Alcoa will upgrade Warrick plant
By Nathan Blackford-Warrick Publishing OnlineAlcoa Warrick Operations will, over a five-year period, invest approximately $330 million in improvements to its power plant intended to significantly reduce air pollution, increase power efficiency and lower costs.
Company officials made the announcement last week, saying the planned investment will include new scrubber units on all four boiler units in the power plant, boiler modifications to provide greater fuel flexibility and new and improved coal handling facilities.
Alan Cransberg, Alcoa's President of Primary Metals, North America, called the $330 million a large investment for the company, and added that without the planned upgrade, the future of the 45-year-old Warrick facility would have been in jeopardy.
"This investment will secure the future of this plant for many, many years," said Cransberg. "With each smelter, we have to make the decision whether we continue to invest, or whether we shut them down. We have made the choice here to continue to invest."
The move, approved by Alcoa's Board of Directors, means the plant will likely remain viable for the next three to four decades, said Bob Wetherbee, the President of Alcoa's Rigid Packaging Division.
"The commitment that the board of directors has made to the Warrick facility is something that we will be able to take to our customers to demonstrate that we are in this for the long term," said Wetherbee. "This allows us to serve our customers with what we believe to be the best beverage package in the world--the aluminum can--but in new and innovative ways."
Alcoa had recently been named, in a report entitled "Dirty Kilowatts," as one of the worst-polluting power plants in the United States. That 742-megawatt, coal-fired power plant is used almost exclusively to power the plant's 309,000 metric ton per year primary aluminum smelter and ingot, rolling and fabricating operations.
The new emission controls will, say Alcoa officials, reduce Sulfur Dioxide emissions by 98 percent, particulate matter by 87 percent, Hydrochloric Acid by 99 percent, Mercury by 60 percent and Sulfuric Acid by 50 percent.
The new controls will also reduce wastewater by six to eight million gallons per day.
"We know that as an organization, we must meet our environmental responsibilities," said Cransberg. "We take that very seriously. We have challenged ourselves to do more than just meet environmental legislation."
The new pollution controls are intended to help Warrick County, as well as surrounding counties, more easily meet air standards--of both ozone and particulate matter--set by the federal and state governments.
"Governor Daniels and I are both very happy about this announcement," said Tom Easterly, the Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. "We'd like to thank Alcoa for making this substantial investment in the economy and the environment."
John Blair, with the local environmental and public health group Valley Watch, called the announcement by Alcoa some of the best news he'd heard in many years.
"Certainly, this is a huge investment, and the fact that it is going to allow Alcoa to continue to operate is really a positive thing for the community," said Blair. "I don't know that it will be environmentally perfect, but this is such a huge step. This is something that needed to be done, and it is a very positive thing."
Vectren, which owns a portion of the Warrick power plant, has also committed approximately $68 million to the renovation and expansion project, bringing the total to nearly $400 million.
Vectren President and CEO Neil Ellerbrook called the project "consistent with Vectren's environmental stewardship strategy."
Alcoa first announced plans to build a plant along the Ohio River in Warrick County in 1956. The first metal was poured in 1960, and the first fabricated products were shipped in 1964.
The new investment could create as many as 500 construction jobs on the Alcoa site. In addition, more than 25 new, permanent employees will be needed to run the system after it becomes operational.
"The Warrick Operations team has worked very hard to earn this investment," said Cransberg. "We don't make these investments lightly. If we didn't believe that we had the workforce, the management and the community support here, we would not be making this investment."
Matt Hemenway, the Business Representative of the IBEW Local 702, also praised Alcoa for making a substantial investment in the local economy.
"This announcement is going to mean good paying jobs for Warrick County and the surrounding Counties," said Hemenway. "It also means there will be electric energy for years to come and a stable future for the employees here at Warrick Operations."
Construction is slated to begin immediately and continue through 2010. The first emissions controls are scheduled to go on line in the first quarter of 2008.
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