Air Force base goes "green"

Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins is making a three year commitment to going green. The base signed a contract with Georgia Power to be the utility’s largest consumer of so-called green energy.

Green energy is electricity that’s produced in an environmentally friendly manner. Robins will purchase 40 percent of all renewable energy produced by Georgia Power. Most of Georgia Power’s green energy comes from biomass, supplied by a methane-to-energy plant at a Dekalb County landfill.

Green energy will cost the base a little more, but help them fulfill a commitment to use renewable sources of energy under the 2005 Energy Policy Act. Three thousand Georgia homeowners are also taking part in the green energy program.

GA Power gets the go-ahead with a hurdle

The Public Service Commission's approval yesterday of Georgia Power's long-range energy plan comes with a big stipulation -- the company must consider energy sources other than nuclear power.

Georgia Power wants to expand the nuclear energy facility Plant Vogtle near Augusta, but Public Service Commission Chair Bobby Baker says the company must accept bids from other energy companies. "That will allow us to check the marketplace to see what options are available and at what prices," said Baker.

Energy alternatives include coal and natural gas. Other energy sources such as wind power or bio-mass are not considered cost-effective.

Georgia Power will submit its own bid for nuclear energy, and an independent evaluator will determine the most viable option.

Savannah accepts energy challenge

The city of Savannah has become the first in the state to accept a challenge to reduce energy consumption. Governor Sonny Perdue's Energy Challenge, part of his Conserve Georgia initiative, commits to reducing state government energy use by 15 percent by 2020. Governor Perdue challenged Georgia’s citizens, businesses, organizations, local governments and school systems to reach this goal.

On Thursday, August 28, the Savannah City Council adopted a resolution accepting the Governor’s Energy Challenge. It is Savannah's first major policy adoption under the city's newly launched Thrive campaign, which aims to make the city a healthier, more environmentally sensitive, and more energy-efficient community.

Business groups fighting coal plant ruling

Georgia business groups are appealing a judge's decision to halt the construction of a power plant, warning that the ruling could stall other energy plants and hamper economic development throughout the state.

The Georgia Chamber of Commerce warned Wednesday that the decision could have far-reaching implications, driving up energy costs and preventing the construction of natural gas, oil and biofuel plants across the state.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thelma Wyatt Cummings Moore's ruling relied on the Supreme Court's decision last year that carbon dioxide could be regulated as a pollutant, and environmental activists said it set a precedent.

In the ruling, Moore contended that federal air pollution laws required permits for all pollutants that could be regulated under the federal Clean Air Act - including carbon dioxide. The gas, which is blamed for global warming, is not currently regulated.

The decision halted the construction of the $2 billion Longleaf Energy Plant, which would become Georgia's first new coal-fired plant in more than 20 years.

Environmental groups praised the decision, saying it will help them stave off 30 other coal plants now in active litigation. At the very least, they said, it's a sign that energy companies will face more challenging legal hurdles over coal-fired power projects.

The plant is expected to create more than 100 full-time jobs and give millions of dollars in tax revenues to Early County, where almost a quarter of the 12,000 residents live in poverty. It would power more than a half-million homes through utilities in Georgia, Alabama and Florida.

Each year it would emit as much as 9 million tons of carbon dioxide, worrying critics who say it could cause health problems in a county that already suffers above-average air pollution.

But the chamber contends the ruling went too far, sidestepping the efforts of federal lawmakers and regulators debating whether to regulate the gas.

The chamber claims that the ruling could delay the construction of any "sizable" new building that relies on natural gas for heat - from office buildings to malls.

"It would be devastating," said George Israel, the chamber's chief executive. "It would cause delays in almost everything, from hospital expansions to school auditoriums."

Israel told the Albany Herald newspaper:

“We’re shocked at the decision.”

“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.”

Israel, local Albany officials and a lawyer for LS Power met with the newspaper on Tuesday to lay out their opposition to the ruling.

The court will decide by Aug. 29 whether to hear the appeal. The Sierra Club, which filed the lawsuit, said the ruling does not affect alternative energy projects.

"Georgia needs to be on the front of the clean energy economy," said Patty Durand, the group's president. "It's too bad the Georgia chamber chooses not to be a leader of a change that's inevitable."

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the battle over the Longleaf Power Station.

(With The Associated Press)

Energy plant at Savannah River Site to use recycled wood

The U.S. Department of Energy is replacing an old coal-fired plant at a site near Augusta that processes nuclear materials.

The project is one of the largest energy improvement projects within the federal agency.

The plant will provide energy to the Savannah River National Laboratory…a technological research and development facility near Augusta.

The fuel will come from wood chips collected from forest management activities at the Savannah River Site, which processes nuclear materials.

Officials say the energy is cleaner and cheaper, saving about $1.5 million a year.

"The cost savings comes through the operations of the plant, requiring inexpensive wood chips versus coal, reduced emissions and it’s going to be a smaller plant," says James Giusti, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Energy.

The project replaces a coal-fired plant built in 1951.

Officials expect operation of the new plant to begin by autumn.

Fed Energy Funds Headed Our Way

Federal officials say Georgia will receive $32.9 million in federal funds to support energy efficiency and renewable energy projects across the state. The grant, announced Monday, is part of the nearly $82.5 million the department will award Georgia under the Federal-State Energy Program. Georgia's proposal for the money outlined plans for increasing the use of renewable energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The U.S. Department of Energy says the state will receive more than $41 million in additional funding upon demonstrating successful implementation of that plan.

(Associated Press)

Bill to Stop Mountaintop Strip-Mined Coal Use

Placard of the group backing the bill. Click photo for a larger image. (Photo: Dave Bender)

A state legislator today introduced a bill to phase-out use of mountaintop strip-mined coal in Georgia's power plants.

The so-called Appalachian Mountains Preservation and Clean Energy Act would freeze permits for coal-fired power plants in Georgia for five years and limit strip mining.

Appalachian Mountains Preservation and Clean Energy Act sponsors at the Capitol, Feb. 3, 2009: (L-R) (D) Mary-Margaret Oliver - Decatur, (D) Debbie Buckner - Columbus, (D) Brian Thomas - Gwinnett. (Photo: Dave Bender)

The bill's sponsor Democratic representative Mary-Margaret Oliver of Decatur says Georgia needs to look elsewhere for its power:

"Coal is not a part of the future of energy production in Georgia, by most experts' analysis. We have to find alternative sources; we have to find renewable sources; we have to be part of an economic energy-planning process that's fair to the state, fair to the environment and fair to the ratepayers."

Coal industry representatives say such a moratorium is impractical. They say there are not enough alternative energy sources to provide for Georgia's growing power needs.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of Georgia's energy issues.

Georgia Nets $40M for Energy Upgrades

Federal officials say Georgia will receive $32.9 million in federal funds to support energy efficiency and renewable energy projects across the state. The grant, announced Monday, is part of the nearly $82.5 million the department will award Georgia under the Federal-State Energy Program. Georgia's proposal for the money outlined plans for increasing the use of renewable energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The U.S. Department of Energy says the state will receive more than $41 million in additional funding upon demonstrating successful implementation of that plan.

(Associated Press)

Georgia lawmakers back Bush on drilling

Georgia lawmakers largely support President Bush's call to lift a long-standing ban on offshore oil drilling, including off the state's coast.

All nine of Georgia's Republican congressmen, including both senators, back the proposal. Three of six Democrats also support it, along with Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue.

The new push for drilling is a response to increasingly urgent complaints from constituents about $4-a-gallon gasoline.

Many experts, including Energy Department forecasters, predict that offshore supplies would amount to a drop in the global bucket and would have little effect on gas prices. But drilling supporters say no one really knows how much oil is out there and that Congress can no longer ignore it.

"People all too often want to say ... 'not in my backyard.' But as a nation in a fuel crisis, we simply cannot afford to take any option off the table," said Rep. Phil Gingrey, R-Marietta. "We're not talking about setting up an oil rig on the sandbar where you collect seashells. We're talking about responsible exploration."

President Bush on Monday lifted an executive ban that his father put in place in 1990 that prohibits offshore drilling in most parts of the country. He is pressing Congress to lift a similar legislative ban.

Based on studies done 25 years ago, the Interior Department estimates that 18 billion barrels of recoverable oil likely will be found beneath coastal waters now off limits. The U.S. consumes about 8 billion barrels per year.

In a report last year, the Energy Department forecasting arm said it would take until 2030 before offshore production really got going. Even then, the report said, "because oil prices are determined on the international market ... any impact on average wellhead prices is expected to be insignificant."

Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Lithonia, said the benefits are "not worth the risk."

"Every week I advise constituents that there is no easy fix and we will not be returning to the era of cheap gas and oil," he said.

Rep. David Scott, D-Atlanta, said that while he might support limited new coastal drilling — such as what Congress opened recently in the Gulf of Mexico — Republicans are missing the point by focusing on oil.

"We must find substitutes for oil and natural gas so that crises such as this do not occur again," he said.

But Scott and Johnson are in the minority among Georgia lawmakers, along with Rep. John Lewis, D-Atlanta, who has long opposed new drilling.

The rest of the delegation backs offshore development, including Democrats John Barrow of Savannah, Sanford Bishop of Albany and Jim Marshall of Macon.

Republican Sens. Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson, who have been trying to broker a bipartisan energy compromise recently, said Congress can no longer ignore potential resources. Even if offshore production would play only a bit part in a broad energy portfolio, Isakson said, making it available would influence market forces that are driving up prices.

"Those who speculate on the future prices would understand that the United States has finally had enough," he said on the Senate floor Tuesday.

Supporters also say oil rigs would be so far off the coast that beachgoers wouldn't see them.

Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, R-Grantville, said the new production also could become a major revenue source for the state, as it has been in Louisiana and other Gulf states, which get a share of government royalties.

Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Savannah, said domestic production is "step one."

"It's just like dieting we need to reduce intake and increase output," he said.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the gas crisis and energy issues.

(The Associated Press)

Governor Perdue announces conservation plan

Governor Sonny Perdue is committed to saving energy, and now he's made it official. Perdue traveled to Huntington Middle School in Warner Robins Thursday to sign the Governor's Energy Challenge 2020. The executive order says state government will reduce energy consumption by 15-percent in the next 12 years. He is asking all people and organizations in Georgia to do the same. School officials also signed the commitment and showed off a solar panel they installed in 2006. The panel is also used as a teaching tool as students keep track of its progress.

"We're here today looking at what efforts they've made in solar power. Flint Energies has sponsored a solar cell here where they can record how much power is generated from the sun and learn about alternative forms of energy."

Through this and other conservation methods the school system saves about 1-million dollars a year. Also today the governor announced a new website to help Georgians gain information about how to conserve energy. Link here to the website: www.conservegeorgia.org

SRS Land Being Leased for Energy Park of Nuclear Power Plant

Officials are reporting progress on leasing 2,500 acres of land within the Savannah River Site. This land could be used to make an energy park or possibly a site for a commercial nuclear power plant.

Rick Toole -Chairman of the Savannah River Site Community Reuse Organization- says his group and the U.S. Department of Energy are in the final stages of the deal. But- the location cannot be divulged until the lease is signed.

Toole believes that once the lease is done, SRS will be much more attractive as a potential site for energy projects.

(AP)

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Energy conference draws on Savannah research

Savannah is trying to position itself as a regional leader in energy research and a national conference there could help burnish that reputation.

Savannah is home to a major import site for liquefied natural gas. A major employer is Colonial Oil. And research is being done here into wind and tidal power.

Howard Morrison, helping to organize the National Conference on the Advancement of Research, says these are some of the reasons he believed a national conference on energy, policy, science and security issues was a perfect fit for Savannah.

“A lot of those things aren't assets that a Charleston has, that a Charlotte has, that a Memphis has,” he says. “So we have some unique assets here that we’re trying to benefit from.”

About a hundred people are expected over three days, including an Undersecretary of Energy, as well as military, commercial and academic concerns. The NCAR conference is celebrating its 60th anniversary in Savannah.

GA Power offers cheaper green energy

Georgia Power is offering cheaper “green” energy. The Public Service Commission approved a rate-change yesterday to the utility’s Green Energy program.

The new rate allows customers to buy 100 kilowatt blocks for $3.50. That’s a one-dollar reduction from before. Also approved.... a large-volume purchase package, permitting cheaper green energy for big customers.

The power comes from landfill gases. Georgia Power will also offer a premium more expensive product with at least 2 percent coming from solar.

TVA Signs on for Mixed Oxide Fuel to be Produced Near Augusta

The Tennessee Valley Authority, a federal nuclear operation and a major energy supplier in the South, has tentatively signed on to use mixed oxide fuel from a plant under construction near Augusta.

TVA has signed a letter of intent for the fuel, according to the National Nuclear Security Administration, and a final decision will come after the agency evaluates use of the fuel for reactors at the Sequoyah and Browns Ferry nuclear plants in Tennessee and Alabama, respectively.

The fuel would be made from weapons grade plutonium -- a total of 34 metric tons -- at the Savannah River Site, a massive federal entity near Augusta that processes nuclear materials, and used in commercial nuclear reactors. It is currently under construction, and at $4.8 billion, is one of the most expensive projects funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.

TVA is so far the only agency on board to use the fuel. Duke Energy, which provides power to the Carolinas, did not renew a contract with the MOX plant earlier this year after delays in construction of the plant. The company has said it supports the plant, however, and might consider renewing its plans for the fuel at a later date.

Supporters of the MOX plant say it's a crucial part of nuclear nonproliferation efforts and provides yet another resource for energy. Opponents say the MOX project is too expensive and dangerous; they also have expressed skepticism over whether the fuel will work in the reactors.

Officials expect the plant to start producing fuel in 2016.

Ga. Power applying for biomass plant permits

Plant Mitchell. (Dave Bender)

Georgia Power Company wants to trade in coal for woodchips to fuel a power plant near Albany. The company is investing in bio mass technology with the hope of saving money.

While bio mass is considered a cleaner fuel source compared to coal, Georgia Power believes it could also be a cheaper solution for producing electricity.

Plant Mitchell turbine area: only one of the facilities three yellow turbines is operational. (Dave Bender)

On a tour of Plant Mitchell in nearby Albany, manager Ronnie Walston explains that Georgia’s millions of acres of forests could be used to power energy producing turbines.

Plant Mitchell water boilers. Coal or wood biomass is heated at the bottom. (Dave Bender)

Currently, the company is experimenting by burning wood chips and similar waste products instead of coal to heat water in the plant's three–story-high boilers. Walston, shouting over the roar of steam turbines in the background:

“The generator takes high-pressure steam from the boiler, turns the generator which delivers 155 megawatts of electrical energy to the grid in Georgia.”

The generator consumes a whopping 62-tons of coal an hour.

Plant Mitchell: Rail cars delivering coal at a siding. (Dave Bender)

After the conversion, the plant would require 160-trucks a day to haul in a million tons of wood chips. While using wood cuts the electrical output by a third, it’s enough to power an estimated 90,000 homes.

Walston says the conversion would keep the plant - which now buys its coal from Appalachia - running for years to come and help the local economy:

“…those dollars now flow out of state. Now, with the biomass – that’s currently not being utilized – will be purchased and consumed here within a 100-mile radius of Plant Mitchell, and so those dollars that previously went out of state will be staying in-state and will create some 50-to-75 jobs in the fuel-harvesting area.”

If successful, the bio mass conversion could happen in 2012.

Control panel at Plant Mitchell. (Dave Bender)

The plan still needs approval from the Environmental Protection Division and the Public Service Commission. A recent study by Oregon state officials show bio mass can cost up to 6.7 per kilowatt hour to produce.

Forbes Magazine ranks Georgia as the third best state in the nation for alternative energy from biomass. The article referenced the amount of privately owned forest in Georgia, more than any other state in the country, as a reason for the state’s ranking. The ranking comes on the heels of CNBC’s including Georgia in the top ten and second in the Southeast in its annual rankings of “America’s Top States for Business.”

EPA estimates show Georgian's pay 6.5 cents for coal produced electricity. The cost of biomass is expected to drop as technologies improve and more plants come online.

Click here for more GPB News coverage about biomass and related alternative energy solutions.

U.S. Energy Secretary Confirms $1.6 Billion Coming to Savannah River Site

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu says the $1.6 billion will help speed up the de-commissioning of nuclear reactors and contaminated areas at the Savannah River Site near Augusta.

The money could provide up to 3000 new jobs in the area, although it's unclear how many of those jobs would be permanent. The funding is part of the new economic stimulus package that targets the environmental clean-up of nuclear sites in the U.S.

The Savannah River Site for years refined nuclear materials for weapons. But employment numbers there dropped by thousands after the Cold War ended.

Federal officials say the funding will pay for the clean-up of about 40 percent of the site's massive industrial area, and ship out about 4500 cubic meters of waste.

About $6 billion is going out to nuclear sites in the U.S., according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Savannah River Site is getting the second-highest funding. The Hanford Site, in Washington state, is getting most at about $2 billion.

Photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of Energy

"Energy Star" sales tax holiday starts tonight

Georgians have until midnight Sunday to buy appliances and products "tax free", but only those items with a particular energy conservation label.

Products with the ‘Energy Star’ designation will be free of any state or local sales taxes through the weekend. It applies to appliances and products with a price tag of 15-hundred dollars or less.

Items such as dish and clothes-washers, air conditioners, refrigerators, and fluorescent light bulbs are on the list as exempt from state and local taxes.

Governor Sonny Perdue is encouraging Georgians to take advantage of the tax-free holiday to help save on utility bills, and cut-down on energy consumption.

For a complete list of the "tax free" products, click here to go to the Georgia Department of Revenue's website.

Ga. senators navigate oil drilling fight

Offishore oil drilling platform. (illustrative/AP File Photo)

The last time Georgia Sens. Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson tried to find middle ground in an emotional policy battle before Congress, they quickly abandoned a bipartisan immigration package after getting pilloried from the right.

Now the Republicans are in the thick of a debate over oil drilling, and they're again fending off criticism from the likes of Rush Limbaugh over a compromise that would raise taxes on oil companies while paving the way for new drilling off the nation's coasts.

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The issue could come to a head this week as energy takes center stage on Capitol Hill and both parties maneuver to take credit for addressing $4-a-gallon gas prices.

Chambliss and Isakson are so far standing firm behind their proposal, which started with backing from a so-called "Gang of 10" and now has 20 Senate sponsors. But as the package gains bipartisan support, it also is drawing complaints from Republicans that it undercuts GOP momentum on the year's most high-profile political issue weeks before the November elections.

Limbaugh has repeatedly ridiculed the proposal on his conservative radio show, saying House Republicans are pressing for much more ambitious drilling while the Senate proposal "basically cuts (them) off at the knees."

The senators also have taken heat from congressional colleagues, including from fellow Georgia Republicans. Rep. Phil Gingrey of Marietta has said the senators are engaged in "procedural pleasantries" while Rep. Tom Price of Roswell contended their approach "doesn't make any sense to me."

Price said it is "foolhardy" to leave vast coastal areas off limits to drilling and said "tax increases on domestic oil production is counterproductive to bringing new American energy to the market."

Chambliss and Isakson dismiss the criticism, arguing that voters want Congress to set aside differences and agree on something that will make a difference - even if it requires trade-offs.

"Usually if the extremes are raising cain, it means you're doing something right," said Chambliss, who spearheaded the compromise along with Sen. Kent Conrad, a North Dakota Democrat. "We think if anything is going to get 60 votes, it's going to be our proposal."

The plan would allow drilling 50 miles off the coasts of Virginia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia, and the Gulf coast of Florida. It would eliminate tax breaks for the oil and gas industry to generate some $30 billion in revenue, with the money used to offset a massive new investment in alternative energy.

Republicans such as Gingrey and Price want an "all of the above" bill that would allow far more new drilling all along the East and West coasts and in restricted areas of Alaska, without the tax increases on domestic producers.

In years past, any new offshore production would have spawned a firestorm of criticism from drilling critics who argue that it could cause irreversible environmental harm and only a marginal impact on global oil prices. But with voters outraged about the price of gas, the critics appear resigned to allowing some new exploration.

Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has outlined a package that is more in line with the Senate compromise than with Republican proposals.

Last year, Chambliss and Isakson acknowledged that they backed out of the bipartisan coalition on immigration in part because of a strong backlash from conservative constituents.

While there have been calls of protest on their drilling plan, they say they haven't heard anywhere near the level of concern that they had on immigration and that they won't give up on their "gang" unless the package gets altered.

"As long as nobody tries to shift the policies in the proposal, we're not going to do that," Isakson said. "We've got a solid group."

(The Associated Press)

Click here for more GPB News stories about energy issues.

Supporters and opponents of proposed nuclear reactors speak out in Augusta

For the first time in nearly 30 years, nuclear power plants are seeking to build more reactors, including the Vogtle electricity plant near Augusta.

Southern Nuclear Operating Company, a division of Southern Company, wants to build two new reactors at the plant, which is located near Waynesboro.

The federal Atomic Safety and Licensing Board hosted the latest in a series of public hearings on Monday in Augusta.

Judith Stocker lives near Vogtle, where two reactors have operated since the 1980s. She worries about water pollution and health issues such as cancer, and wonders if Vogtle caused the problems. She has no evidence that Vogtle has, but would like to see more studies conducted.

"It's a little bit of a stretch for it to be a coincidence," she says. "And even if it can't be definitively linked to the reactors at this time, we should make sure, take some time, find out where the problem is."

But Clint Wolfe, director of Citizens for Nuclear Technology Awareness, says nuclear energy is safe, and instead worries about health problems caused by other energy sources, such as fossil fuels. He says emphysema and lung cancer have resulted from exposure to these energy sources, particularly among coal miners.

"For folks to be so really preoccupied with -- quote -- safety around nuclear is ironic since there's never been anyone in this country killed by a nuclear power plant," he says.

Southern Nuclear hopes to have the reactors online by 2017.

Approval by regulatory authorities is at least a year away.

Appeals from opponents could delay approval even further.

House subcommittees say DOE funding process may close Savannah Ecology Lab

The chairmen of two US House subcommittees have accused the US Department of Energy of deliberately manipulating its funding process in order to close the Savannah River Ecology Lab, operated by the University of Georgia.

The allegations are contained in a report prepared for the subcommittees on investigations and oversight, and energy and environment. They are holding a second congressional hearing this week into why the DOE abruptly withdrew $3 million from the lab in the middle of a fiscal year. The funding shortfall caused UGA to lay off 40 employees and make plans to shut down the lab in a year.

The DOE claims there was an agreement that the lab would be self-sufficient by this year, but the subcommittees didn't find any documents to support that claim. Instead they found a written promise that the DOE would supply the lab's funds.

The DOE also claims that it denied the funding for the lab's 2007 research proposals because of negative peer reviews. But the House investigation found that no review was conducted and Energy Department staff actually helped write the proposals.