LOUISVILLE — Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District holds a public hearing next Thursday, March 21, for a construction permit for LG&E Mill Creek Generating Station to authorize a new natural gas-fired combined cycle (NGCC) power generating unit. The proposal requires two coal-fired units be retired as part of the project.
It would include an auxiliary boiler, emergency generator, fuel gas heater, fire pump, cooling tower and associated activities at Mill Creek Station. The permit includes pollution limits, control device requirements, and testing and monitoring to verify compliance with all applicable air pollution regulations.
The Mill Creek Station is at 14460 Dixie Highway in southwestern Louisville.
The Kentucky Public Service Commission last year authorized Louisville Gas & Electric and Kentucky Utilities to build one 640 MW combined-cycle gas plant at Mill Creek and more than 1,000 MW of solar and energy storage by 2027. This authorization includes retiring 600 MW of aging coal generation and more than 50 MW of aging peaking units by 2027.
This proposed Metro Air Pollution District permit will result in a reduction of the following air pollution emission, according to the district. Because the project includes the retirement of two coal-fired units, there will be a 4,000 ton per year reduction of nitrogen oxides (NOx), a 1,000 ton per year reduction of sulfur dioxide (SO2), a 200 ton per year reduction of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and an 800,000 ton per year reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2). The project is projected to increase volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions by 11 tons per year.
LG&E entered into a Consent Decree to resolve an alleged violation in 2021 for excess sulfuric acid emissions that occurred prior to 2015 upgrades to air pollution control equipment at the facility, the district said..
Additional information including equipment descriptions, potential emissions and applicable rules are summarized in the Statement of Basis. The Draft Permit details the application of these rules to the equipment and includes the monitoring, recordkeeping, and reporting that the District believes is necessary to demonstrate compliance.
Drafts of the permit and summary are available on the District website, by emailing our permitting section, calling Matt King at (502) 574-6000, or at the District office 701 West Ormsby Avenue, Suite 303, Louisville, KY 40203, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Copies of the application are available upon request.
The public hearing is at 6 p.m. in the Edison Room at the Edison Center, 701 West Ormsby Avenue, 40203, and via video teleconference. A 60-day public comment period started on December 9, 2023, and ended on February 6, 2024.
This permitting action includes the site-specific Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) Plan included in Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control Board Order – Amendment 2, which was adopted by the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control Board on November 15, 2023.
