A CLF review of Twin River’s carbon dioxide emissions study showed that Twin River’s consultants used faulty data when comparing the plant’s carbon dioxide emissions to other power plants. When updated using the U.S. Department of Energy's 2007 baseline data for fossil-fueled power plants, Twin River’s main conclusion is shown to be false.  

“The Twin River study inflated CO2 emissions from new natural gas power plants by 37%,” said CLF staff attorney Steve Hinchman.  “Using the DOE’s data, the proposed Wiscasset coal gasification plant would produce more carbon dioxide than a natural gas plant plus a refinery in all scenarios.”

 “Once again Twin River’s developers are trying to fool people by playing games with statistics,” said Hinchman. “But they can’t escape the fact that at the end of the day this proposed coal plant and refinery would be the largest global warming polluter in Maine and would drastically and unnecessarily increase our CO2 emissions over current levels.

CO2 Emission Factors*      Twin-River Study    DOE 2007Baseline Report    Maine Actual 2006
* lbs C02 per MWh
Coal Combustion (PC)           2,000                                   1,830
Coal Gasification (IGCC)        1,800                                    1,714
Natural Gas (NGCC)                  1,100                                      797                                                         908 

CLF’s analysis also discovered additional flaws in Twin River’s analysis that distort the final conclusions:
 Total CO2 emissions from the coal gasification plant would be almost 5.5 million tons per year.  Twin River reported a far lower figure by using metric tons instead of US tons (which is how CO2 is measured under Maine law) and by lowering thermal input values 2,600,000 mmBtu below input values published by Twin River on previous occasions and posted on their website.

Thermal Input (mmBtu)    Total CO2  -- Million Metric Tons     Total CO2  -- Million US Tons

Twin River – 10/25/07
50,400,000                                     4.73                5.22

Twin River – 8/22/07
53,000,000                                      4.98               5.49

The Twin River study minimizes the effect of the most carbon-intensive process in the proposed plant to obtain lower emissions data.  According to Twin River’s previously published data, total output from the plant would roughly include 60% coal-to-liquid fuels and 40% electricity. But coal-based fuels produce twice as much CO2 as petroleum-based fuels. To obtain a more favorable comparative emissions profile, the new Twin River study assumes less than 10% of the total output for fuels, and over 90% for electricity.

Finally, Twin River’s carbon capture scenarios are statistically meaningless. The study takes credit for capturing 25% of the plant’s total carbon emissions even though there is no means to permanently store or isolate the carbon.  CO2 that is captured and then immediately released cannot be deducted from the total emission profile.

“Wiscasset and the surrounding community should seriously question the veracity of Twin River’s study and findings,” Hinchman continued. “Energy efficiency and renewable power are cleaner and cheaper. Given the threat of global warming, the last thing Maine needs is a new coal-fueled power plant.”