel Electric Co Data". Environmental Protection Agency.
- ↑ "Criteria Air Pollutants: San Miguel Electric Co Data". Environmental Protection Agency.
- ↑ Environmental Protection Agency. "Toxic Release Inventory: San Miguel Electric Co Data". Right to Know Network.
- ↑ "The Toll from Coal: An Updated Assessment of Death and Disease from America's Dirtiest Energy Source," Clean Air Task Force, September 2010.
- ↑ "Technical Support Document for the Powerplant Impact Estimator Software Tool," Prepared for the Clean Air Task Force by Abt Associates, July 2010
- ↑ Toxic Release Inventory: San Miguel Electric Co Data, Environmental Protection Agency, reporting year 2022
Additional data
To access additional data, including an interactive map of coal-fired power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
