The main factor for the four EMCs decision for withdrawal is the ambiguity surrounding the imminent federal regulation for carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power stations.
Gary Miller, GreyStone Power Corporation’s president and chief executive officer said “Owning a coal plant at this point is more risk than we want to take. We believe in coal but I can’t in good conscience invest for 30 years out without knowing the cost.”
He added that the ‘cap and trade’ proposal to restrict carbon dioxide emissions, which is supported by Congress and the Obama government, could augment customers’ monthly bills by 12% to 30%. Possible mandates for acquiring renewable electricity could push costs even more.
Dean Alford, of Allied Energy Services, the company developing the Plant Washington project, stated that three of the EMCs including GreyStone Power Corporation voted to withdraw their partnership in January or February 2009 but were in talks with Power4Georgians over how the procedure would function.
Alford affirmed that the withdrawal would have no adverse impact on the project’s future. The remaining six EMCs that includes Upson EMC, Washington EMC and Central Georgia EMC will have to contribute a bigger share to the plant’s cost, but will also obtain a bigger share of the power it generates.
Alford added that the plant will produce 850 megawatts (MW), which will not cover the remaining cooperatives’ expected demand by 2016.
Plant Washington, which would consume 16,000 gallons of water daily, could possibly be the first new coal-fired power station constructed in Georgia in a quarter century.
Several of the cooperatives that withdrew from the project denoted they might still be interested in acquiring power from Plant Washington if it is constructed.
