On Tuesday, good ol’ king coal proposed another new coal plant for Virginia, but this time it’s going to be over 3 times as expensive and in Richmond’s back yard. Old Dominion Electric Cooperative says it will cost $6 billion to build the plant, which is necessary “to meet energy demand that the cooperative projects will double in the next two decades.”
Of course this is outrageous. Despite the climate crisis, and the fact that 72% of Virginians believe that immediate action is needed to address global warming, the coal barons of Virginia are still trying to sneak through midnight coal plants.
It’s ironic that this announcement has come on the heals of Governor Kaine’s Climate Commission report. The report calls on the state to reduce its total carbon emissions 80% by 2050. Despite this goal, based on the findings of climate scientists around the world, the Wise and Surry County plants would result in millions of tons of additional greenhouse gas pollution undermining efforts to actually reduce emissions.
Says Glen Besa in a press release by CCAN and our allies in our fight against the Wise County plant: “Utilities in Virginia seem to be in denial about global warming.”
The Surry site is about 60 miles from Richmond and 40 from Virginia beach. Local pollution of methane, sulfur and NOX can be expected to increase, as will mountain top removal mining in Appalachia.
The ACEEE report recently released in VA shows clearly how Virginia can eliminate the need for any new coal plants through efficiency alone. By enacting strong policies that set strong targets, reduce peak demand and incentivize efficiency, Virginia can hold energy use steady and start investing in clean energy like wind and solar. It’s time that our leaders start investing in what Virginia really needs, not another new coal plant.
