LCRA is gearing up to begin construction of a 525-foot-tall chimney as part of an effort to install pollution-control "scrubbers" on units 1 and 2 of the Fayette Power Project.
 
Work on the foundation for the chimney project began in the spring 2007. The new chimney will be a visible feature on the horizon for people passing FPP near La Grange on U.S. Highway 71. Completion of both scrubbers is expected in 2010.

The scrubbers are part of LCRA’s and the City of Austin's commitment to continue reducing sulfur-dioxide emissions from the coal-fired plant as part of its flexible air-quality permit approved by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. 

The co-owners of Fayette Power Project units 1 and 2 -- LCRA and the City of Austin -- are spending approximately $360 million to cut emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and other pollutants. The scrubbers will reduce SO2 emissions from the two units by approximately 97 percent. Separately, a project to lower nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions was completed in 2005, lowering NOx emissions plantwide by about 70 percent.

FPP has three units in all. Unit 3 -- which is owned by LCRA -- already has SO2 controls in place, making it an extremely clean-burning unit.
 
For more information, contact project manager Gregor Forbes at 1-800-776-5272, Ext. 2697.

Learn more about the Fayette Power Project.