Cypress Creek coal-plant on hold... hopefully forever

Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC) announced in a press release that it has suspended plans for a coal-fired plant known as Cypress Creek near Dendron in Surry County, Virginia. The announcement is a victory for cleaner air and water, especially in the Tidewater region of the commonwealth. ODEC cited more stringent EPA regulations and market conditions as driving the decision, but a broad coalition of groups, including Wise Energy for Virginia, had built a strong case that harm to air quality and water quality from the 1,5000 megawatt plant would outweigh any possible benefits. Less demand for coal also means less destruction from mountaintop removal coal mining.

ODEC supplies power to 11 electric cooperatives including Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative. This bird attended the SVEC annual meeting where ODEC's CEO, Jack Reasor, said the company would not be moving forward on Cypress Creek and looking at alternative sources. Coarse Cracked Corn had previously commented on the $6 billion threat to the environment here and here and is proud to have been a tiny "cluck, cluck" in the coalition of groups, local governments, and citizens in Hampton Roads that helped to put this toxic stew on the back burner.

Those of us who care about the environment need to keep minding the kitchen because the toxic stew isn't totally off the stove - ODEC spokesman, David Huggins, indicated work may resume in a couple years depending on the outcome of an appeal to the Supreme Court over the EPA's carbon emissions standards.

Glen Besa, director of the Virginia Chapter Sierra Club, called on ODEC to invest in "efficiency, wind and solar power now." For its part, ODEC says it is exploring "alternative sources of power supply" but that could mean more natural gas and hydrofracking. As citizens we need to keep the pressure on the General Assembly and utilities to put in place meaningful laws and policies to encourage efficiency and renewable energy. Virginia could look to forward-looking states where a variety of incentives make solar and wind energy affordable now.

Old Coal Plants = Pollution

Old coal-fired generating plants are among the dirtiest polluters in the nation. They cause smog and spew out huge amounts of greenhouse gases, toxic ash, and a variety of chemicals. "Why are they allowed to do it?" you might ask. Because in its wisdom, Congress grandfathered these plants under amendments to the Clean Air Act in a way that created very powerful economic incentives to stay dirty... and get dirtier as they age. After eight years of a purposely impotent EPA, under the Obama administration the agency seems to be moving to updating regulations under the Clean Air Act and other pollution laws. There's more about the dirty deals, the grandfathered polluters, and how the politics of profits have trumped rational antipollution steps at grist.

Since these old coal-fired plants are the problem, you may be thinking the best thing to do is build new plants like the proposed Cypress Creek Power Station in Surry County, Virginia. A new plant would have the latest in antipollution technology and be much cleaner... I didn't say clean... there is no such thing as clean coal. That argument is pretty hollow unless as a condition of opening the plant older coal-fired plants are closed and dismantled in an environmentally responsible manner. I've not heard of that being on the table.

Besides, any coal-fired plant brings a variety of environmental concerns and other issues not only to Mother Earth, but more directly to nearby communities, rivers, and bays. A new plant wouldn't address all the profound questions about disposal of coal ash, the rape of our mountaintops, and degrading of our communities.

It seems some on Wall Street are questioning the future of coal by cutting off the dollars for new mountaintop removal coal mines as too risky. If this cheap coal source dries up, the profitability of coal-fired plants will be threatened, and greener/cleaner alternatives more viable. It is way too early to declare King Coal dethroned, but it is increasingly becoming clear to many that this king has no clothes that will be fashionable in America's energy future.

Cypress Creek - more questions than answers

Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC), of which Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative is a member, has proposed to build a new coal-fired power plant known as Cypress Creek Power Station in the Town of Dendron (pop. 300) in Surry County, Virginia. At a cost up to $6 billion ($9,000+ per household served), Cypress Creek would be the most expensive coal power plant in the country and the largest coal-fired plant in the Commonwealth. ODEC has already spent thousands of dollars in the ongoing permitting process. ODEC defends the plant by stating that coal "is still the least expensive way for us to make sure we have the electricity we need at an affordable price."

Others aren't so sure that ODEC's dollars make much sense. Wise Energy for Virginia commissioned a study by Synapse Energy Economics Inc. The respected analysts concluded that an uncertain economic climate and costs of meeting regulations related to carbon dioxide could mean even higher electric rates for consumers.

Of course, there are costs that aren't always measured in dollars and cents. A Chesapeake Bay Foundation study found that the plant would discharge significant amounts of mercury and other toxins into the James, Pamunkey, Blackwater, Nottoway, and Roanoke rivers and into the Chesapeake Bay. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation says the plant violates provisions of the Clean Water Act. Physicians for Social Responsibility and others have pointed out that air and water discharges from a coal-fired power plant will create a variety of environmental and health problems for the region. Cypress Creek is located just upwind and upstream from one of Virginia's most populated areas - Hampton Roads - which is also one of the state's major tourist destinations.

So far, ODEC has been touting the benefits but has been less than forthcoming about the costs, financial and otherwise, of Cypress Creek. SVEC members should be asking questions and demanding answers. A few of those questions:

• How much will Cypress Creek cost? What will SVEC contribute? How with this be passed on to customers?
• With many banks wary of the risks of financing coal-powered plants, how will Cypress Creek be financed? What are the borrowing costs? How will those costs be passed on to SVEC customers?
• What are the alternatives to a mega coal-fired plant? Have those alternatives been completely explored?
• Currently there is excess power on the PJM grid and an uncertain economy and greater conservation make future demand uncertain. Do we really need this mega power plant?
• Since the beginning of the year plans for at least eight coal-fired power plants have been abandoned or put on hold. Most recently it was Wolverine Power Cooperative's plans for a coal-fired plant in Michigan. An air quality permit was denied and the Michigan Public Service Commission concluded that the plant was not needed and "would result in an estimated rate increase of $76.95 per month for the average Wolverine residential customer." What lessons can we learn from that case study? Will Cypress Creek mean customer's rates could increase by 50-60% a month?
• The ODEC board of directors has yet to vote on the Cypress Creek plant. Why is ODEC moving forward on the project without formal approval of the board?
• Can ODEC and SVEC assure customers that rates won't go up to pay for Cypress Creek?

Many questions and, so far, few answers from ODEC, SVEC, and the other member cooperatives. As customers of an electric cooperative, we are the owners... it is our cooperative. We should demand answers before ODEC moves forward with Cypress Creek.