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GHG PSD Applicability Exercise. GHG PSD Applicability Exercise - Part 1 .
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GHG PSD Applicability Exercise - Part 1 Hard Rock, LLC is a manufacturing facility with the following sources of GHGs: boilers, emergency generators, space heaters, process heaters and thermal oxidizers. Assume the permitting of the proposed modification will be completed after July 1, 2011 and commencement of construction for the proposed modification is August 1, 2012. Further, the facility’s current GHG emissions are in excess of 100,000 tpy CO2e. Also assume there are no debottlenecking issues associated with the pending modification. Because the dominant component of the GHGs is CO2, it is reasonable to assume that CO2e limits rather than mass-based limits will be controlling. Therefore, this example only deals with CO2e emissions. DRAFT
GHG PSD Applicability Exercise - Part 1 (cont’d) Hard Rock’s modification includes the addition of a new gas-fired boiler with distillate oil back up. Hard Rock proposes to limit backup fuel use to 500 hr/yr or less. Hard Rock is also adding two new diesel-fired emergency generators with their use limited to 500 hours per year. Hard Rock is removing from service a coal-fired stoker boiler. The CO2e emissions at the new units are as follows: DRAFT
GHG PSD Applicability Exercise - Part 1 (cont’d) As part of this project, Hard Rock will shut down a stoker boiler, with a maximum capacity of 300 MMBtu/hr and a maximum operating schedule of 24 hr/day, 365 days/yr. In looking back over the last ten years, this boiler operated, on average, 320 days over the two years with the highest usage, at an average rate of 195 MMBtu/hr. The boiler has the following emission rate: DRAFT
GHG PSD Applicability Exercise - Part 1 (cont’d) Hard Rock believes that PSD review for GHGs is not required for this project since the emissions reductions caused by the shutdown of the stoker boiler will mean that the project has an increase in CO2e that is below the significance level. What is your assessment? What other information may be needed? DRAFT
Key Points of Part 1 of the Hard Rock Example • Choose the worst-case scenario. In this case, firing distillate for up to 500 hours per year increases emissions over the level when firing gas only, so the assessment must include 500 hours of distillate use and 8260 hours of gas use. • Sum the emissions of units with increases only in the first step. Do not count decreases from emission units until the contemporaneous netting is done. • If not provided by the applicant, request information on ALL the emission increases and decreases during the contemporaneous period before you start the netting calculation for those pollutants exceeding the significant emissions thresholds. DRAFT
GHG PSD Applicability Exercise - Part 2 In response to your request for additional information, Hard Rock submits the following information on previous changes to the facility. Assume beginning of the contemporaneous period is 5 years before construction commences. Also, assume the previous changes have not been “relied upon” in the past for PSD permitting. DRAFT
GHG PSD Applicability Exercise - Part 2 (cont’d) Is Hard Rock subject to PSD for GHGs? DRAFT
Changing the Outcome of the Applicability Determination If you determine that PSD applies for GHGs, what are the kinds of changes to the project that Hard Rock could propose that would eliminate PSD applicability to GHG? DRAFT
Options to Eliminate PSD Applicability • Eliminate or greatly reduce the use of distillate for back up with an enforceable limit • Enforceable limits on the operating hours or fuel use and emissions of the new boiler • Start construction earlier (to bring an earlier reduction into the contemporaneous period) DRAFT
Key Points of Part 2 of the Hard Rock Example • Use the actual emissions from the units being shutdown (as opposed to the potential emissions) when doing the netting calculation. • Double-check the dates of all increases and decreases to ensure they are really contemporaneous (i.e., the shutdown of the process heaters in July of 2007 was not in the contemporaneous period and therefore could not be used in the netting calculation). • Also confirm whether contemporaneous increases and decreases have been “relied upon” in a previous PSD permitting action DRAFT
Key Points of Part 2 of the Hard Rock Example (cont’d) • The permit applicant can take enforceable limit on the emissions of the new or modified units to drop below the significance level. In this case, the applicant could limit the hours of operation of the new boiler, its fuel-firing rate, the hours of distillate used, or a combination of all these actions to reduce the project emissions and successfully net out. DRAFT