Everyone wants everyone to take a position on the Salem Harbor Station.

Soon, there will be a big announcement by Dominion, and many are concerned that the plant will switch to biomass.

The problem with biomass is that while defined renewable, which sounds good, it means various sources may be burned to create power, including tires, demolition wood laced with various chemicals, animal waste, and trash.

Burning some biomass-qualifying substances means that air quality can take a toxic hit. When many biomass sources are incinerated, methane, dioxins, furans and other toxics — some at strengths greater than the current emissions from coal-firing — could end up in Salem Sound's air.

While biomass may be renewable, it could be dirtier. A move to biomass could split environmental goals, sending Salem Sound in the wrong direction for one-half of the issue — cleaner, less dangerous emissions.

The growing concern is that Dominion will operate under the radar and burn various substances that create highly toxic plumes. Groups like Healthlink encourage locals to take pictures of dark exhausts and upload them to its Web site. And what the group says about air quality monitoring — being limited and mostly ineffective — has merit.

The Conservation Law Foundation (CLF), which has pushed for stricter air quality limitations than what the Clean Air Act covers, including mercury, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide, has targeted the Salem Harbor Station in its clean energy future campaign. CLF says that Dominion is not abiding by the state's 2001 "Filthy Five" regulations and as recent as July 31, 2008, did not reach full compliance, despite being required by a 2005 Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection order.

If biomass sources are both random, which is possible since power companies seek various supplies that fluctuate week-to-week, and emissions not closely monitored, then dark clouds and dangerous toxics may result from what is announced as an answer to coal.

It's on the onus of Dominion to both present a plan with strict voluntary monitoring and deliver power based not only on renewable, but cleaner, energy. I'm anxious to hear the strategy.

Renewable debated

One renewable debated is methane. It accounts for about 50 percent of landfill gas and is a byproduct of sewage and animal-waste treatment. Is it bad?

It was discussed in "Addicted to Plastic," shown last weekend as part the Second Annual Salem Renewable Energy Fair at CinemaSalem. Interface, a major carpet manufacturer, recovers methane from a local landfill to power its operations.

The representative interviewed in the film believes that landfills are the oil wells of the future. He is not alone — there are many who believe that mining trash and landfill gas is part of the answer for sustainable urban centers.

However, it's unacceptable to others when sustainability goals mask public health goals. Clean air activists, including the Energy Justice Network, question whether heavy metals, toxic chemicals, and radioactive contaminants from both landfill gas and methane recovery from sewage sludge migrate into emissions when burned to create power.

We'll need a fair and well-informed justice to hash out local power plans. Dialogue must remain open, technology and planning be scrutinized, and oversight set to strict levels to meet energy and public health goals.

Reliability question

The prime directive of ISO New England (ISO), the organization that is charged with grid reliability, improvements and energy markets, is that energy be reliable. We've not had a full-scale blackout since 1965, and ISO seems to take a lot of pride in that.

I can see why, if I lose energy I am out of business in so many ways. In this economy, who can afford a few days without power?

CLF says it's "no longer the case" that the Salem plant is vital to grid reliability. A 2008 report by ISO indicates that long-term upgrades to the local grid "may be required at some point to maintain an adequate North Shore import capability," and then noted March 2009 as the in-service target date for said upgrades.

Perhaps this is a reason for Dominion's upcoming announcement?

Weak goals

According to ISO's 2008 annual report, New England, like the rest of the country, "will move inevitably toward a future where 10, 20 or even 30 percent of our capacity" comes from green sources, but "without a doubt, traditional generating sources will remain at the core of the power system for some time."

That's not only sad but far too slow. The funding needed to ensure a reliable, wind and clean-energy-ready grid is great, and it's needed now to raise these underwhelming expectations.

¢¢¢

Andrea Fox, a Beverly resident, has been writing about environmental sustainability and eco-topics for nine years. She is a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists and a watershed protection advocate in Salem Sound Watershed.