Fresh Loaf

This was bound to happen. The Georgia Chamber of Commerce tossed its support behind two utility companies itching to build a coal power plant in Early County and echoed their claims that a Fulton County Superior Court judge overreached in her June 30 ruling that halted the beast.

From the Albany Herald:

ALBANY — Officials with the state and area chambers of commerce say they will lend their names to an application that will be filed today with the Georgia Court of Appeals asking that a Fulton County Superior Court judge’s decision interrupting construction of a coal-fired power plant in Early County be reconsidered.

Judge Thelma Wyatt Cummings Moore’s ruling on June 30 invalidated a permit granted by the state Environmental Protection Division to LS Power to begin construction on the $2 billion Longleaf Energy Station in rural Early County. Chamber officials say the decision threatens economic growth potential in Georgia by hampering the state’s ability to meet the demand for reliable and affordable power.

“We’re shocked at the decision,” George Israel, president of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, said during a meeting Tuesday with The Albany Herald Editorial Board. “If this ruling is allowed to stand, it will not only hinder the ability to supply power to the state, it will have a major negative impact on future economic development in Georgia.”

Patricia Barmeyer, an attorney for one of the companies proposing the plant, says the judge’s ruling set back the project for one year.

The fallout from this ruling has been substantial. For one thing, the ruling was the first of its kind in the country. Moore’s decision even put the brakes on another coal power plant near Sandersville, Ga. The ruling even sparked a bit of Silkwood-esque drama; The Sierra Club received death threats two weeks ago because it supported GreenLaw, the environmental law firm that led the fight against the plant.

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A little more than one year after filing suit against a coal plant proposed for an impoverished pocket of southwest Georgia, opponents emerged victorious in the case and say the decision alters the legal landscape for one of the chief causes of global warming.

Justine Thompson of GreenLaw, the environmental law firm that fought the power plant, says Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thelma Wyatt Cummings Moore established a precedent this morning when she reversed a ruling by a lower court regarding a permit issued by the state Environmental Protection Division to Dynegy Co., the Houston-based company that planned to build the plant in Early County. Moore’s ruling — the first in the nation — states that the state agency must consider carbon dioxide emissions when it issues air-quality permits.

“A bombshell court ruling today,” Frank O’Donnell of the Clean Air Watch, a Washington D.C.-based environmental group, wrote in an e-mail about Moore’s decision. “This ruling could have far-reaching implications. Those proposing coal plants elsewhere are going to be running for the Excedrin.”

Bruce Nilles of the Sierra Club says the ruling is nonbinding for other states but would most likely be considered when cases involving new or modified coal power plants come before a court. Nationwide, he said, 130 new coal plants are proposed. Of those, nearly 80 are in the permitting process and more than half are being battled in court by the Sierra Club.

“In a case that is being watched across the country, Judge Moore has sent a message that it is not acceptable for the state to put profits over public health,” Thompson said in a statement. “This ruling goes a long way toward protecting the right of Georgians to breathe clean air and sends a message to EPD that it must tighten the standards it uses to approve air pollution permits for companies seeking to build any more coal-fired power plants in this state.” (more…)

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Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thelma Wyatt Cummings Moore has reversed a ruling that would’ve allowed the first coal power plant in the state in 20 years to be built in Early County, putting the brakes on the idea. The case now goes back to a lower court for a hearing.

Click here to read the judge’s ruling.

More details to come. A spokesperson for Dynegy, one of the companies building the plant, said he had not yet seen the ruling. GreenLaw, the environmental law firm who helped fight the plant, is expected to comment later today.

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Like breathing clean air? Don’t want to inhale toxins? You might want to keep your eyes peeled on Fulton County Superior Court tomorrow.

Judge Thelma Wyatt Cummings Moore will hear arguments over whether coal power plants should regulate carbon dioxide as a pollutant and harmful to humans. The argument stems from the state Environmental Protection Division’s decision to issue an air pollution permit to Dynegy, the nation’s largest plant builder, for its proposed plant in impoverished Early County. The 1,200-megawatt plant slated to be built on the banks of the Chattahoochee in southwest Georgia is estimated to emit 9 million tons of CO2 every year — the equivalent of 1.5 million cars driving 12,000 miles each year.

A group of environmental groups including the Sierra Club and the Friends of the Chattahoochee are fighting the plant. GreenLaw, an Atlanta-based environmental law firm, is arguing the case. The judge’s ruling — which is expected within 30 days of the hearing — could halt or suspend the plant’s construction.

The hearing begins at 9:30 a.m. at at the Fulton County Superior Court located at 185 Central Avenue, Atlanta, GA.

For more information about the case, click here.

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Cost of one ton of Appalachian coal in 2007: $40

Cost of one ton of Appalachian coal in 2008: $90

Percentage of electricity price increase Georgia Power recently requested from the state Public Services Commission: 3

Number of times Georgia Power has requested rate increases during the past five years: 5

Amount Georgia Power parent company, Southern Co., spent on government lobbying in 2007: $14.5 million

Number of new coal plants planned for Georgia: 2 Amount of energy, in megawatts, the two coal power plants can produce: 2,050

Amount of energy, in megawatts, that one wind turbine among many located off the Georgia coast could generate in clean energy: 160

Sources: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Augusta Chronicle, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Public Service Commission, Georgia Tech Strategic Energy Institute, OpenSecrets.org

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Woe is Georgia Power.

The energy heavy and subsidiary of Atlanta-based Southern Co. is advocating before the Public Services Commission today and tomorrow that it needs to raise its rates 3 percent because of the skyrocketing cost of natural gas and coal, the state’s predominant fuel burned to generate electricity. Customers would most likely see their bills go up $3 if the hike is approved.

Georgia Power says the rate hike will generate $222 million. Long the cheapest bang-for-the-buck source, coal’s prices have risen sharply, from nearly $40 a ton early last year to $90 a ton in today’s market, thanks to increasing demand from India and China. Two new coal power plants have been proposed for the state of Georgia. The mining and use of coal is also probably one of the stiffest middle fingers you can give to Mother Nature, but that’s another story.

In other news, the sun continues to shine and wind continues to blow.

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A group of scientists at Purdue University have finally made visuals from the numbers, depicting in real-time what the United States’ carbon dioxide emissions from the utility, transportation and industry sectors actually look like. What you will watch below is literally the heartbeat of America.

The video vividly illustrates the concentration of power plants and the massive CO2 output from dense population centers, particularly in the eastern half of the nation. No wonder Colorado, Montana and Idaho are so picturesque — watch and you’ll see what I mean.

Georgia’s contribution is substantial, which shouldn’t be surprising in light of the fact that we’ve got three of the biggest carbon-belching coal-fired power plants in the country. Scientists say the methods used to create the video could be employed to provide real-time monitoring of CO2 emissions, pinpointed to the source.

(Thanks to Andrew Revkin of the New York Times for spotting this.)

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Coming in over the transom: A new “coal-fueled” power plant has been proposed for Washington County. Here are the filthy details.

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