Shaky Economics of J.K. Spruce
Sierra Club retained Synapse to conduct an economic analysis of the J.K. Spruce coal plant, located near San Antonio, Texas. Synapse evaluated the recent economic performance of the plant, the likely performance of the plant over the next two decades, and the availability of cost-effective renewable alternatives to Spruce. Synapse found that the Spruce plant has likely lost more than $100 million relative to the market since 2015, is likely to lose another $100 million from 2017 to 2019, and will only become profitable over the long term if a series of favorable conditions hold. Synapse concluded that Spruce Unit 1 would be unlikely to recover the costs of a proposed new selective catalytic reduction (SCR) pollution control system, and that replacing Spruce with renewables would reduce emissions more comprehensively and cost-effectively than retrofitting Spruce with SCR.