Sep. 24--Alabama Power has recently begun a pilot program in conjunction with Duke Power, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) to use nature to help filter some of the hazardous byproducts associated with burning coal at power plants.

If the program proves successful, Alabama Power can use a wetlands treatment system to filter out selenium and other chemicals and potentially save millions of dollars by not having to install chemical treatment plants onsite at coal burning power plants.

Alabama Power produces 70.5 percent of its power using coal. Around 18 percent of its electricity is produced using nuclear energy. Gas and oil account for just under 10 percent of power produced by the company and two percent comes from hydroelectric sources.

The Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Air Act states that industries must get rid of airborne pollutants produced so not to damage the surrounding environment.

But as the pollutants in the air are removed, there still remains the problem of what to do with runoff that may seep into the ground and water nearby.

"Wherever these pollutants ultimately end up is an important thing to consider," said Dr. Bill Garrett, who initiated the wetlands treatment system for Alabama Power in the late 1990's. "We may clean up the air; but then you will have a water problem."

That's where Dr. Garrett and his team come into play. Dr. Garrett said that Alabama Power is currently conducting the wetlands treatment studies at its Gorgas Coal Plant on the Warrior River to see how effectively and efficiently the water can be cleaned up, so as to have as little environmental impact as possible and also to have an efficient energy producing system for customers.

"The wetlands project is a real cost effective way of doing that without having to build an expensive chemical treatment plant onsite," Dr. Garrett said. A chemical treatment plant could run upwards of several millions of dollars at each coal plant.

Dr. Garrett explained what Alabama Power and similar power producing companies deal with in regards to environmental regulations.

"When you look at a coal fired plant today, it is covered up with environmental equipment," he said. "It's nothing like it used to be in the past."

Southern Company, which Alabama Power is a subsidiary, is in the process of spending $2billion on limestone "scrubbers," which are the main devices that take out pollutants such as sulfur dioxide from coal that has been burned to produce electricity.