Washington Plant
{{#badges: CoalSwarm}} On January 23, 2008, POWER4Georgians - a consortium of ten Georgia electric membership cooperatives (EMC) (Central Georgia EMC, Cobb EMC, Diverse Power, Excelsior EMC, GreyStone Power, Jackson EMC, Pataula EMC, Snapping Shoals EMC, Upson EMC, and Washington EMC) - announced plans to build a $2 billion, 850-MW supercritical coal plant in Washington County, Georgia. Applications for air permits were filed with the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) in January.[1]
In February and March 2008, a coalition of state environmental organizations and student environmental groups - led by CLEANPower4Georgians, itself a coalition of several groups - began organizing EMC ratepayers to oppose the new plant proposal.[2]
According to the Sierra Club, as of July 2008, the Georgia EPD has yet to issue a draft permit.[3]
In early March 2009, the Georgia EPD held a Question & Answer session for the proposed plant. The EPD indicated that it would not issue a draft air permit until after the GA Court of Appeals rules on Longleaf by the end of July 2009.[4]
In May 2009, Jackson EMC and Diverse Power announced they had left Power4Georgians because of the uncertainty over carbon emissions regulations. GreyStone Power and Excelsior EMC have also withdrawn.[5]
Contents
Georgia legislature proposes coal moratorium bill
House Bill 276, proposed by Margaret Oliver (D-Decatur), would put a 5-year moratorium on building new coal plants and eliminate the burning of Appalachian coal mined by mountaintop removal by mid-2016. The Appalachian Mountain Preservation Act would gradually prohibit Georgia coal consumers from using Central Appalachian mountaintop removal beginning in 2011. The bill is backed by environmental groups including Appalachian Voices but received strong opposition from POWER4Georgians, the group behind the Washington plant.[6][7]
Project Details
Sponsor: POWER4Georgians (consortium of ten Georgia power cooperatives)
Location: Sandersville, Washington County, Georgia
Capacity: 850 MW
Type: Supercritical
Projected in service: 2013
Status: Development
Financing
Citizen Groups
- CLEANPower4Georgians
- Southern Energy Network
- Georgia Environmental Action Network
- Environment Georgia
- Georgia Sierra Club
- GreenLaw
Resources
References
- ↑ "Co-ops Propose $2 Billion Coal-Fired Plant in Georgia", Reuters UK, Jan. 24, 2008.
- ↑ "Group Will Help EMC Fight Plant", Athens Banner-Herald, Mar. 24, 2008.
- ↑ "Stopping the Coal Rush", Sierra Club, accessed November 2008.
- ↑ "Stopping the Coal Rush", Sierra Club, accessed May 2009. (This is a Sierra Club list of new coal plant proposals.)
- ↑ David Markiewicz, "2 more co-ops drop out of coal plant group," Atlanta Journal-Constitution, May 19, 2009.
- ↑ "Georgia bill proposes moratorium on new coal plants," Reuters, February 4, 2009.
- ↑ Margaret Newkirk, "Bill would restrict coal power plants," Atlanta Journal-Constitution, February 4, 2009.
Related SourceWatch Articles
External links
- "Stopping the Coal Rush", Sierra Club, accessed January 2008. (This is a Sierra Club list of new coal plant proposals.)
[http//www.green-law.org GreenLaw]
