Logan power plant gets preliminary nod
Before a standing-room-only crowd in the city ouncil chambers, the Logan Municipal Council voted 4-1 Wednesday night in favor of purchasing three new, natural gas-fired turbine generators for the city.
The decision was made in response to rising energy costs for residents of Logan and neighboring communities. The issue was met with protests from residents who live near the proposed site for the generators in the block southwest of the intersection of 300 West and 300 South.
The existing diesel-fired plant in that block is outdated and inefficient, members said; the Council hopes to eventually shut it down. The proposed plant’s yearly emissions of nitrogen oxide (33 tons) will be much lower than the existing plant’s (223 tons), supporters say. This will be a reduction by a factor of 6 to 1. The new plant will cost approximately $10 million and will put out more energy at fewer decibels than the existing plant, which has been running since the 1920s.
Most arguments against the generators and power plant were brought about by residents of the affected neighborhood and Logan High School students. Members of the school’s Environmental Action Force, a club focused on environmental protection, displayed banners bearing the words “Stop Diesel, Start Natural Gas.”
Fears about the power plant were centered on the effect it would have on Logan. Several residents expressed concerns about the Logan city center losing beauty, prestige and history. A new power plant, they said, would cause businesses and residents to flee to the outskirts of town. This would cause a “doughnut effect” with a dead, empty, poverty-stricken center.
Residents raised questions about using alternate sources of energy like wind to generate electricity for the city. This was countered by Mayor Doug Thompson, who has been involved in checking the feasibility of other options.
“The wind is not consistent enough,” he said, “even on the mountains.”
Many residents agreed it would be best to educate the community on the benefits of conservation. Reducing the use of energy by turning off lights, buying energy-efficient light bulbs and appliances and lowering the thermostat can lower power consumption and lower prices, they said.
The council voted 3-1 with one abstaining vote for the location of the power plant to be the current site of the Systems Operations Control Center (SOCC) at 300 South and 300 West. The SOCC runs 24 hours a day and monitors various utilities like water and the sewer system. This location is not necessarily the future site of the plant, but it is the council’s recommendation. The site will be decided later by the City Planning Commission.