Four electric cooperatives have pulled-out of a deal to build a coal plant in Washington County.
Both GreyStone Power, based in Douglasville, and Metter-based Excelsior EMC recently decided to leave the 10-member group of electric cooperatives. Georgia Public Broadcasting learned Tuesday another two have also dropped out: Jackson EMG in Jefferson, and Diverse Power based in LaGrange. That leaves six co-ops in the coalition Power4Georgians, originally formed to invest in the Washington County plant.
The president and CEO of Greystone is fully behind coal fueling the nation’s needs in years to come. But Gary Miller says his company’s decision to drop-out is based on an uncertain political climate, and how the dust will settle on carbon legislation:
Dean Alford with Power4Georgians says these defections from the coalition will NOT affect the timetable in getting the proposed $2-billion-plus plant built and online:
Construction could start early next year with the plant up and running by 2014. The proposed coal plant still needs clearance on an envirmomental permit, followed by a round of public hearings.
Both GreyStone Power, based in Douglasville, and Metter-based Excelsior EMC recently decided to leave the 10-member group of electric cooperatives. Georgia Public Broadcasting learned Tuesday another two have also dropped out: Jackson EMG in Jefferson, and Diverse Power based in LaGrange. That leaves six co-ops in the coalition Power4Georgians, originally formed to invest in the Washington County plant.
The president and CEO of Greystone is fully behind coal fueling the nation’s needs in years to come. But Gary Miller says his company’s decision to drop-out is based on an uncertain political climate, and how the dust will settle on carbon legislation:
"The price has always been very attractive...the supply is there. The issues now clearly are how much more cost is the government going to impose on that due to carbon. That’s the uncertainty that we really can’t plan around."President Obama’s "cap and trade" proposal has been hotly-debated with push-back in Washington from coal-producing states and industry. Under "cap and trade", companies like coal plants that need to go over the issued limit of emission permits must buy credits from those who pollute less. In effect, the buyer pays more to pollute more, and costs could be passed to the consumer.
Dean Alford with Power4Georgians says these defections from the coalition will NOT affect the timetable in getting the proposed $2-billion-plus plant built and online:
"The reality of it is the number of co-ops that we would require to not only build the plant but take off-take agreements on the power plant are a whole lot less than the ones that were involved in this. So this doesn’t change anything about the plant at all."Alford says he respects the decision of any business to figure any certainty in risk with investments.
Construction could start early next year with the plant up and running by 2014. The proposed coal plant still needs clearance on an envirmomental permit, followed by a round of public hearings.
