K-Fuel Cleans Coal & is One Answer:COAL: Groups appeal state permits for Ga. power plant (02/11/2008)
Daniel Cusick, E&ENews PM reporter
ATLANTA -- Georgia environmentalists are appealing a state court decision involving one of the largest coal-fired power plants currently under development in the United States.
Dynegy and LS Power Group's Longleaf plant, to be built in rural Early County in the southwest part of the state, is expected to generate 1,200 megawatts of power. It would be sold under purchase contracts with other rate-based utilities.
Lawyers representing Sierra Club of Georgia and Friends of the Chattahoochee said today they will take a challenge of the plant's state-issued air permits to Fulton County Superior Court after a state administrative law judge upheld the permits last month.
Georgia has become a focal point for opponents of coal-fired power as the state moves toward development of two large new projects. In addition to the Longleaf plant, 10 state electric cooperatives organized under the name "Power4Georgians LLC" announced last month they would pursue a new 850-megawatt coal-fired plant in Washington County.
"We desperately need new 21st century energy thinking and planning in Georgia if we are remain healthy and prosperous. Coal plants do not fit that bill," said Justine Thompson, an attorney and executive director of the nonprofit GreenLaw.
But proponents of the projects have said new coal-fired generation is necessary to meet the rising demand for electricity in the Southeast, and they promise advanced technologies will allow power from coal to be produced more cleanly than ever before.
The Longleaf project won permits from the Georgia Environmental Protection Division last May, but the project has been stymied by environmental opposition. Sierra Club and Friends of the Chattahoochee charge that regulators erred in their projections of how much soot the plant would emit and the risks of such emissions to surrounding communities.
The groups also raised concerns about the plant's releases of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and sulfuric acid mist. "We have strong evidence that EPD's permitting process was flawed," said Patty Durand, the Sierra Club's Georgia state director, in a statement.
Oral arguments in the appeal are expected within 90 days.