Power Plant Balance Benefits Everyone

A tenacious fight by environmental groups came to a resolution last week, with Dominion Virginia Power forced to amend its air permit for a new power plant. The move allows the plant to move forward but creates some of the toughest environmental standards ever issued.

That’s the proper balance for a project of this magnitude being erected in our backyard of Wise County, Va. We need electricity to maintain and grow our economy. We should demand the safest ways of generating that power. We hope this is a compromise that sticks and works – a resolution to the legal fights that allows the plant to operate, but under strict environmental rules to vastly reduce pollution.

While we all aim for greener ways to generate power, the fact is that coal generates about half our nation’s electricity today. But we also know burning coal generates mercury, arsenic and unwanted ash. While Dominion has a business obligation to provide energy to Virginia, it has a moral obligation to protect the health of people living near the plant.

While called a “hybrid energy center,” the primary source of generating electricity there will be burning coal. It’s been more than 20 years since a new coal-fired power plant has been built in Virginia, and we have rightly demanded that this plant be the best, safest, least-polluting plant of its kind.

And Wise County wants the tax dollars – estimated at $6 million per year – the plant could contribute. The region is estimated to see a boost of as much as $440 million annually thanks to the power plant. We would never advocate for profits over health, but the stringent standards now placed on the plant should make this trade-off palatable for everyone.

More than 1,000 construction workers will build the plant, which is expected to go online in 2012. The permanent jobs are expected to be about 80.

But a recent prospect, also endorsed by this newspaper, could add additional jobs. Capturing carbon released from power plants is a key to reducing pollution and meeting greenhouse gas standards. The problem is “carbon sequestration” technology is being developed now and is not ready to be used at any power plant.

Last month, the Dominion plant got in line to be a demonstration site for carbon capture and sequestration, which would eliminate 1,500 tons of carbon dioxide from the plant’s emissions each day. The carbon dioxide would be injected into thin coal seams up to 25 miles underground. We heartily support this effort – part of a joint plan with Dominion and the Virginia Tech Center for Coal and Energy Research – because it would reduce pollution from the plant and have it become a demonstration site for cutting-edge technology. It would also add 36 full-time jobs.

Every step Dominion takes toward cleaner power generation, additional full-time jobs and using the latest in technology is a right step for the region. And the stringent standards imposed through the air permit controls mean those goals can be reached without sacrificing our health.