I do not think there is anyone in the USA that is under the dilution that US regulations are the toughest in planet. A lot of US businesses will try and say that, but the truth is what it is. US regulations are tough, but there are places in remote locations that are just as tough or tougher. I have talked about the issue regarding environmental regulations in general, and it is just a matter of how they are enforced that separates developing from developed countries. Air regulations is one that baffles me. Some locations are extremely tougher than others with no rhyme or reason.
USA regulations are tougher than EU in many ways. How is that possible? The core EU countries like France, Germany, England are very pro green. Yet, cars built in Europe or for the European market do not meet USA air emissions standards. One friend tells me how much more efficient and better European cars are compared to USA, but he fails to understand that the emissions equipment does taxi the performance of a automobile.
Working in developing countries presents a whole other set of questions in regards to air quality compliance. And it certainly goes back to enforcement. If the company is not concerned about enforcement, or has the coin and will to fight it then do as they please. But if there is a concern about public image, follow on business, or the potential legal ramifications possible then compliance is the road to take.
I am building a 52MW electric power plant that uses 62 diesel generators. Combining the emissions of 62 short exhaust stacks is a potential environmental permit specialist' worse nightmare. Air quality regulations are sparse at best in this location. But my company (TKE-International, LLC) has stated since the beginning of the project that we will comply with all regulations to include US EPA.
What is interesting to me is that I have run across a number of companies who's EHS policy is based on some high standard to include ISO 14001, and OHSAS 18001, yet do not actually comply with the high standards. They continue to spend time and money to identify the lowest standard possible, while violating their own company policy. This is also a violation of their marketing material (promise) to their client that they really do have and comply with high standards.
There is a second issue of site security. As our facility will construct a 6 MW PV solar field site security for safety of the general public along with prevention of vandalism and thief are all of high importance.
The means to address each of these items is limited by the cost factor. How many security guards, fences, air scrubbers, cameras, installation of taller stacks, changes in fuel, the list can be endless as well as costly. So which combination of equipment, training, and procedures are required to meet the balance of protecting the environment, providing a product (electricity) that is desperately needed, and cost (both to produce and sell)?
At my plant we are combining both conventional (diesel generation) with renewable (PV solar). Since we are a rather large micro-grid facility the potential impacts (positive and negative) are a bit larger than the typical 5MW and smaller micro-grids. Our business plan is to use the conventional for a short time to cover base load and periods were the PV solar cannot supply. We are starting with a smaller PV solar plant due to current limit on available land within our demonstration footprint. The national government does not have a strong belief that the best avenue for them is PV solar, as geo-thermal is also a strong possibility. No it is not practical to parallel both, just because this is still Africa; another topic of discussion at a later date.
So over a period of time as renewable technology improves we will take the conventional units offline and replace with the renewable.
Air Quality. We are using all new equipment, with the cleanest fuel possible. Maintenance schedules will be rigorously adhered. All waste will be recycled in some fashion, including the used oil. I am devising a methodology to monitor our air quality from the ground as well as in the air to get a full picture of our impact to air quality, as well as to obtain data on air quality in the region.
Security. We will use fencing with ground level motion activated cameras, and cameras located aerially. Security personnel will be provided with all terrain vehicles to respond to any motion along the fence perimeter.
I am looking at using a aerostat balloon to mount air quality monitoring and weather equipment, along with motion detection cameras. This will provide 360 degree security around our plant, and give me excellent data from our air quality instruments.
All data will be streamed real time so that we can have accurate unto date modeling. If there are any variations that are attributable to our plant we can adjust accordingly.
