4 EMCs pull out of proposed midstate plant over possibility of future coal regulations

4 EMCs pull out of proposed midstate plant over possibility of future coal regulations

By S. Heather Duncan - hduncan@macon.com

Wednesday, May. 20, 2009

Electric cooperatives representing half the stake in a proposed coal-fired power plant in Middle Georgia have pulled out of the deal, electric membership corporations confirmed Tuesday.

The $2.1 billion Plant Washington project is being developed for a site eight miles north of Sandersville by Power4Georgians, which originally consisted of 10 partner EMCs. The two with the largest stakes, Jackson and GreyStone Power, have pulled out, as have the smaller Excelsior and Diverse Power.

All the cooperatives that have stepped away from the plant cited uncertainty about future federal regulation of carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired plants, which seems eminent.

"Owning a coal plant at this point is more risk than we want to take," said Gary Miller, president and CEO of GreyStone Power, which owned a 20 percent stake in the plant. "We believe in coal … but I can't in good conscience invest for 30 years out without knowing the cost."

Three of the EMCs, including GreyStone, actually voted to pull out of the partnership in January or February but remained in negotiations with Power4Georgians over how the process would work, said Dean Alford, whose company Allied Energy Services is developing Plant Washington. EMC officials confirmed this.

The four EMCs that withdrew represented 50 percent to 55 percent of the total stake in the plant, said Chip Stewart with Cookerly Public Relations, which represents Power4Georgians.

Alford said the defection of some of the partners would have no effect on the future of Plant Washington. The remaining six EMCs — including Washington EMC, Upson EMC and Central Georgia EMC — will not only have to shoulder a much larger share of the cost of the plant but also will receive larger shares of the power it produces, he said.

"I think in the end, it's neither a surprise nor a problem for them," Alford said. The 850 megawatts the plant would generate still won't cover the demand the remaining cooperatives expect by 2016, he said.

Plant Washington, which would use 16,000 gallons of water a day, could potentially be the first new coal-fired power plant built in Georgia in a quarter century. Opponents say the loss of some EMCs from the partnership is a sign that the whole enterprise is unraveling.

"I'm really encouraged that it won't be built now," said Katherine Cummings, president of the Fall Line Alliance for Clean Energy. That group was founded last year to fight Plant Washington.

Cummings said Alford indicated at a public meeting in March that all the Power4Georgians partners were still on board, although he knew at least three had voted to withdraw.