Hampton Roads Power Plant, VA

Old Dominion Electric Cooperative is pursuing plans for a 1,500-megawatt coal-fired power plant in eastern Virginia that would be a the largest such facility in the state, and a major new pollution source in the state.  According to an updated application filed with the state in Februrary 2010:
 

• It would pump out 3,070 tons per year of sulfur dioxide and 1,842 tons per year of soot (particulate matter), known to worsen heart and lung problems and shorten life spans.
• Mercury - 44 pounds a year - and nitrogen emissions - 3,085 tons a year - would worsen problems in the struggling ecoystems of the Chesapeake Bay, less than 30 miles away.

The massive facility, including train and truck traffic and coal-ash disposal, would overwhelm the small town in Surry County - Dendron, population 300 - where the plant would be located. Air pollution would threaten the health of  town and county citizens, and people living in the broader Hampton Roads region of Virginia.

A Costly Carbon Footprint

The massive and unnecessary facility would emit 11.6 million tons of heat-trapping carbon dioxide each year, severely undercutting Virginia’s commitment to reduce its contribution to global climate change. Hampton Roads is seconod only to New Orleans in vulnerability to sea level rise, according to the Virginia Commission on Climate Change.

Given the likelihood of federal regulation of carbon emissions in the near future, the $6 billion project would not only jeopardize our region’s health and environment; it would also expose ODEC and its ratepayers to enormous financial risks. A report by experts at Synapse Energy Economics, released in April 2009, documents this huge financial burden, which will only get worse over time. (See a summary of report here.)

• Paying for carbon credits under a federal cap-and-trade program could add an annual cost of between $223 million and $670 million by 2016.
• As regulations become more stringent, that could rise to between $587 million and $1.76 billion a year by 2030.

The Synapse report was commissioned by the Natural Resources Defense Council in partnership with SELC and other members of the Wise Energy for Virginia coalition.

A Cleaner and Less Costly Alternative

There is no need for ODEC’s customers to take this hit to their pocketbooks. According to Synapse experts, a combination of energy efficiency measures, offshore wind, biomass, and natural gas generation would equal the same amount of power, emit five times less carbon dioxide, and cost ratepayers between 1.7 cents and 4.5 cents less per kilowatt-hour than the proposed coal-fired plant.

ODEC should drop its coal plant proposal, which would imperil the physical and financial health of many Virginians.