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The Democratic leaders at our nation’s capitol are pushing to cool the campus on natural gas. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid issued a letter last week to the capitol’s lead architect urging that the capitol power plant be converted from coal to burn 100% natural gas.

The Capitol Power Plant (CPP) has been up and running since 1910 and is said to be the number one source of air pollution and carbon emissions in the District of Columbia. The CPP – despite its name – does not power the Capitol. Rather, it produces steamed and chilled water to heat and cool buildings like the House and Senate office and others.

Pelosi and Reid write in their letter:
 
“The switch to natural gas will allow the CPP to dramatically reduce carbon and criteria pollutant emissions, eliminating more than 95 percent of sulfur oxides and at least 50 percent of carbon monoxide.”

While the lead capitol architect says it will cost around $7 million to covert the CPP to 100% natural gas, Pelosi and Reid have vowed to find money in the budget for the project. The two lawmakers also estimate that the city of Washington, D.C. will save money in the long-run by not spending as much on costs associated with the storing and transporting of coal as well as the costs associated with cleaning up waste and pollution from coal.
 
You can read the full text of the letter on Pelosi’s website.

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“The switch to natural gas will allow the CPP to dramatically reduce carbon and criteria pollutant emissions, eliminating more than 95 percent of sulfur oxides and at least 50 percent of carbon monoxide.”
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