Georgians for Smart Energy Press Releases

Plant Washington project in question after EMC drops support

Georgians for Smart Energy — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 03:35:09 +0000

By Jay Jones (889)

As of Thursday, January 26, 2012
© Copyright 2012 Rockdale Citizen

CONYERS -- Officials with Snapping Shoals EMC said Thursday they are still committed to moving forward on a billion-dollar, coal burning power plant after Cobb EMC decided to leave the partnership on the project.

The Board of Directors for Cobb EMC voted Tuesday to end their involvement in development of the proposed Plant Washington near Sandersville in Washington County.

Cobb EMC was part of a consortium called Power4Georgians with four other EMCs, including Snapping Shoals EMC, that is backing the $2 billion coal plant. Read more at: http://www.rockdalecitizen.com/news/2012/jan/26/plant-washington-project-in-question-after-emc/

EMC backs out of plan to build coal-fired plant

Georgians for Smart Energy — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:13:01 +0000

by John Roach and Kim Isaza

January 25, 2012 12:49 AM

MARIETTA — Cobb EMC’s board of directors voted Tuesday to stop financing its share in a consortium intending to build a huge coal-fired power plant known as Plant Washington.

The vote came as little surprise, as just before Christmas, Cobb EMC began seeking bids for its future power supplies, and CEO Chip Nelson confirmed to the Journal two weeks ago that the nonprofit electric cooperative was losing interest in building the 850-megawatt plant in Sandersville.

Read more: The Marietta Daily Journal - EMC backs out of plan to build coal fired plant

Cobb EMC ends involvement in coal plant

Georgians for Smart Energy — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 01:49:58 +0000

By Janel Davis

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 7:32 p.m. Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Cobb EMC’s board of directors voted Tuesday to end the electric co-op’s involvement in development of the proposed Plant Washington coal plant.

The majority vote removes any further financial obligation toward the plant, including $1.683 million slated for development plans this year, a company spokesman said. The actual vote was not released.

For years, Cobb EMC has been the largest participant in Power4Georgians, a conglomerate of five Georgia electric co-ops pushing for the estimated $2 billion coal facility near Sandersville. The Marietta-based co-op has contributed $13 million toward the project thus far. Read more at http://www.ajc.com/news/cobb/cobb-emc-ends-involvement-1315779.html

Groups Unite, Call for Spending Freeze on Coal Plant

Georgians for Smart Energy — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:53:57 +0000

EMC Board of Directors Examines Proposed Coal Projects

For Immediate Release

Contact: Jenna Garland (404) 607-1262 x 222, (404) 281-6398

January 24^th, 2012

Atlanta, GA- Members of the Georgians for Smart Energy (GSE) coalition are joining with customers of several electric membership corporations (EMCs) from around the state to call on Cobb EMC to halt the development of two coal-fired power plants in central Georgia. Cobb EMC’s Board of Directors is scheduled to examine its financial backing of the projects at a meeting later today, and could vote to suspend their funding. To date, Cobb EMC has spent nearly $14 million on POWER4Georgians LLC, the five-member consortium of Georgia EMCs charged with developing the two multi-billion dollar power plants.

EMC customer-members from three of the cooperatives involved in POWER4Georgians cited concerns about corporate integrity, financial risk, and environmental impact as reasons for the Cobb cooperative to lead its partner EMCs in cancelling the proposed coal-fired Plant Washington and Plant Ben Hill.

POWER4Georgians, LLC was organized in 2008 by indicted former Cobb CEO Dwight Brown. The consortium is currently operated by Dean Alford, former Cobb Energy Vice President and one-time holder of $750,000 in preferred Cobb Energy stock. Mr. Alford’s company, Allied Energy Services – once a wholly owned subsidiary of Cobb Energy – was awarded a no-bid contract to develop the consortium’s coal projects. Following court order, Allied Energy was liquidated in 2011 and sold to Dean Alford for a mere $128,000.

Concerned EMC members and representatives from advocacy organizations issued the following statements:

“Cobb EMC’s members sent a clear message in November to clean up the mess bequeathed by Dwight Brown. We support the EMC’s new leadership as it works to implement that mandate—which we believe should include a halt to all spending on these unneeded and risky investments,” said Tom Barksdale with the Cobb Alliance for Smart Energy.

“I hope the Board has learned the lesson from Cobb Energy’s demise and will spend not one more dollar on schemes developed by the architects of that fiasco. I’m confident that new directors will represent the interests of the members and not the profits of Dwight Brown and Dean Alford,” said Cobb EMC member and Sierra Club volunteer Don Dressel.

“As a responsible Snapping Shoals EMC member I’ve asked our Board why it is investing in Plant Washington and how much it is going to cost me as a ratepayer—can they guarantee that this isn’t going to show up on my bill?” said J.L. Howard, a customer of Snapping Shoals EMC. “They’ve dodged the question, so I join my fellow EMC customers and say not a dollar more should be spent on a risky coal plant by my EMC.”

“With new leadership that is focused on the rights of members, Cobb EMC can become a state-wide leader in implementing a 21^st century energy policy that will benefit members’ pocketbooks, their health, and their environment – instead of leading Georgia’s EMCs down a polluted path of unneeded and risky investment,” said Katherine Helms Cummings, member of Washington EMC and executive director of the Fall-line Alliance for a Clean Environment.

The Marietta Daily Journal - Cobb EMC’s pursuit cools on coal fired power plant

Georgians for Smart Energy — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:25:57 +0000

by Kim Isaza
newseditor@mdjonline.com

January 12, 2012 12:04 AM | 14497 views | 8 | 8 | |

MARIETTA — Cobb EMC’s interest in building the coal-fired Plant Washington appears to be dead, and the company has begun soliciting bids for its future power supplies.

The electric cooperative has already spent $13.5 million toward permitting for the coal plant, which would be a new direction for the company from simply delivering electricity to also generating it.

On Jan. 24, Dean Alford, a spokesman for the Power 4 Georgians consortium of EMCs behind Plant Washington, is slated to address the Cobb EMC board, presumably in an effort to save the plant, for which his company, Allied Energy, got a no-bid development contract from P4G.

The Cobb EMC board could decide at that meeting whether to put any more money toward the project.

Flournoy upholds new charges against Dwight Brown

Georgians for Smart Energy — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 19:56:18 +0000

by Kim Isazagadailynews.com
newseditor@mdjonline.com

January 05, 2012 12:22 PM

MARIETTA — Judge Robert E. Flournoy III has upheld the second criminal indictment against former Cobb EMC head Dwight Brown.

The Cobb Superior Court judge rejected all three motions brought by the defense that were argued on Nov. 30. In denying Brown’s motion to dismiss the charges because four of the grand jurors that brought the indictment were Cobb EMC members, Flournoy wrote: “Membership in an EMC is frequently no more voluntary than status as a tax payer within a city or county” and noted that the General Assembly has provided that EMC members may serve as trial jurors in a case involving their EMC. Thus, he concludes they may also serve as grand jurors.

From The White House: Flexible Implementation of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards Rule

Georgians for Smart Energy — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 19:59:07 +0000

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release December 21, 2011

December 21, 2011

MEMORANDUM FOR THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

SUBJECT: Flexible Implementation of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards Rule

Today's issuance, by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), of the final Mercury and Air Toxics Standards rule for power plants (the "MATS Rule") represents a major step forward in my Administration's efforts to protect public health and the environment.

This rule, issued after careful consideration of public comments, prescribes standards under section 112 of the Clean Air Act to control emissions of mercury and other toxic air pollutants from power plants, which collectively are among the largest sources of such pollution in the United States. The EPA estimates that by substantially reducing emissions of pollutants that contribute to neurological damage, cancer, respiratory illnesses, and other health risks, the MATS Rule will produce major health benefits for millions of Americans -- including children, older Americans, and other vulnerable populations. Consistent with Executive Order 13563 (Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review), the estimated benefits of the MATS Rule far exceed the estimated costs.

The MATS Rule can be implemented through the use of demonstrated, existing pollution control technologies. The United States is a global market leader in the design and manufacture of these technologies, and it is anticipated that U.S. firms and workers will provide much of the equipment and labor needed to meet the substantial investments in pollution control that the standards are expected to spur.

These new standards will promote the transition to a cleaner and more efficient U.S. electric power system. This system as a whole is critical infrastructure that plays a key role in the functioning of all facets of the U.S. economy, and maintaining its stability and reliability is of critical importance. It is therefore crucial that implementation of the MATS Rule proceed in a cost-effective manner that ensures electric reliability.

Analyses conducted by the EPA and the Department of Energy (DOE) indicate that the MATS Rule is not anticipated to compromise electric generating resource adequacy in any region of the country. The Clean Air Act offers a number of implementation flexibilities, and the EPA has a long and successful history of using those flexibilities to ensure a smooth transition to cleaner technologies.

The Clean Air Act provides 3 years from the effective date of the MATS Rule for sources to comply with its requirements. In addition, section 112(i)(3)(B) of the Act allows the issuance of a permit granting a source up to one additional year where necessary for the installation of controls. As you stated in the preamble to the MATS Rule, this additional fourth year should be broadly available to sources, consistent with the requirements of the law.

The EPA has concluded that 4 years should generally be sufficient to install the necessary emission control equipment, and DOE has issued analysis consistent with that conclusion. While more time is generally not expected to be needed, the Clean Air Act offers other important flexibilities as well. For example, section 113(a) of the Act provides the EPA with flexibility to bring sources into compliance over the course of an additional year, should unusual circumstances arise that warrant such flexibility.

To address any concerns with respect to electric reliability while assuring MATS' public health benefits, I direct you to take the following actions:

1. Building on the information and guidance that you have provided to the public, relevant stakeholders, and permitting authorities in the preamble of the MATS Rule, work with State and local permitting authorities to make the additional year for compliance with the MATS Rule provided under section 112(i)(3)(B) of the Clean Air Act broadly available to sources, consistent with law, and to invoke this flexibility expeditiously where justified.

2. Promote early, coordinated, and orderly planning and execution of the measures needed to implement the MATS Rule while maintaining the reliability of the electric power system. Consistent with Executive Order 13563, this process should be designed to "promote predictability and reduce uncertainty," and should include engagement and coordination with DOE, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, State utility regulators, Regional Transmission Organizations, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation and regional electric reliability organizations, other grid planning authorities, electric utilities, and other stakeholders, as appropriate.

3. Make available to the public, including relevant stakeholders, information concerning any anticipated use of authorities: (a) under section 112(i)(3)(B) of the Clean Air Act in the event that additional time to comply with the MATS Rule is necessary for the installation of technology; and (b) under section 113(a) of the Clean Air Act in the event that additional time to comply with the MATS Rule is necessary to address a specific and documented electric reliability issue. This information should describe the process for working with entities with relevant expertise to identify circumstances where electric reliability concerns might justify allowing additional time to comply.

This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

You are hereby authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.

BARACK OBAMA

# # #

Longleaf Defeat Marks End to Nation’s Longest Running Fight Against Coal Plant

Georgians for Smart Energy — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 16:19:04 +0000

Agreement Marks Milestone of 160 Coal Plants Canceled

For Immediate Release: December 12, 2011

Contact: Bobby McLendon, Friends of the Chattahoochee, (229) 308-6782
Justine Thompson, GreenLaw, (404) 659-3122
Colleen Kiernan, Sierra Club, (404) 607-1262 x 224

Longleaf Defeat Marks End to Nation’s Longest Running Fight Against Coal Plant

Agreement Marks Milestone of 160 Coal Plants Canceled

Atlanta, GA - The country’s longest-running campaign against construction of a new coal plant ended today as LS Power, a New Jersey-based power company, announced that it will cancel plans to build the Longleaf Energy Station in Blakely, GA. Sierra Club, Friends of the Chattahoochee and GreenLaw have been organizing against the Longleaf coal plant since it was first proposed in 2001. This victory comes as part of a legal agreement between LS Power and Sierra Club.

This victory marks the 160th proposed coal plant canceled since Sierra Club launched its Beyond Coal campaign in 2005. This victory is particularly noteworthy because the struggle lasted for a decade and involved numerous hearings and appeals, and sustained local opposition by hundreds of Georgia residents. Longleaf was one of the very first plants proposed when, in 2001, the coal industry attempted to block clean energy development by building more than 150 new coal plants across the US, a move which would have effectively locked the nation into dependence on coal-fired electricity for the foreseeable future. Longleaf was one of the last remaining new coal projects proposed anywhere in the United States, counting 160 proposals that have now been defeated or abandoned in the past decade.

Several times over the past decade it looked like LS Power would move forward with its proposed coal plant, but local residents continued their opposition through multiple tactics, including holding a call-in day this past June when more than 250 Georgians called LS Power asking the CEO to cancel the proposal.

“This is not just a victory for the individuals and organizations fighting this plant, but also for all Georgians, who are now safe from a major new source of toxic air pollution,” said Colleen Kiernan, Director of the Georgia Chapter of the Sierra Club. “This victory represents our best work: combining the power of the courts, the power of the people and the power of the press.”

Sierra Club and Friends of the Chattahoochee were represented by GreenLaw, an Atlanta-based nonprofit law firm, in a series of legal challenges to the permits issued for the plant. The legal battle over the Longleaf coal plant made national and international news when Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thelma Wyatt Cummings Moore issued a ruling that the plant’s air quality permit was illegal because it failed to provide any limits on emissions of CO2. While Judge Moore’s decision was later overturned, the United States Environmental Protection Agency adopted much of the legal reasoning of the decision in promulgating rules to limit CO2 emissions from larger industrial facilities.

“Longleaf’s cancelation is one of dozens that have swept the nation, which raises the question – when will state officials finally learn that Georgia’s citizens deserve better than coal?” said GreenLaw’s Executive Director, Justine Thompson. “Georgia has a promising future – but to be a serious player in the global economy while also ensuring that we have clean air and water, Georgia needs to embrace energy efficiency and more renewable sources of energy.”

The announcement comes as part of a nationwide agreement with Sierra Club that also requires LS Power to abandon its proposed Plum Point 2 coal plant in Arkansas and imposes strict new limits on air pollution from the new Sandy Creek coal plant in Texas. The agreement requires the company to withdraw all requests for permits in Georgia and Arkansas, and that any issued permits be rescinded or revoked.

Local residents, who would have been most significantly affected by the plant’s construction, were active in opposing the plant. “When we found out the truth about what this plant would do to our lives, we had no choice but to oppose it. We were just regular people who want our grandchildren to breathe clean air,” said Bobby McLendon, President of Friends of the Chattahoochee. “Helping to stop this plant is probably the most important thing I have ever done for my family, my community and the Earth.”

If built, Plant Longleaf would have contributed 88 pounds of toxic mercury per year, 1938 pounds of lead per year, and more than 8000 tons of soot and smog per year, to Georgia’s atmosphere and water system. Mercury pollution can cause neurological disorders and birth defects in babies, and soot and smog contribute to respiratory illness and trigger asthma attacks.

Sierra Club, GreenLaw, and several other environmental and public health organizations continue to fight the two remaining coal plant proposals in Georgia proposed by POWER4Georgians in Central and Southeast Georgia. These groups’ work to transition Georgia off of imported coal and onto homegrown clean energy like wind and solar is part of a national effort involving unprecedented collaboration by more than a hundred organizations nationwide. Over the past decade this national campaign has stopped 160 proposed coal plants and secured record investments in clean energy. Since November 2008 only one coal plant has broken ground anywhere in the United States, a highly-subsidized project in Mississippi.

A timeline, avoided emissions, and other documents related to Longleaf can be found at: www.greenlaw.org/Longleaf.

New Leadership Signals Trouble Ahead for Plant Washington

Georgians for Smart Energy — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 20:44:46 +0000

Board of Director elections held Saturday, November 12 at Cobb EMC raised the profile of member dissatisfaction with the Atlanta-area utility co-op’s decision-making and leadership to a new level. New board members swept all four seats in the election by huge margins and will be sworn in at today’s Cobb EMC board meeting (Nov. 22, 2011). These new Directors are committed to transparency, honesty, and a forensic audit.

MORE Information

Cobb EMC members oust one incumbent director, send second into runoff

Georgians for Smart Energy — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 02:41:01 +0000

By Janel Davis

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Cobb EMC members pushing for changes at the electric utility ousted one incumbent board member on Saturday and nearly got rid of a second in the cooperative's first board elections in four years .

Incumbent director and Kennesaw businessman R.J. Patel eked out a runoff in his re-election bid, while incumbent Henry Balkcom, who represented the utility's customers in the far southwest Pataula district, was soundly defeated by Cheryl Meadows, a candidate endorsed by groups seeking change in the EMC tarnished by scandal.

Saturday's vote came four years after customers filed a lawsuit against the company following reports in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution about the EMC and an associated for-profit business that the plaintiffs said siphoned off assets of the co-op and benefited insiders. Since then, former CEO Dwight Brown has been indicted, new CEO Chip Nelson was named in July and six of the 10 incumbent board members -- including the longtime chairman and vice chairwoman -- decided not to seek re-election.