Why is SEPTA doing this?


Misinformation Campaign:

1. SEPTA and Mayor Kenney promoted their combined heat and power plant as environmentally green, saying CHPs are approved by the EPA, but SEPTA’s plant does not operate efficiently like a regular CHP which captures 90% of the waste heat and repurposes it. SEPTA’s CHP operates more like a conventional natural gas power plant and (unwritten) estimates have been circulated that it only captures between 5% and 30% of the waste heat.

2. SEPTA/Kenney spread propaganda that the plant will reduce greenhouse gases by 41% in the region. Not true. One reason is that the calculation’s inputs are from before 2 nearby coal plants were closed. There could be a 6% savings as electricity travels on the wires from the regional grid, though probably less because today’s wires have been made more efficient.

3. SEPTA/Kenney often omitted the word “region,”when claiming that the plant would reduce greenhouse gases, implying that the tiny reduction would have a positive effect on the air quality in the neighborhood.

4. One confused or possibly unscrupulous local City Council politician spread the idea in media interviews and told constituents that the CHP was “better than what’s there,” meaning the CHP was replacing boilers which were more polluting than the CHP. The reality: The CHP produces over 73 tons of toxic pollutants/year and the 2 boilers being replaced produced under 2 tons/year.

5, SEPTA confused people who were studying the application documents for the CHP, by including an outdated list of pollution sources on their property. It made it look like the CHP was less polluting than their boilers. The correction was published 5 months after the public comment period, less than a week before the permit was approved.

 
 

The EPA supports using CHPs because they have a dual purpose. They burn methane, make electricity, and capture up to 80% of the “waste heat,” which can be used to heat (or cool) buildings. But SEPTA’s CHP will capture and use about 5% of the waste heat for the bus depot. The rest of the waste heat (95%) will go up the chimney.


Official Documents: Taken off the AMS Website- Sorry! We will post soon!

 
 

Politicians Formerly Involved 


"Natural" Gas


Health Impacts


Environmental Impacts 

 
 

Activism


Inspiring Alternatives