Technicians from the Faculty of Engineering of the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD) said that the Punta Catalina power plant should not be converted to operate with natural gas because the procedure would be very costly and the 752 Mw twin power plant would not increase its efficiency. On the contrary, the efficiency would decline. Environmentalists argue natural gas is less contaminating.
The director of the Energy Institute of the state UASD university, José Luis Moreno said that studies have been carried out to determine whether it is viable to convert Punta Catalina from coal to natural gas. These studies reveal that major changes in the equipment would be needed.
Engineer David Medina explains that converting the plant to natural gas would cost more than US$395 million. Gas supply is today piped from the natural gas storage facilities in Andres, Boca Chica, around 90 km away from Punta Catalina.
Likewise, Medina warned that to make the change, the two units of the generator would have to stop working for about six months. Their efficiency would be affected after the change. During the downtime, power would have to be purchased from other generators at a much higher cost. Medina highlighted that Punta Catalina is the plant with the lowest cost of energy production supplying the national grid.
The experts acknowledged the contamination caused by coal in the release of carbon dioxide and particulate matter and the accumulation of ashes dumped in the power plant’s yard. The experts stated that the emissions of the different chemical compounds of Punta Catalina are within the limits of the environmental norms. They recommended that the ash be used to manufacture cement.
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Hoy
7 September 2021