Georgia and coal

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Introduction

Georgia had 46 coal-fired generating stations in 2005, with 14,594 MW of capacity - representing 39.9% of the state's total electric generating capacity, and making Georgia the 8th biggest coal energy producing state in the U.S. In 2006, Georgia's coal-fired power plants produced 82.0 million tons of CO₂, 619,000 tons of sulfur dioxide, and 109,000 tons of nitrogen oxide; coal-fired power plants were responsible for 48.8% of the state's total CO₂ emissions. In 2005, Georgia emitted 18.5 tons of CO₂ per person, slightly less than the U.S. average. Despite its heavy reliance on coal energy, Georgia has a lower-than-average carbon emissions rate, mostly due to its reliance on natural gas (34.6%), nuclear (11.1%), and hydroelectric (10.1%) power generation.

No coal was mined in Georgia in 2006.

History

Coal was first mined in Georgia in the 1830's; coal miners where among the first white settlers in northwest Georgia. Georgia's coal industry was decimated by the Civil War, after Northern armies destroyed factories to which Georgia's mines had been supplying coal. The industry was revitalized in the 1880's, however, and small-scale coal production continued for about a century. Today, however, the state has recoverable coal reserves of only about 2 million tons, and no coal has been mined in the state since the mid-1980's.

The coal power industry, on the other hand, is very powerful in Georgia: 17 coal-fired generating stations - representing 73% of the state's coal electric capacity - were built in Georgia during the 1970's and 80's, and the most recent was built in 1998. However, in June 2008, a state superior court blocked the air permit for the Longleaf power plant that had been planned for Early County, Georgia; the court, citing a 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision which held that CO₂ is a regulatable pollutant, ruled that Longleaf's developers had failed to limit CO₂ emissions from the proposed plant. The future of this plant - as well as POWER4Georgians' Washington Plant - is now uncertain.

Proposed coal plants

Active

• Washington Plant, Sandersville, GA

Cancelled

• Longleaf, Early County, GA

Coal power companies

• Georgia Power Company, owned by Southern Company
• Dynegy / LS Power
• POWER4Georgians, owned by ten state electric membership cooperatives

Existing coal plants

Georgia had 46 coal-fired generating stations in 2005, with 14,594 MW of capacity - representing 39.9% of the state's total electric generating capacity. Here is a list of coal power plants in Georgia with capacity over 400 MW:

Plant Name	County	Owner	Year(s) Built	Capacity	2007 CO2 Emissions	2006 SO2 Emissions	SO2/MW Rank
Scherer	Monroe	Southern Company	1982, 1984, 1987, 1989	3564 MW	25,300,000 tons	74,205 tons	152
Bowen	Bartow	Southern Company	1971, 1972, 1974, 1975	3499 MW	20,500,000 tons	206,442 tons	39
Wansley	Heard	Southern Company	1976, 1978	1904 MW	11,900,000 tons	96,200 tons	47
Harllee Branch	Putnam	Southern Company	1965, 1967, 1968, 1969	1746 MW	7,551,000 tons	95,990 tons	35
Yates	Coweta	Southern Company	1950, 1952, 1957, 1958, 1974	1487 MW	6,095,000 tons	75,476 tons	22
Hammond	Floyd	Southern Company	1954, 1955, 1970	953 MW	4,098,000 tons	40,579 tons	29
Jack McDonough	Cobb	Southern Company	1963, 1964	598 MW	3,213,000 tons	28,835 tons	45

These 7 plants represent 94.2% of Georgia's coal energy generating capacity, and 46.9% of the state's total CO₂ emissions.

Major coal mines

There are no coal mines in Georgia.

Citizen groups

• CleanPower4Georgians
• Friends of the Chattahoochee
• GreenLaw
• Sierra Club Georgia Chapter

Resources

Related SourceWatch articles

• Existing U.S. Coal Plants
• US proposed coal plants (both active and cancelled)
• Cancelled coal plant proposals
• Coal plants cancelled in 2007
• Coal plants cancelled in 2008
• Active coal plant proposals