Ben Hill Coal Plant Cancelled

Ben Hill Coal Plant was cancelled today by Power4Georgians (P4G). Losing Cobb EMC funding plus new air pollution regulations finally had a good effect.

According to SACE PR today, Proposed Ben Hill Coal Plant Cancelled in Georgia: Power4Georgians in Tenuous Position on Plant Washington After Legal Agreement

Clean air advocates and environmental groups won a victory today when Power4Georgians (P4G), the only company trying to develop expensive new coal plants in Georgia, agreed to comply with critical new safeguards against mercury pollution. The company also agreed to cancel the proposed Ben Hill coal-fired power plant and invest $5 million in energy efficiency and renewable projects. The Sierra Club, the Fall Line Alliance for a Clean Environment (FACE), Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE), and the Ogeechee Riverkeeper, represented by GreenLaw and the Southern Environmental Law Center, successfully challenged the permit for Plant Washington issued by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, and the settlement agreement is pending approval by each group. If built, Power4Georgians’ Plant Washington will have to meet the much more protective emission standards for mercury and other air toxins.

The longterm implications are even better:

The cancellation of Plant Ben Hill marks 168 total coal plant proposals cancelled across the US due to changing market conditions, legal challenges, and local opposition. In December 2011, New Jersey-based LS Power cancelled the Plant Longleaf coal plant proposal, which would have been built in Early County, GA. Further, 106 coal plants have been scheduled for retirement, including two units at Plant Branch near Milledgeville, GA that were recently approved by the Georgia Public Service Commission.

“The cancellation of Plant Ben Hill is just one more sign that coal is dead,” said Justine Thompson, an attorney for GreenLaw who has been working with the community adjacent to the proposed Plant Ben Hill to oppose the construction of the plant. “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. We are now moving one step closer to that goal.”

Time to get on with wind and sun in Georgia!

-jsq

PS: Owed to Dan Corrie and No Coal Plant in Ben Hill County.