What’s that ‘white smoke’ over the waterfront in Bellingham?
The question pops up every so often.
“Does anyone know what that white smoke is that is always coming up out of downtown B’ham?” is the most recent iteration on social media of something that residents have asked off and on over the years.
People also occasionally ask about the source of “white smoke on the waterfront,” according to Seth Preston, spokesman for the Northwest Clean Air Agency.
It’s likely that they’re looking toward the part of the waterfront that’s toward the end of Cornwall Avenue.
That’s the location of the Encogen plant. Owned by Puget Sound Energy since 1999, the power plant uses generators powered by natural gas and steam to create electricity.
The plant can produce 165 megawatts of electricity at full capacity — enough for 120,000 households, PSE said in a fact sheet.
Those who drive, ride or walk by may know the plant by the 21,000 square feet of corrugated metal on its building that was transformed in 2018 into a giant mural of a mountain range.
As for what people believe is white smoke, we asked PSE about it and got answers from spokesman Andrew Padula.
Does PSE get questions from people about what they think is white smoke coming out of smokestacks?
Padula: “Yes, we do. They don’t happen very often but we do get questions on occasion. We don’t have smokestacks. We just call them exhaust stacks or just stacks.”
What are people seeing?
Padula: “What people are more likely asking about is our cooling tower and the water vapor that is released.
“The cooling tower is used to cool our circulating water. The circulating water cools the condenser. The condenser takes the used steam and condenses it so that we can reuse it.
“There are two large fans — about 20 feet across — that are blowing air up. This allows for the best cooling of that water coming back from the condenser. That means it blows a lot of water vapor out the top. It’s not steam, but it does look like it. That water is only about 125 degrees Fahrenheit.”
What is the piece of equipment that the plume is coming out of called?
Padula: “Cooling tower.”
Are there certain conditions under which the plume is most visible?
Padula: “It’s easiest to see on a calm, clear day. It blends in well with the gray clouds. If it’s windy, it dissipates a lot faster. If you ever see the water vapor plume rising and then suddenly flatten out, it has to do with thermal layers in the air.”
This story was originally published February 18, 2020 at 10:44 AM.
