NTH Consultants
Contact Us
  • Home
  • Markets
    • Energy Market
    • Industry Market
    • Water Market
    • Transportation
    • Community Development
  • Services
    • Geotechnical Engineering >
      • Geophysical Services
      • Mapping
      • Shoreline Services
      • Civil Site Engineering and Design
      • Construction Materials & Geotechnical Testing Services
      • Electric Substation Services
      • Geotechnical Engineering for Transportation Facilities
      • Underground Engineering Services
      • Subsurface Utility
      • Signature Projects
    • Environmental Services >
      • PFAS
      • Ecological Services
      • Environmental Health Services
      • Environmental Remediation Services
      • Environmental Compliance
      • Environmental Permitting
      • Environmental Site Assessments
      • Ecological Services for the Energy Market
      • Air Quality Permitting and Compliance
      • Brownfield Site Redevelopment
      • Environmental, Health & Safety Training for Employee Development
      • Hydrogeologic Studies
      • Landfill Related Services
      • Site Acquisition and Redevelopment
      • Storage Tank Services
      • Signature Projects
    • Facilities Engineering >
      • Decommissioning
      • Structural Condition Assessment Rehab
      • Bridge Engineering Services
      • Asset Management Services
      • Concrete Restoration
      • GIS Services
      • Masonry Evaluation Services
      • Pavement Engineering and Consulting
      • Roofing Technology Services
      • Structural Condition Assessment
      • Signature Projects
  • Projects
  • About Us
    • Mission + Core Values
    • Leadership
    • News and Events
    • Employee Portal
  • Webinars
    • Emergency Actions Plans Webinar
    • Challenges of Stormwater Management
  • Careers
    • Why Join NTH
    • Who We Are
    • Career Opportunities
    • NTH Internship Program
  • Blog
  • Contact Us

the Power of an Air Permit:                                                                                   How NTH Helped Get the Holland Energy Park off the Ground

10/9/2015

0 Comments

 
PictureBy Lori Myott, Vice-President, NTH Consultants, Ltd.
​From its conception, Holland Energy Park has been dubbed the Resource, Destination and Gateway for the Holland Community. But it was no easy road for the folks at Holland Board of Public Works (HBPW); a process that, in fact, would span nearly ten years. What emerged was a new 114 MW natural gas combined heat and power (CHP) plant and an agreement to purchase 17 MW of wind generation from the Beebe Wind Farm in Ithaca, MI. The new CHP will provide electricity, central district heating and snowmelt for the Holland community.
 
But before the first shovel, or bulldozer in this case, could hit the ground, an air use permit to install (a pre-construction permit) would need to be obtained.
 
​
​
Air Permit to Install
On April 26, 2013, NTH Consultants, Ltd. met with HBPW and HDR, Inc. (Owner’s Engineer) to discuss the air permitting requirements. Over a period of 12-weeks NTH worked closely with HDR as the facility design unfolded and new information was obtained. NTH calculated air emissions for several operational scenarios, including various turbine loads, startup, and shutdown; and evaluated applicable state and federal air quality regulations that may impact operation of the plant. An extensive air pollution control technology evaluation was also conducted.
 
Finally, NTH conducted a thorough ambient impact analysis using dispersion modeling techniques to determine concentrations of regulated air contaminants for comparison to health-based standards. Throughout the application development, NTH completed nearly 100 modeling runs at various exhaust stack locations and parameters, and operational scenarios to determine compliance with federal ambient air quality standards and state of Michigan air toxic health based screening levels.
 
The permit application was submitted on July 22, 2013 and a final air permit was approved by the MDEQ on December 4, 2013. NTH worked closely with MDEQ during the permit review process to ensure major milestones were met and that the project was moving forward. Typical air permitting timelines for projects of this magnitude can be anywhere from 6-18 months, but the MDEQ processed the HBPW permit application approximately less than 6-months from application submittal. This was due largely to the fact that during the public comment period, MDEQ did not receive any comments from the public, U.S. EPA or environmental groups, so they were able to quickly move forward with approval as soon as the comment period ended.   
 
A Community-Driven Project
The Holland Energy Park continues to be a community-driven project. The P21 website contains frequent news blogs to update the public on the latest information, live tracking of the turbine voyage from Finspång, Sweden to Holland, Michigan, and live video feed via webcams so that onlookers can catch real time progress on the construction of the plant. HBPW has also built an observation deck near the site allowing full public access. And when HBPW completely closed down streets from Verplank Dock to the construction site over a 4-day period to allow the massive 200-ton HRSG’s make their way to the site, an impromptu parade commenced as spectators lined the streets to watch and cheer.
 
The site is busy with trucks, bulldozers, excavators, and several cranes. Holes are being dug, foundations placed, pipes laid, concrete poured, steel framework erected, equipment delivered. 
 
None of it would be possible without the air permit! 

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    The NTH Narrator

    NTH Consultants, Ltd. (NTH) is a nationally recognized engineering firm specializing in Civil, Geotechnical, Environmental, and Facilities Engineering. 

    On our blog, our engineering experts address current news and events in our field, review new projects and highlight NTH news.

    Tweets by @nthconsultants

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    November 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    November 2021
    August 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015