TECO Energy

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TECO's Big Bend Power Station
TECO's Big Bend Power Station

TECO Energy, Inc. (NYSE: TE) is an S&P 500 electrical power company located in Tampa, Florida.

"TECO" is short for "Tampa Electric Co."

[edit] Environmental Record

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have identified TECO Energy as the 37th-largest corporate producer of air pollution in the United States, with roughly 11 million pounds of toxic chemicals released annually into the air.[1] Major pollutants indicated by the study include hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, chromium compounds, arsenic compounds, and nickel compounds.[2]

In 2000, TECO Energy was fined $3.5 million for making changes to emissions producing facilities without installing new updated pollution controls. This lead to the switch from coal to natural gas in one of its plants by 2004 and optimization of pollution controls in another. These changes were enacted to drastically cut harmful emissions, notably sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide pollutants.[3]

TECO Energy proposed a $330 million emissions control project, which will make one of its power stations one of the cleanest coal-fired power plants in nation. The renovation is set to be completed in 2010 and will reduce nitrogen oxide emissions at the plant by approximately 85 percent from levels recorded in 1998. [4]

Since 1998, TECO has invested $1.2 billion in improvements to their systems, including the repowering of one coal-fired station to natural gas and the addition of state-of-the-art pollution controls on a second. They have a long history of working cooperatively with government agencies to improve systems and comply with regulations.[5]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Political Economy Research Institute Toxic 100 (Study released May 11, 2006) retrieved 15 Aug 2007
  2. ^ Toxics Release Inventory courtesy rtknet.org
  3. ^ http://www.planetark.org/avantgo/dailynewsstory.cfm?newsid=5836 TECO energy agrees to $3.5 mln fine with US EPA (released 3 Mar 2000)] retrieved 6 May 2008
  4. ^ http://www.tecoenergy.com/news/article/index.cfm?article=418 Tampa Electric Completes First Phase of a $330 Million Air Pollution Control Project (released 5 Jun 2007)] retrieved 6 May 2008
  5. ^ http://www.tampaelectric.com/news/article/index.cfm?article=421 TECO Energy leaders to participate in climate change summit (released 11 Jul 2007)] retrieved 8 May 2008

[edit] External links

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