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CPS Energy's Environmental Stewardship
Our commitment to air quality is evident throughout all CPS Energy programs. Although we use a variety of resources (natural gas, coal, wind and nuclear energy) to generate affordable electricity, our mix of diverse fuels also helps protect our environment. Thanks to the inclusion of nuclear energy and wind power, 40 percent of CPS Energy’s electric generation does not produce any greenhouse gas emissions.
What’s more, CPS Energy uses low-sulfur coal in its plants, recycles materials like fly ash (a byproduct of coal-fired power plants), uses alternative fuels in the vehicle fleet and plants trees throughout our community to reduce carbon dioxide. On top of these measures, we are spending $750 million to add state-of-the-art emissions controls to our new and existing power plants.
Related Topics:
Air Monitoring Stations
What We’re Doing About Climate Change
The greatest impact to air quality in our community comes from automobile emissions. In 2003, CPS Energy’s heavy fleet vehicles began using ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel, well ahead of state requirements. Under the Energy Policy Act, 90 percent of the light-duty vehicles purchased by CPS Energy each year must operate on alternative fuels. E-85, a mixture of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, is used for all of CPS Energy’s light-duty vehicles. And we continue to invest in idle reduction technologies and research.
Mowing a lawn for one hour using a conventional gas mower produces the same emissions as driving a car up to 70 miles. Through our annual Mow Down Smog campaign, CPS Energy rebates up to $80 toward the purchase of electric lawn equipment. Thanks to customers trading in over 5,000 pieces of gasoline-powered lawn equipment, Mow Down Smog has helped to reduce air pollution in San Antonio by about 12 million car miles since 1998!
Trees are nature’s way of cleaning the air, cooling the surrounding area and reducing storm water runoff. CPS Energy contributes to improved air quality and increased urban tree coverage by carefully selecting and placing native tree species.
Working with City of San Antonio council districts, CPS Energy provides residents with free trees, mulch and educational information on the energy-saving effects of tree coverage. And each year, thousands of trees are given away through CPS Energy-sponsored tree-planting programs and events such as Arbor Day, Earth Day, Public Lands Day and our own LiveGreenFest.
Braunig and Calaveras Lakes were built by CPS Energy in the 1960s as cooling reservoirs for our power plants. Even then, we knew fresh drinking water was a precious resource for South Texas. By using treated sewage effluent from the San Antonio River instead of fresh water, we save up to 40,000-acre feet of Edwards Aquifer water every year—a savings of over 252 billion gallons of valuable drinking water in the past 40 years!
The lakes also serve as recreational resources for Bexar County. More about Braunig and Calaveras Lakes.
One of the greatest concerns about power plant operations worldwide is the mercury level in our water.
A few years ago, CPS Energy thoroughly studied the impact of mercury in Braunig and Calaveras Lakes. The highest mercury level—2 parts per billion, or .02 parts per million—was found in the San Antonio River, and was attributed to San Antonio sewage effluent released from water treatment plants upstream. This level is more than 1,300 times cleaner than the EPA’s safe-drinking-water level for mercury. In addition, the mercury level in CPS Energy’s cooling lakes was about 2,000 times cleaner than the EPA standard. Mercury levels in the fish in Braunig and Calaveras Lakes were 15 times cleaner than the U.S. Food and Drug Administration standards, and about three times cleaner than the more restrictive EPA limit.
CPS Energy continues to monitor the water quality and aquatic environment of Braunig and Calaveras Lakes, contribute and participate in projects that protect and enhance the fisheries, including fish stocking, and provide a safe environment for people and wildlife.
Our community is known for the picturesque River Walk, and now plans are under way to expand this riverside park southward to connect with the San Antonio missions. The River Improvement Project, spearheaded by the San Antonio River Authority (SARA), includes changes to the river channel, as well as new walkways, more native trees and landscape lighting.
To support this effort, CPS Energy has completed remediation studies and removed old equipment located at the historic Mission Road Power Plant, adjacent to the San Antonio River. Currently, CPS Energy is sponsoring a study to evaluate the re-use of the power plant for future development.
Our community is expanding rapidly. New lines and facilities are planned to meet growing energy needs and to ensure reliable service. With this in mind, CPS Energy developed a process to identify routes for new lines and locations for new facilities that provide the least impact to people and our natural environment.
We schedule construction projects around the nesting seasons of endangered species and focus on maintaining their natural habitat as much as possible. Whenever work is required over the Edwards Aquifer, ground-penetrating radar is used to avoid underground caves and their inhabitants.
In addition to programs that support air and water quality and protect our environment, CPS Energy is also investing in energy options for our future. We purchase about 500 megawatts of wind energy annually from West Texas wind farms and sell it to our customers as Windtricity®. In late 2008, CPS Energy will become the first energy company in Texas to acquire wind-generated electricity from the first wind farm near the Texas coast. We’ve conducted demonstration projects to evaluate fuel cells and solar energy options. We buy all of the energy produced by San Antonio’s only landfill gas plant. And we’ve launched a distributed generation rate.
Developing new programs that will support energy efficiency and conserve natural resources continues to be an integral part of the CPS Energy business process.
With the rapid expansion of Greater San Antonio, there is continuing need for CPS Energy programs that protect our environment and resources for future generations. We are committed to finding the balance between providing energy bills among the lowest in the nation and preserving the natural beauty of our region. Though this is not always easy, our energy-efficiency and resource-management programs are showing results. A recent third-party study reports that CPS Energy’s consumer energy-saving programs have significantly conserved and/or reduced customer electric use, helped customers save money and ultimately improve air quality in our region. And these efforts will continue.
Also see this information as part of our 2006-07 Environmental Review.
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