Wise County Plant

From SourceWatch
Revision as of 09:49, 1 February 2009 by Bob Burton (talk | contribs) (SW: tidy)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

{{#badges: CoalSwarm}}

Dominion Resources has proposed a 585 megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant in Wise County in southwest Virginia.[1] AEP, Virginia Municipal Electric Association #1, and Blue Ridge Power have also invested in the project. This proposed plant, referred to as the Wise County Plant, grew out of a 2004 Virginia General Assembly initiative, sponsored by Virginia State Senator William Wampler.

The plant would be located on the Virginia City reclaimed surface coal mine site, and use Virginia coal and waste coal to fuel a circulating fluidized-bed boiler. In July 2007, Dominion Resources filed an application with the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC); it hopes to win full regulatory approval of the project by April 2008.[2]

On Sept. 10, 2007, the Sierra Club, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, and the Southern Environmental Law Center filed a legal challenge to Dominion’s SCC application, and – together with several other groups – launched a campaign against the project on Sept. 25.[3] Blacksburg, Charlottesville, and Arlington County have passed resolutions opposing the project, and numerous Virginia newspapers have published editorials condemning it.[4] On Nov. 15, 2007, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality issued a draft air permit for the project; the DEQ held a public hearing on the draft permit on Dec. 10, at which over 100 residents expressed opposition to the proposed plant.

On Nov. 30, 2007, the Virginia Air Pollution Board voted 3-1 to request that the utility propose a more environmentally sound project – but did not make any binding decision, and did not specify what alternative project Dominion should adopt.[5] A Dec. 2007 U.S. Forest Service filing with the Virginia DEQ urged Dominion to cut emissions from the proposed plant.[6]

On Dec. 18, 2007, Dominion made a deal with the DEQ and the U.S. Forest Service, agreeing that it would either cut SO2 emissions at the Wise County plant or other plants in the region, or purchase SO2 credits from other companies. A hearing before the Virginia SCC was held on Jan. 8, 2008.[7]

On March 31st, 2008, the SCC approved construction for Dominion's facility. [8]

On April 18, 2008, the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), representing Appalachian Voices, Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards, Sierra Club and the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, filed a notice of appeal with the Supreme Court of Virginia, challenging the State Corporation Commission's (SCC) ruling that grants Dominion a Certificate of Need to build the plant. SELC argues that the statute upon which the SCC relied violates the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, therefore, the SCC ruling is void and should be overturned.[9]

On May 9, 2008, activists delivered a petition to block the power plant to Dominion's annual shareholder meeting. The document contained 42,400 signatures and stretched a mile long.[10]

On June 25, 2008, the Virginia state Air Pollution Control Board voted 5-0 to approve the final permits required to begin construction on the conventional coal plant[11], formally named the Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center. The plant will release over 9,000 tons of pollutants and 5.3 million tons of carbon dioxide into the environment every year under the approved permits.[12] According to a statement released by Dominion, the plant is targeted to begin commercial operations by 2012.[13]

The Southern Environmental Law Center will challenge the approved air pollution permit in court, stating "the permit as finalized still fails to meet the federally required maximum controls for the neurotoxin mercury and 60 other hazardous air pollutants".

SELC also states that "by failing to require Dominion to use more advanced methods of burning coal that might prepare the plant to control its carbon dioxide emissions, the permits fail to address the approximately 5.37 million tons of carbon dioxide the plant would emit annually. The Clean Air Act requires strong controls for regulated pollutants emitted by power plants; the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year (Massachusetts v. EPA) that carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas, is such a regulated pollutant"[14].

On June 30, 2008, 20 Activists with Blue Ridge Earth First! and Mountain Justice Summer blockaded the entrance to Dominion Resources' corporate headquarters to protest the company's plan to build the plant. Four protesters formed a human chain with their hands encased in containers of hardened cement and a fifth dangled by a climber's harness from the Lee Bridge footbridge. After several hours police made there way through the miles of backed up traffic to cut the activists out of the lockboxes and barrels. The climber came down on his own. Police also detained eight others standing on the sidewalks supporting the lockdown team. 13 in total were arrested.[15].

Early morning on September 15, 2008 around 50 peaceful protesters entered the construction site of the Wise County Plant. Twenty protesters locked their bodies to eight large steel drums, two of which have operational solar panels affixed to the top that illuminated a banner reading "renewable jobs to renew Appalachia." In addition to those locked to the construction site, over 25 protesters from across the country convened in front of the construction site holding a 10'x30' banner, which said "we demand a clean energy future." Eleven were arrested.[16]


Project Details

Sponsors: Dominion Resources, AEP, Virginia MEA #1, Blue Ridge Power
Location: Virginia City, Wise County, VA
Capacity: 585 MW
Type: Circulating fluidized bed
Projected in service: 2012
Status: Under Construction

Financing

Citizen Groups

Resources

References

  1. ↑ Wise County Site Chosen For Final Evaluation Of Future Clean Coal Power Station In Virginia, Dominion website, May 11, 2006.
  2. ↑ "Dominion Seeks Approval for Virginia Coal Power Plant", Reuters, July 17, 2007.
  3. ↑ Environmental Coalition Opposes Power Station, Roanoke Times, September 26, 2007.
  4. ↑ Arlington County Board Condemns Proposed Coal-Fired Power Plant, GreenMiles.net blog, December 20, 2007.
  5. ↑ Panel Wants Cleaner-Burning Plant, Richmond Times-Dispatch, December 1, 2007.
  6. ↑ Forest Service Objects to Proposed Virginia Power Plant, Winston-Salem Journal, December 11, 2007.
  7. ↑ Dominion Reaches Plan to Cut Emissions, McClatchy-Tribune Information Services, December 19, 2007.
  8. ↑ [1]
  9. ↑ Environmental coalition exposes illegal mercury limits in DEQ permit for Wise County coal plant Southern Environmental Law Center Press Release, April 21, 2008
  10. ↑ "Mile-Long Petition Opposes Dominion Coal Plant in Virginia", Environmental News Service, May 9, 2008.
  11. ↑ The Final Order from the State Corporation Commission states: “We find that this coal-fired facility qualifies, at a minimum, as a ‘conventional coal’ facility under § 56-585.1 .A.6 of the Code. ...Accordingly, the Coal Plant shall receive an enhanced return of 100 basis points as prescribed for a ‘conventional coal’ plant by § 56-585.1 .A.6 of the Code.”
  12. ↑ Wise power plant wins approval, Richmond Times-Dispatch, June 26, 2008.
  13. ↑ Dominion Virginia Power Issues Statement on Approval of Air Permits for Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center, Dominion News Release, June 25, 2008.
  14. ↑ Board approves air permits for Wise Co. coal-fired power plant, The Southern Environmental Law Center Press Release, June 26, 2008
  15. ↑ "Thirteen arrested in protest at Dominion today", Richmond Times-Dispatch, June 30, 2008.
  16. ↑ Peaceful Protesters Lock their Bodies to Dominion Power Plant Press Release, Wise Up Dominion, website accessed September 15, 2008

Related SourceWatch Articles

External links

Retrieved from "https://dev.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Wise_County_Plant&oldid=400625"