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.

(more…)

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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.

…

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.

…

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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Did ya hear about this plant? GreenLaw has. The Atlanta-based environmental law firm is representing 15 groups that say a proposed power plant 60 miles outside of Macon in Sandersville has not efficiently outlined a strategy for how exactly it plans to control pollutants emitted from the facility.

Power4Georgians LLC has touted the plant as a safer, more efficient power facility that uses cleaner technologies and will have less of an impact on water resources than its antiquated counterparts. But GreenLaw considers it an unhealthy — and financially risky — energy option for Georgia. Keep in mind that Plant Scherer, branded as the nation’s foulest power plant, sits just north of Macon. (For an interesting read on how the coal used at Plant Scherer gets from Wyoming to Georgia, click here.)

“At a time when innovative, cleaner ways of producing energy are becoming more economically feasible, Georgia must look to new technologies as well as to greater conservation measures to achieve the economic growth that we expect,” Patty Durand, Georgia chapter director of the Sierra Club, said in a press release. “We need to attract more ‘green collar’ jobs for Georgia and keep our air clean for breathing.”

Click here for GreenLaw’s take on the matter. Information about the proposed plant, made available by Power4Georgians LLC, is available here.

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