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Emissions Reduction
The first federal legislative effort to control air quality was the Air Quality Act of 1967. By 1970, Congress had strengthened the efforts to clean the air with passage of the Clean Air Act of 1970. By the early 1970s, New Mexico had set stricter regulations for sulfur dioxide than any existing federal regulation. In 1995, PNM decided to voluntarily replace the early pollution-control system with a limestone-forced oxidation scrubber system. From 1997 to 2004, San Juan Generating Station reduced its sulfur dioxide emissions by more than 60 percent. San Juan is certified as an ISO 14001 facility. Plant employees receive training about their environmental responsibilities every quarter, and their performance is monitored and measured on a regular basis. Environmental staff members have also created a unique scoring process to track their environmental performances. In March 2005, PNM announced that plant owners will invest $200 million in the next 10 years to further reduce mercury, particulate matter, nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide. The planned upgrades will make San Juan one of the first coal-fired plants in the nation to make a voluntary investment in mercury emissions-reduction technology. PNM's generation mix also includes sources with very low or no emissions. Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, which provides about 30 percent of PNM customers' electricity needs, burns no fossil fuels, thus it does not emit greenhouse gases. A very small amount of high-level nuclear waste — or nuclear fuel — is generated. PNM also purchases all of the energy from the New Mexico Wind Energy Center, a 204-megawatt wind facility near House, N.M. |
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