Fresh Loaf

The Georgia Supreme Court yesterday declined to hear arguments in the controversial case of Plant Longleaf, a coal power plant proposed in Southwest Georgia’s Early County.

Tom Crawford of Capitol Impact reports:

The justices voted 6-0 this week not to consider the appeal, in effect upholding a July decision by the Georgia Court of Appeals that will allow the Environmental Protection Division (EPD) to issue a permit for the Longleaf Energy Station.

The case involves a $2 billion, 1,200-megawatt power plant that was originally proposed by two energy companies, Dynegy of Houston, Tex., and New Jersey-based LS Power Associates. It would be the first coal-fired facility in Georgia in 20 years.

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Second only to CL, the Marietta Daily Journal has some of the best letters to the editor. For less than a dollar a day you get some of the most whimsical glimpses into Cobb County life.

Yesterday, MDJ columnist Don McKee reprinted his readers’ thoughts about this whole ‘water wars’ mess. The best comes from my boy “B.E. (Pitt) Pittman.”

I think Atlanta and its metro counties and cities should build regional reservoirs similar to the new Hickory Log Creek Reservoir in Canton. It really ticks me off that a non-elected federal judge in a far off Northern state can dictate our use of Lake Lanier. Gainesville has built a regional lake on Flat Creek in north Hall County. We should build one on Sope Creek, Ward Creek and Sweetwater Creek. Also, we should build some smaller lakes so folks can use the water to water their lawns, wash cars and water golf courses. I have always thought it ridiculous to use treated water to wash cars, water lawns and golf courses. I wish we could get Bob Barr, Newt Gingrich and Zell Miller back in Congress.

After the jump, we examine Mr. Pittman’s opinions, because that is why Jimmy Carter invented the Internet.

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Jim Powell, the Democrat who last year went through hell in his campaign for Georgia Public Service Commission, is on environmental news service Greenwire’s shortlist for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 4 administrator job.

Region 4, Atlanta

Territory: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and six tribes.

Issues: Oversight of coal-fired power plants and coal-ash dumps. Of 44 coal-ash impoundment sites determined by the Obama administration to be high-hazard sites, 20 of them are this region. Wetlands protection is also a top issue, since the region includes Gulf Coast marshes and the Everglades.

Possible picks: Acting Region 4 Administrator Stanley Meiburg; acting Deputy Administrator Beverly Banister; Russell Wright, assistant administrator of Region 4’s Office of Policy and Management; John Hankinson, former Region 4 administrator in the Clinton administration; and Jim Powell, a former senior official with the Energy Department who retired in 2007.

Powell slogged through the state’s legal system in a residency challenge from Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel, ultimately winning in state Supreme Court. Republican Lauren “Bubba” McDonald beat Powell in a runoff to replace Angela Speir.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Atlanta-based Southern Co. says it’ll file project paperwork in 2011 — the same year its Georgia Power subsidiary will start charging ratepayers for two new proposed reactors at Plant Vogtle near Augusta.

Bloomberg News reports:

Southern Co., the biggest U.S. power producer, is considering building a nuclear power plant in the U.S. to meet demand for electricity and limit the emissions of fossil fuels blamed for global warming.

Southern, based in Atlanta, plans to file for a combined construction and operating license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2011, Beth Thomas, a spokeswoman, said in a telephone interview today. The company hasn’t picked a site for the new facility, she said.

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Southern, which serves 4.4 million customers in the Southeast, already plans to expand its Vogtle nuclear plant in Georgia to add two 1,100-megawatt reactors at the site, which already has two operating units. The Energy Daily reported the plan for the new plant on its Web site yesterday.

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Flanked by Mayor Shirley Franklin, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, state lawmakers and business bigwigs, Gov. Sonny Perdue this morning told reporters the state would appeal a recent ruling that said metro Atlanta’s use of Lake Lanier for its primary water supply was illegal.

Perdue met behind closed doors with 130 officials at the Governor’s Mansion this morning to discuss Georgia’s next step in the ongoing water wars dispute with Florida and Alabama. (Jim Galloway has a list of those who attended.)

U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson has given Georgia three years to seek Congressional approval for the use of Lake Lanier. If not, withdrawals would return to 1975 levels, when the metro region population was a third the size it is today. Perdue, who earlier this week said he’d “fight to the death” for Georgia’s water, said he hopes to bring other states on board because the federal management of reservoirs is a “national” issue.

For nearly 20 years, the three states have argued over water withdrawals from the lake, which was originally built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the 1950s for flood control, hydroelectric production and downstream barge navigation.

When asked by CL if he’d considered asking his floor leaders to introduce legislation that would encourage conservation or set mandates, Perdue bristled. He said the state had made strides over the last 18 months  simply by asking local governments and residents to reduce their use of water.

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On Tuesday, July 28, an Atlanta City Council committee will discuss the long-planned “sustainable building ordinance,” a beast of a bill that dictates green-building standards for new construction. Supporters say it could make Atlanta one of the most environmentally friendly cities in the country.

The legislation — which has been in the works since last summer — is a key part of the Sustainable Atlanta Initiative, a multi-pronged approach to meet Mayor Shirley Franklin’s goal to reduce the city’s carbon footprint. (PDF of Sustainable Building Ordinance) Included in the ordinance are water-conservation measures, energy-efficiency guidelines, material requirements and various other green-building standards.

At more than 65 pages, the bill covers everything from sink fixtures in your home to spray wands at the car wash. Buildings must meet one or four green-building certifications, including EarthCraft or LEED certification. Under the current language, only new commercial, residential, institutional and industrial buildings taller than three stories would be required to comply with the ordinance. Single-family homes, structures that don’t require running water or electricity and historic buildings would be exempt. The ordinance would take effect one year after passage. It’s an ambitious initiative and worth a look.

Green building codes have the tendency to become hot-button issues. Some traditional builders and developers have argued that the standards are unfair, expensive and that government has no right to set mandates to reduce the effects of global warming. Architects and urban planners usually applaud them because they enforce methods that are lend to better-built homes that lessen our impact on the environment while also saving homeowners money.

We’ve called the usual suspects to see if there’s any concern in their camps. We haven’t heard back just yet.

After the jump, I’ve pasted one paragraph that caught my eye for its potential impact on people who might enjoy the occasional Pall Mall in their chic, hi-rise apartment.

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The Georgia Court of Appeals today reversed a landmark 2008 Fulton County Superior Court ruling regarding a proposed “clean coal” plant in southwest Georgia.

That ruling invalidated an air quality permit issued to Plant Longleaf in Early County because the state failed to place a limit on the facility’s carbon emissions.

UPDATE after the jump.

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(Sad horn)

From the Savannah Morning News:

The sun won’t be generating significant electricity any time soon in Chatham County – plans for the biggest solar projects were delayed when Georgia Power announced last month that it was out of funds to produce solar and other “green” power.

“We had to cap the amount we would buy back, because there’s only so much the program would bear as we rolled it out and it started to be developed,” said Ervan Hancock, Georgia Power’s renewable and green strategy manager.

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“Just at the time alternative energy is beginning to take root, they are stifling these initiatives by artificially putting a cap on it,” [Savannah-based solar advocate Jack Star] said. “This is unbelievable at a time when the rest of the country is moving forward with alternatives.”

Georgia Power’s Green Energy Program, launched nearly three years ago, has enrolled about 4,400 customers among a total customer base of 2.3 million. Those enrolled voluntarily purchase nearly 19,000 blocks of 100-kilowatt-hours each per month for an extra $3.50 to $4.50 per block. That money funds the premium that Georgia Power pays to producers of solar and other green power.

The Morning News has the full story.

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Much like its subsidiary Georgia Power did under the Gold Dome with its controversial Plant Vogtle bill earlier this year, Atlanta-based Southern Co. has cranked up production in its lobbyist factory and ordered more than 60 well-dressed foot soldiers to march through the halls of Congress.

Their mission: Twist lawmakers’ arms about the global warming bill that last week narrowly passed the House and is on its way to the Senate.

From the Center for Public Integrity:

Southern Company, the nation’s largest electric power generator, also had the largest force of lobbyists among the hundreds of businesses and interest groups that were seeking to influence the landmark climate change legislation that just passed the House.

With 63 lobbyists, the Atlanta-based energy giant had nearly twice as many climate lobbyists as any other company or organization, according to registration statements filed with the Senate Office of Public Records for the first quarter of 2009. (The second quarter filings won’t be available for a few weeks.) Eleven of Southern’s climate representatives were in-house, while the rest came from a dozen different lobbying shops.

It’s for good reason, too. The center reports that “more than 80 percent of the 200 million megawatt hours of electricity [Southern Co.'s] plants generate annually is fired by fossil fuel — the main source of greenhouse gases.” Should the bill pass, it could greatly impact Southern Co.’s — and in the process, your — bottom line.

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The U.S. House of Representatives today passed the Waxman-Markey bill, a piece of legislation aimed at curbing global warming through energy-efficiency standards, clean energy technologies and a cap-and-trade system.

And despite the bill’s good intentions, not everyone’s exactly thrilled with what it contains.

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The U.S. House of Representatives has begun debating one of the most monumental energy and environmental bills it’s ever considered.

The legislation, the so-called Waxman-Markey bill, is a measure to help curb global warming by pushing for more energy efficiency, renewable energy standards, and limiting carbon emissions from industries and utilities. Its most controversial provision includes placing a cap-and-trade policy in which carbon emissions could be bought and sold. The Associated Press has a concise rundown of the bill.

Environmentalists have heralded the bill as a necessity at a time when climate experts say action must be taken within years. The Sierra Club has its list of its advantages — as well as what could be improved — on its website. The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy applauded lawmakers for its efforts, but said the cap-and-trade policy could essentially create a polluters’ market.

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Earlier this year, Georgia Power made themselves a bunch of enemies with Senate Bill 31, a controversial piece of legislation sponsored by state Sen. Don Balfour, R-Snellville, that allows the utility to charge customers in advance for two new proposed nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle near Augusta, Ga.

The bill’s proponents said the rate hike, which would cover the reactors’ financing costs, was necessary to build the costly white elephants. Consumer groups, libertarians, conservatives, liberals — hell, even senior citizens — fumed at the proposed tacked-on cost. Nonetheless, SB 31 passed, and starting in 2011 ratepayers will see an additional $1.30 each month on their energy bills. The monthly fee will roughly double every year, topping out at an estimated $9.30 a month — or $108 a year — in 2017.

Well, Uncle Sam might give Georgia Power ratepayers a little bit of a reprieve from those Plant Vogtle charges. The U.S. Department of Energy is set to bestow $18 billion in federal financing to four utilities that could boost nuclear energy production. And those Plant Vogtle reactors are reportedly on the federal agency’s shortlist.

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It’s hard to read through the clean-energy jargon, but an article in PV Tech — “your daily dose of photovoltaic technology developments and solar news” — has some big news.

Georgia Power, the Atlanta-based utility that has insisted time and again that solar power won’t work in the Peach State, is conducting a yearlong project — on its downtown headquarters’ roof — to test which solar power technology offers the biggest bang for its buck.

[Georgia Power] plans to have seven “representative” module technologies installed on its headquarters’ roof, all with the same position and orientation to the sun, run them for a year, sort through and analyze the data, and see which ones perform best (and provide some clean juice to the building in the bargain).

Four of those techonologies are already in place on Georgia Power’s roof, PV Tech’s Tom Cheyney reports. Norcross-based Suniva installs its technology next week.

What caught my eye were the quotes from the utility’s clean-energy experts that says “yeah, for years, we didn’t know how effective solar power works in metro Atlanta” — even though the utility’s suits have repeatedly told lawmakers and electricity rate-setters that the zero-carbon technology just somehow wouldn’t work in metro Atlanta.

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Tommy Krenshaw krushes kans for no man

The Georgia Department of Community Affairs is ramping up a statewide recycling education campaign called “You Gotta Be Kidding” in which fictional characters give the idiotic reasons why they don’t recycle, only to have their MINDS BLOWN BY THE FACTS.

The state agency has unleashed the full power of the Internet to support its mission, creating a presence at Twitter, YouTube, Blogger, WordPress, Facebook, every damn thing you can imagine. That makes sense, as the campaign is targeted toward the 25- to -34-year-old demographic, one that is least likely to recycle.

After the jump, meet Tommy Krenshaw, one of the hilariously named fictional characters who lives in Atlanta. Of course, our hometown representative is a classic chatch. He wants to own waterfront property on the new planet Earthlings will colonize once we turn this one into a festering pile of broken remote controls and nonbiodegradable diapers. Tommy, WTF?!?!

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Georgia Trend magazine this month bestowed Georgia Power CEO Mike Garrett with the title “Most Respected Georgia Businessman.”

You think it’d be a fluff piece. But Garrett’s profile — which in the print edition is bordered by sycophantic ads hilariously congratulating the CORPORATE TITAN for this monumental achievement — is actually eye-opening.

Georgia Trend editor Susan Percy provides some additional details on the utility’s strong-arm effort to pass Senate Bill 31 during the most recent legislative session. That bill, which was recently signed by Gov. Sonny Perdue, allows Georgia Power to charge ratepayers in advance for the financing costs on two new proposed reactors at Plant Vogtle. It was widely lambasted. But bad ideas under the Gold Dome have a way of growing legs and becoming law.

Percy’s one of the first journalists we’ve seen to ask Garrett on the record about the controversial legislation — as well as the steamrollin’ way the bill was shoved down lawmakers’ throats.

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Two more utilities have backed out of a coalition that wants to build a proposed coal-fired power plant in Washington County, Ga.

From the Macon Telegraph:

Electric cooperatives representing half the stake in a proposed coal-fired power plant in Middle Georgia have pulled out of the deal, electric membership corporations confirmed Tuesday.

The $2.1 billion Plant Washington project is being developed for a site eight miles north of Sandersville by Power4Georgians, which originally consisted of 10 partner EMCs. The two with the largest stakes, Jackson and GrayStone Power, have pulled out, as have the smaller Excelsior and Diverse Power.

All the cooperatives that have stepped away from the plant cited uncertainty about future federal regulation of carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired plants, which seems eminent.

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The four EMCs that withdrew represented 50 percent to 55 percent of the total stake in the plant, said Chip Stewart with Cookerly Public Relations, which represents Power4Georgians.

The Telegraph has a thorough report as to why the EMCs are leaving the project. Check it out.

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Two Georgia utilities have backed out of a coalition that wants to build a  coal-fired power plant in Washington County, Ga.

GreyStone Power and Excelsior Electric Membership Corporation’s exit from the $2.2 billion project now leaves eight investors, all EMCs, to pay for the 850 MW plant.

From the AJC:

Led by Cobb EMC, the project was a departure for the state’s electric cooperatives. Co-ops distribute power in Georgia, but had not built a large-scale generating plant before.

GreyStone cited an uncertain regulatory environment in Washington for the decision.

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Dean Alford, a spokesman for the coalition, said the remaining co-ops are committed to the project. In a statement, the coalition said Georgia’s future energy needs can’t be met without coal.

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If you’ve been looking for a concise description of utility juggernaut Southern Co.’s lax attitude about getting serious about clean energy — and the state’s role in allowing them to do so — read the second letter to the editor in today’s Savannah Morning News (”Knowing the wind-Vogtle connection”).

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Of course he signs it on Earth Day. The legislation, House Bill 473, creates a grant program that provides incentives to businesses that install solar panels, produce heat from geothermal heaters, and invest in energy efficiency.

From the governor’s office:

“HB 473 provides Georgia companies with additional incentives for investing in energy efficiency and renewable energy,” said Governor Perdue. “These clean energy grants will also help the private sector meet the state’s goal of reducing energy consumption by 15 percent.”

HB 473 will be administered by GEFA under similar terms and conditions of the current Clean Energy Property Tax Credit (HB 670) passed last year. Quality standards, such as Energy Star criteria for geothermal heat pumps and a high efficiency standard (exceeding ASHRAE 90.1.2004 by 30 percent) for lighting and buildings, determine eligibility for the grant program. The grants will be available on a first come, first served basis; installation of the qualifying clean energy property must be completed before a grant application can be submitted. The maximum grant for each applicant is limited to the lesser of 35 percent of the cost of the clean energy property or the statutory caps.

There’s a hitch though — the size of the grant program depends on how much stimulus cash our benevolent federal overlords decide to give us this summer.

While HB 473 authorizes Georgia to use ARRA funding for energy efficiency and renewable energy grants to non-residential consumers, the state will not know whether this is possible or how much will be available until its application for recovery funds is reviewed this summer by the U.S. Department of Energy. GEFA is expected to receive a total of approximately $82.5 million for the State Energy Program through ARRA, which will support many other efforts in addition to HB 473.

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Big news for Suniva, a solar-cell company headquartered in Norcross.

Urvaksh Karkaria and Douglas Sams report:

Norcross, Ga.-based Suniva Inc. will supply solar cells to Aerotropolis Atlanta, a planned 130-acre mixed-use redevelopment of the former Hapeville Ford plant.

The deal could be worth “tens of millions of dollars,” said Jim Jacoby, developer of 6.5 million-square-foot aviation-intensive business district that is expected to include office, retail, restaurant, hotel and airport parking. The site is adjacent to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Suniva, a Georgia Tech startup, claims to have a lower-cost way to make solar cells.

The company, which snagged nearly $1 billion in orders from Indian and European solar module makers, has developed technology to make solar cells that can transform more of the sun’s energy into the juice that powers today’s plugged-in world.

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The solar infrastructure is expected to satiate up to half of the development’s electricity needs. Longer term, Jacoby said, he plans to sell excess power generated at Aerotropolis to surrounding developments.

Jacoby also plans to install solar cells in other projects, including at Atlantic Station — the developer’s best know redevelopment project.

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For one hour on Saturday, more than 400 buildings in metro Atlanta — along with 1,500 cities in more than 80 countries — will shut off their lights to participate in Earth Hour, a worldwide event to raise awareness about the impact our energy usage has on global warming.

Many trademark buildings, including the Fox Theater and Midtown’s Bank of America building, will participate in the event. Organized by the World Wildlife Fund in cooperation with the City of Atlanta, tomorrow’s event marks the second year the city’s participated in Earth Hour. The lights will go dark from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m.

For the best view of the darkened city skyline during Earth Hour, I recommend the Jackson Street bridge that stretches over Freedom Parkway. If you have some good suggestions, leave ‘em in the comments.

(Homepage photo courtesy Flickr user highsmith)

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Do you or one of your neighbors have an extra closet — maybe some storage space or a shed out back — where a mom-and-pop nuclear facility can dispose of their low-level radioactive waste? Plant Vogtle might need to borrow it.

The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and other environmental groups recently raised a red flag about two new reactors proposed for the nuclear plant near Augusta that’s owned and operated by several Peach State utilities, including Georgia Power.

At issue is whether the nuclear facility, already home to two power-generating white elephants, has sufficient plans to safely dispose of low-level radioactive waste produced by the new reactors.

And late last week, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, a three-judge federal panel that’s part of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and one of the many steps in the complicated process of approving nuke plants, said the environmental groups’ concerns merit a closer look. Should Southern Nuclear, the Southern Co. subsidiary that operates Plant Vogtle, not produce a better long-term plan, the federal agency might not issue the company a permit to build the new reactors.

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Georgia Public Service Commissioner Stan Wise told Congress today that the state lacked sufficient wind, solar and biomass potential — which means it’s unable to meet proposed renewable energy standards.

Not so, says Stephen Smith, the executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. After hearing the commissioner’s testimony, Smith said Wise — who has been accused before of being too close to the utilities he regulates — was “doing the bidding of Southern power companies” and singing the same ole song when it comes to Georgia’s energy potential. Smith also takes issue with U.S. Congressman John Barrow’s claim that Georgia doesn’t have enough trees for a robust biomass program.

Smith’s full statement, with links to research included, is after the jump.

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Want to yell your representative’s ear off about Senate Bill 31? Maybe applaud them for listening to your input? Courtesy of a little birdie who flew onto my windowsill, here are the vote counts for the bill.

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After hours of debate, the Georgia House of Representatives passed a controversial bill that would allow Georgia Power to charge customers in advance for financing costs on two proposed nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle.

The bill now moves back to the state Senate where it originated and passed by a wide margin. That chamber will then send it to Gov. Sonny Perdue’s desk for signature. The governor has not said whether he supports or opposes the measure. It merits a mention, however, that Perdue’s chief of staff is a former Georgia Power executive.

Full list of how lawmakers voted will be posted when it’s available.

(Photo courtesy of Plant Vogtle)

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