Los Angeles' 'Coal Free' Vow Scuttles Utah Power-Plant Expansion

Comment: Yeah LA!

July 9, 2009
Los Angeles' 'Coal Free' Vow Scuttles Utah Power-Plant Expansion
By ROBIN BRAVENDER of Greenwire


Plans for a new coal-fired power plant in central Utah were canceled after the city of Los Angeles -- the plant's biggest power purchaser -- signaled its intention to be "coal free" by 2020.

The Intermountain Power Agency -- a political subdivision of the state of Utah co-owned by municipal and rural electric cooperatives -- has dropped plans to build a proposed third 900-megawatt coal-fired generating unit at the Intermountain Power Plant near Delta, Utah.

"The project has been abandoned," IPA spokesman John Ward said yesterday.

The decision came after Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced last week that the city -- which purchases about 45 percent of the IPA's power -- wants to end its use of coal-fired power by 2020. Villaraigosa said that the city will replace its coal-fired electricity with energy from renewable sources, natural gas, nuclear and hydroelectric power.

"We were in a permitting and preliminary planning stage, and some of the expected partners determined that it wasn't going to match up with their resource objectives," Ward said.

Environmentalists praised the decision and said they expect similar projects to follow suit.

V. John White, executive director of the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies in Sacramento, Calif., said the cancellation of the unit indicates a changing perception of coal-fired power.

"It reflects a changing need of power customers, increasing awareness of the dirty footprint associated with coal, and a strong desire to pursue a new, cleaner direction," White said.

Environmentalists have fought the proposal since shortly after the Utah Division of Air Quality issued an air permit for the project in 2004. The Utah chapter of the Sierra Club filed an appeal with the Utah Air Quality Board, but the board refused to hear the appeal. The Utah Supreme court agreed in 2006 to allow the appeal to go forward, but the appeal was never heard because the process was stalled due to inactivity by the plant's owners.

The Sierra Club hailed the decision to abandon the plant, saying it marked the 100th plant to be prevented or abandoned since 2001.

"At the beginning of the coal rush in 2001, it seemed inevitable that as many as 150 new proposed coal plants would get built," said Bruce Nilles, director of the organization's Beyond Coal Campaign. "Since then we've seen an incredible change in the way people, businesses and governments -- like Los Angeles -- are thinking about energy, figuring out how to generate and use it more cleanly and efficiently. Coal is no longer a smart or cost-effective option."

Los Angeles, one of the principal owners of the plant's units 1 and 2, announced in 2007 that it did not support the construction of the third unit at the plant. PacifiCorp and the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems sued the city, alleging a breach of contract, but that suit was recently dismissed.

Copyright 2009 E&E Publishing. All Rights Reserved.

For more news on energy and the environment, visit www.greenwire.com.

http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2009/07/09/09greenwire-los-angeles-coal-free-vow-scuttles-utah-power-29532.html

Environmental groups back wind farm

Published: June 9, 2009

A coalition of environmental groups opposed to Dominion Resources Inc.'s coal-fired power plant in Wise County said they support the utility company's proposal for a wind farm in the county.

Richmond-based Dominion and BP Wind Energy are considering building wind energy projects in Wise and Tazewell counties in Southwest Virginia.

"We're often criticized as being opposed to everything," said Glen Besa with the Sierra Club's Virginia Chapter, "and we wanted to make it clear that we are in favor of clean energy projects."

Appalachian Voices, Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards, the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, the Sierra Club, the Southern Environmental Law Center and The Clinch Coalition joined in backing the Mill Creek wind project in Wise.

Four of the groups -- Appalachian Voices, Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards, the Chesapeake Climate Action Network and the Sierra Club-- are opposing Dominion's Virginia City coal plant in court.

Although the coal power plant is under construction, a challenge to the facility's air permit is set for trial in July.

"We appreciate the support we're receiving for our proposed wind-energy project in Wise County," said Dominion spokesman Ryan Frazier.

"The support has been broad, coming from the environmental community, the coal industry, and county citizens and elected officials," Frazier said. "BP Wind Energy and Dominion believe Mill Creek would be a great asset to the county and the region."

The environmental groups did not take a position on the Tazewell proposal. "We haven't had a chance to review it in as much detail," Besa said, noting that each such project is unique in its impacts.

Though Dominion has said the size of the projects has not been determined, the environmental coalition said the proposed Wise County wind plant could generate as much as 150 megawatts of electricity.

Contact Peter Bacqué at (804) 649-6813 or pbacque@timesdispatch.com.

http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/business/energy/article/B-WIND09_20090608-220002/272666/