CEAC-2020-04-April

In Virginia, a Push to Save Country’s
‘Cleanest’ Coal Plant By Sarah Rankin | Associated Press
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Officials from southwest Virginia
have mounted a last-minute push to oppose the possible
early closure of one of the country’s newest coal plants.
A Dominion Energy facility in Wise County that opened eight
years ago and is frequently touted as the cleanest of its type
could close decades sooner than expected under a sweeping
rewrite of Virginia’s energy generation policy that Democrats
are advancing through the General Assembly.
Advocates of the bill say that Virginia needs to move away
from fossil fuel-fired generation in order to address climate
change. But Republican lawmakers and local officials in
southwest Virginia have called its potential early retirement
a “tragedy” that would blow a hole in the budgets of two
localities and devastate a region that’s been working to revitalize
an economy built on coal mining but isn’t there yet.
“Pulling the rug out from under us and closing down the
cleanest coal plant — the cleanest plant in the world right
now that’s running — is just a slap in the face to southwest
Virginia,” Del. Terry Kilgore, a Republican whose district
includes part of the county where the plant is located, said in
a floor speech.
The plant pays millions in taxes each year and employs 197
full-time and contract employees, according to Dominion.
Local officials estimate it supports about 400 other jobs in
the surrounding community.
Under the House version of the Clean Economy Act — a measure
that would pave the way for an enormous expansion of
solar and offshore wind generation plus battery storage —
the plant would have to close in 2030 unless it can demonstrate
an 83-percent reduction in carbon emissions through
capture and sequestration — a lofty goal.
The Senate on Thursday, Feb. 27, accepted an amendment to
its version of the bill to push that deadline back until 2050.
The amendment came from Republican Sen. Ben Chafin,
whose district includes part of Wise County and who insisted
that the plant was “barely out of diapers.”
(Continued on page 28)
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