Author Archives: Jay Hudson

About Jay Hudson

Hudson is Santee Cooper’s manager of Environmental Management and has been with the state-owned utility since 1987. He serves on the American Public Power Association’s Clean Air Task Force, the New Generation Task Force and is co-chairman of the Large Public Power Council’s Environmental Task Force. Jay has published several articles on pollution topics, is a member of the American Chemical Society and is a registered Professional Engineer in South Carolina. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering and a Master of Engineering from the University of South Carolina with an emphasis in water resources and environmental engineering.

Natural Gas Does it Again!

Just a few days ago, an Indiana project where coal would be turned into synthetic gas, or syngas for short, was declared all but dead. This process provides the gas feedstock for what is known as Integrated Gas Combined Cycle … Continue reading

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Fuel Diversity is a Good Thing

This past week, the U.S. House Energy and Power Subcommittee held a hearing entitled “American Energy Security and Innovation: The Role of a Diverse Electricity Generation Portfolio,” where the future of America’s energy supply was discussed. Speakers representing public power, … Continue reading

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U.S. CO2 emissions near 1990 levels

An event that wasn’t even thought possible just a few years ago has occurred: U.S. CO2 emissions will be below 1992 levels in 2012. If the trend continues, U.S. CO2 emissions will fall below 1990 levels this year, which is … Continue reading

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Water for the future

Water. We take for granted that we will always have plenty of potable water. We cut on the tap and out it comes for cooking, bathing, drinking. We need water to survive, but we pay pennies per gallon — far … Continue reading

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Something we can all support

On August 2, Senators John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and Max Baucus (D-Mont.) introduced bipartisan legislation that would continue the beneficial use and secure proper disposal of coal combustion residuals, or CCRs. This legislation is meant to head off … Continue reading

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Goodbye Coal Pt. 2: Goodbye Reliable Electricity

In May, I wrote about the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed New Source Performance Standard (NSPS) for new coal fired units and how this will effectively end coal plant construction in the U.S. — even though we are sitting on over … Continue reading

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Goodbye Coal

On April 13, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed a “new source performance standard” of 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per megawatt-hour for base load power plants, including coal and natural gas. Any power plant coming on line after April 2013 … Continue reading

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Is it new or is it modified?

In February’s blog, I briefly discussed the Environmental Protection Agency’s recently released Mercury Air Toxics Standard (the “MATS” rule) and mentioned the effects those standards could have on existing base load generating units — such as forcing some older units … Continue reading

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Jobs continue to be an afterthought at EPA

The Environmental Protection Agency’s assault continues on coal-fired electric generation and the U.S. economy. In December 2011, the agency released the Mercury and Air Toxics Standard (MATS) rule — formerly known as the Maximum Achievable Control Technology Standard or “MACT” … Continue reading

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EPA’s CO2 Crusade Could Cost Customers Dearly

Late last month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released the Utility Air Toxics Rule — more commonly called the Utility MACT — which sets stringent standards for mercury, acid gases and other emissions from power plants. This rule will be … Continue reading

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EPA Slows Down on Two Critical Issues

In the past few months, some regulatory surprises have come out of Washington. First, the president announced the administration is instructing the Environmental Protection Agency to end reconsideration of the of the ozone air quality standard. Secondly, in a much … Continue reading

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