State, fed officials gather to discuss plans for regional coal power projects
By Nick Claussen
Athens NEWS Associate Editor
Thursday, July 5th, 2007
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U.S. Sen. George Voinovich and other political leaders visited southeast Ohio on Monday to discuss plans for power plants and clean coal plants in Meigs County and Lawrence County.
Voinovich met with Ohio Senator Joy Padgett (R-Coshocton); who represents Athens County in the 20th District; State Rep. Jimmy Stewart (R-Albany), who represents Athens County in the 92nd District; State Rep. Clyde Evans (R-Rio Grande) who represents the 87th District; Bill Martin, chief executive officer of Atlantic Energy Ventures; and Mark Shanahan, energy advisor to Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland.
According to a press release from Voinovich's office, he was also scheduled to meet with representatives of American Electric Power (AEP) and American Municipal Power Ohio (AMPO).
Two power plants are currently being proposed for Meigs County, while another power plant is also being proposed in West Virginia just across the river from Meigs County.
The power plant proposals have a great deal of support because of the large number of construction jobs and permanent jobs in the plants, as well as the other jobs that could be created in relation, including new coal mine jobs.
The plant proposals have critics as well, who cite the environmental damage the plants could do and question how much they will really help the economy of the region.
The projects discussed on Monday included the clean coal gasification project proposed by Atlantic Energy Ventures in Lawrence County, the Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle power plant AEP is planning in Meigs County and the Powerspan Electro-Catalytic Oxidation coal power plant AMPO is planning in Meigs County.
Stewart said a third Meigs County project, a coal liquification plant, is being proposed by Rentech, Inc., in the area where the FutureGen clean coal power plant originally was proposed.
The FutureGen proposal is no longer on the table (it will be built in another part of the country), but Stewart said this latest proposal already has received a commitment of funding from the state.
The Rentech project would be designed mainly to produce diesel fuel out of coal, Stewart said. The Lawrence County project, he added, would be designed to turn coal into natural gas, and then make fertilizer out of it. Both plants may produce small amounts of electricity, but the diesel fuel and fertilizer products would be the main reason for the plants, he said.
THE AEP PROJECT is on hold while the utility works through a legal battle over its rate recovery for the plant, but the AMPO project continues to move forward, Stewart said.
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) approved the original cost recovery plan AEP put forward to pay for the construction of the plant, Stewart said.
This plan would have raised rates for consumers in order to pay for the plant. The Industrial Energy Users and the Ohio Consumers Council have taken AEP to court over the cost recovery plan, though, which has held up the project, Stewart said.
At the Monday meeting, AEP officials talked about how they want to have some type of guarantee from state officials on whether they will be able to recover some or all of their costs for building the new plant, Stewart said.
It probably will be well into 2008 before the legal issue is settled, but Stewart said he expects the state legislature to discuss the issue in the next year when it discusses deregulation/regulation for public utilities in Ohio.
Stewart added that he expects the AMPO project to get under construction first.
"It could possibly even be next year," Stewart said. AMPO officials are still working through the planning process and will be asking the state for funding, Stewart said.
A representative for Atlantic Energy Ventures also said before the meeting on Monday that while plans are not finalized yet for the Lawrence County project, it also is moving ahead rapidly.
Voinovich gave a press briefing before the meeting (which was closed to the public and the media) and said he is doing what he can at the federal level to help these projects. The proposals are important for several reasons, he said.
"First of all, it's energy," Voinovich said. The country's energy needs are growing, and these proposals could be a big help, he said.
In addition, these projects would be environmentally responsible, Voinovich said.
The projects would also create jobs in a part of Ohio that desperately needs them, and would do a lot to help the economy, he said.
The projects need to be public/private partnerships, and the Monday meeting was being held to discuss the progress of the projects and what needs to be done to help them along, Voinovich said.
Asked during the press briefing about the war in Iraq, Voinovich said he supports creating a situation there in which the troops can be withdrawn in a responsible way. He said the U.S. has had to make a major commitment to foreign policy and Iraq in the last few years, and it has been to the detriment of some domestic priorities such as these energy projects.
Stewart said he believes the three Meigs County projects will create thousands of jobs that pay well.
"Every one of the building and trade unions can't wait for these projects to get started," Stewart said.
The three projects are all planned to be built within eight miles of each other, with the AMPO project close to Racine and the other two closer to Ravenswood, W.Va., Stewart explained.
"I'm supportive of it as along as they meet all the permits and the laws on what they're supposed to be doing," he said.
A handful of Athens and Meigs county residents have contacted him with concerns about the projects, and Stewart said he shares some of the concerns. He in particular wants the state to do more to reduce energy consumption, Stewart said.
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