Power Plant Hearing In Boston Today

BrocktonPost
BROCKTON--Brockton city officials and opponents of a proposed 350-megawatt natural gas power plant will participate in a public hearing this morning with the state Energy Facilities Siting Board about the potential use of city water to cool the proposed plant's turbines.
Officials from Advanced Power, the company that has proposed building the plant at Oak Hill Way on the south side of Brockton, have asked the Siting Board to overturn its own 4-3 decision made in June that rejected the company's use of the city's drinking water to cool the turbines.
The move by the Siting Board was seen by power plant opponents as a crucial victory in the fight against the plant's construction because the Siting Board in 2009 approved the project contingent upon the use of treated waste water and not the city's drinking water supply.
However, Advanced Power officials have said the 4-3 decision shows there is room for argument, and have requested the decision be looked at again.
A host of city officials and an opponents group, Stop The Power, will attend the hearing, which is open to the public.
The hearing begins at 10 a.m. at 1 South Station, Boston.
Water to cool the turbines is considered a linchpin in the development of the power plant.
Advanced Power initially requested to pay the city to use nearly 2 million gallons of treated wastewater a day.
However, 10 of 11 City Councilors since have said they would not vote in favor of Advanced Power's use of treated waste water, so Advanced Power then requested the Siting Board allow the plant to use the city's drinking water.
In June, the Siting Board rejected using the city's drinking water.
Officials on both sides of the argument have said Advanced Power could use machines to air cool the turbines if water use is not approved.