Woods & Wetlands Power Plant Information

There's more. Unlike the situation in California, the chart below shows ComEd's assurance that they presently have contracts to cover a "one year in ten" hot summer. The chart also reveals an additional 50% supply beyond that from new, fully operational peaker power plants. As if that weren't enough, Illinois EPA has already issued an additional 50% increase beyond that in peaker power plant permits. 

So by this time next year we could have twice as much power as we could possibly use without spending a dime of public money on coal plants, and without even changing light bulbs. Conservation measures like efficient lights, air conditioners and refrigerators could reduce our demand by 25%, pushing the excess to almost three times. So what are all of these extra plants going to do their extra energy? The Bush Cheney plan calls for new transmission lines to make it easier to ship it our of Illinois, using up our fresh water, and leaving only the air pollution behind.

Undoubtedly exiting Illinois EPA Director Tom Skinner drew the attention of the Bush administration for his eagerness to approve so many peaker power plant permits using lax air quality (NOx waiver) standards, not to mention on-the-fly permitting. Bush just promoted him to head the entire central US EPA region 5, where he can preside over the transmission "problem."

Illinois’ Electric Power Demand & Supply
Demand
ComEd's expected peak for a "one year in ten"  hot summer: Larry Leonard, ComEd's director of energy acquisition. March 19, 2001	23,600 MW
Supply
Nuclear Contracts	10,000 MW
Midwest Coal & Gas Contracts	10,000 MW
DSM Efficiency	1,000 MW
Outside Contracts	2,600 MW
Total ComEd Planned Supply	23,600 MW
... but wait, there's more ...
Additional Supply: Simple cycle gas "Peakers"
Permitted and Operating Owned by 11 different companies.	4,167 MW
Permitted and Under Construction Owned by 5 different companies.	2,585 MW
Combined cycle gas "intermediates" Permitted and Under Construction: Owned by 7 different companies.	4,279 MW
Total Gas, Operating and Under Construction Owned by 16 different companies.	11,031 MW
Total Present ComEd Power Availability	34,631 MW
... but wait, there's even more already on the way!
Additional "Peakers" already permitted:	16,000 MW
Total Anticipated 2002 ComEd Power Availability	50,631 MW
It's very likely that by the end of the year we will have double the electricity supply we need  without any new coal fired power plants.

There are plenty of Wholesale Power Providers.

Efficiency "DSM"  measures could account for much more.

Wind power deploys in only a few months.

Coal pollution causes Global Warming, and deaths.

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