At a public hearing tonight, the Dendron Town Council will receive the first publicly available analysis of the economic impacts that Old Dominion Electric Cooperative’s proposed coal-fired power plant would have on Dendron and Surry County. Among other things, the report estimates that, during the peak construction year, only three jobs would go to current Dendron residents and Surry County residents would get only 14% of the construction jobs.

PRESS RELEASE from the Wise Energy for Virginia Coalition
February 1, 2010

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NEW ECONOMIC REPORT SHOWS FEW JOBS FROM PROPOSED COAL PLANT IN SURRY COUNTY WOULD GO TO LOCAL RESIDENTS
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Dendron, VA–At a public hearing tonight, the Dendron Town Council will receive the first publicly available analysis of the economic impacts that Old Dominion Electric Cooperative’s proposed coal-fired power plant would have on Dendron and Surry County. Among other things, the report estimates that, during the peak construction year, only three jobs would go to current Dendron residents and Surry County residents would get only 14% of the construction jobs.

The council is holding a public hearing at 7:30 PM at the Dendron firehouse this evening on ODEC’s request for changes to the town’s zoning ordinance and comprehensive plan. The Wise Energy for Virginia Coalition, in partnership with the Natural Resources Defense Council, will present the study to the council and the public at the hearing.

The report, by labor analyst and economist Scott Moore, of Moore Data LLC, shows that only a small fraction of construction jobs for the plant would go to local residents, because a very limited number have the experience or skills needed for plant construction.

The report estimates that the number of temporary jobs for county residents during the 5-year construction phase would range between 48 and 217, and that relatively few current local residents would receive permanent jobs during the plant’s operation.

“Work at a power plant requires very specialized skill sets, so jobs will go first to people already in the power industry who already have the necessary training, credentials, and experience,” Moore said.

The numbers are in sharp contrast to the jobs ODEC has been promising residents and local officials – up to 3,000 for construction, and 225 for operation. In a flier recently mailed to Surry County households, ODEC touts the employment benefits of the plant, but makes no mention of what percentage of jobs would go to local residents. In contrast, the 48-page report contains in-depth analysis of the plant’s economic impact. “It’s important for the public and elected officials to have access to an objective, transparent study of the plant’s impact on Dendron and the county,” Moore said.

“When you consider the air pollution, the massive toxic ash dump, 650 foot smokestacks, trains unloading at all hours, and then the fact that so few locals would be employed, it’s pretty clear that the plant would be anything but the windfall ODEC makes it out to be” says Tom Cormons, Virginia Director for Appalachian Voices.

“This project is a bad deal for the workforce in Dendron and Surry County, and a bad deal for ODEC’s customers, who will end up paying significantly more on their monthly bills for this coal plant than if ODEC invested instead in efficiency programs,” said Cale Jaffe with the Southern Environmental Law Center.

“ODEC is one of the very few utilities left in the nation that refuse to acknowledge the financial folly of investing in conventional coal. Unfortunately, if this plant goes ahead, it’s the shareholders and taxpayers who will be left holding the bag. It’s time for ODEC to shift course and help lead Virginia to a clean energy future,” said Theo Spencer with the Natural Resources Defense Council.

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The mission of the Wise Energy for Virginia Coalition is to halt the construction of new coal-burning power plants, end the destruction of mountaintop removal coal mining in Virginia, and repower the Commonwealth with cleaner, less expensive and sustainable energy sources. The coalition includes Southern Appalachian Mountain Stewards, Appalachian Voices, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Sierra Club and Southern Environmental Law Center, and a growing number of affiliate groups.