The company is currently implementing a plan to invest approximately $5.4 billion in air pollution control retrofits to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and mercury. By the end of 2007, we had completed more than two-thirds of this program, which started in 2004. Additional investment will be required after the conclusion of this program in order to meet on-going requirements.
Reductions in the emission of NOx, SO2 and mercury are part of AEP’s ongoing strategy to comply with Clean Air Act requirements under the Title IV program, the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) and will assist in compliance with the Clean Air Mercury Rule
(CAMR). The plan also anticipates future requirements under the Clean Air Visibility Rule. Investments to retrofit advanced emission control technologies onto our existing power plants are a central element in AEP’s compliance strategy.
Flue gas desulfurization (FGD) systems - - more commonly known as “scrubbers” - - remove SO2 from flue gas streams, while NOx emissions are reduced by combustion controls such as low NOx burners (LNBs) and post-combustion controls such as selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology. Mercury reductions can be achieved with use of activated carbon injection.
