Firm Says Proposed Power Plant Still On Track

The Houston-based Dynegy Corporation said on Friday it was walking away from the joint venture with New York's LS Power to construct a coal-fired power plant in southwest Georgia.

Dynegy says they took the decision due to tight credit markets and economic uncertainty.

However, LS Power, who’ll own 100-percent of the proposed $2 billion facility, say they're going ahead with the project, set along the Chattahoochee River.

Project Manager Mike Vogt:

"We're going to push forward with the development of this plant, and ultimately customers -- hopefully in Georgia -- will decide that it does have a place and will decide that it does have a place."

Vogt says his company is also appealing a court decision from late last year that halted the project over air pollution concerns:

"The briefings will be finished in January 2009, and the court of appeals will make their decision sometime before June of 2009."

Environmentalists say the facilities' smokestacks will emit unchecked amounts of carbon dioxide, sulfur, and coal dust.

Supporters of the project say it’ll bring hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars in tax-revenue to Early County – one of the state's poorest.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the proposed Longleaf Power plant.