I found The Columbian’s editorial about upgrades to the River Road Generating Plant very troubling (“In Our View: Power plant upgrades serve people, planet,” The Columbian, Nov. 13).
I am no expert on energy production or how the upgrades work. However, common sense tells me that if you spend a lot of money “improving” something, you will be much more reluctant to phase it out before you absolutely have to.
The Columbian is right to point out that an investment of this magnitude raises doubts about the PUD’s sincerity in addressing climate concerns. The editorial mentions carbon emissions from “natural” gas. However, there’s more to it than that. This is fracked gas that also emits methane and toxic air pollutants. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas. It readily leaks in every step of the fracking process, from wellheads and through pipelines.
It is clear, and we’re hearing it again from COP 27, that we must move away from fossil fuels without delay. I hope the utility can show us that it’s really moving to more renewables like solar and away from harmful sources like gas. I hope that plans to improve this plant are not just the la-di-da, business-as-usual greenwashing that it looks like to a layperson like me.
