Late on the evening of January 24, the board of directors at Cobb EMC made an unprecedented about-face, and voted to freeze the EMC’s funding for two coal-fired power plants: Plant Washington and Plant Ben Hill. Without their biggest investor, these coal plants are now more on the ropes than ever. A consortium of utility [...]
In Georgia, another coal plant is dead, and murmurs from Cobb EMC indicate that the tide may be turning against construction and pursuit of Plant Washington and its twin coal-fired power plant proposal, Plant Ben Hill. Plant Longleaf, a coal-fired power plant proposed near Blakely, GA, was canceled in December 2011 after millions of dollars and more [...]
Last week EPA released a very comprehensive tool by which any member of the public can now easily see just how much global warming pollution their neighborhood coal plant is emitting. Many of the largest GHG emitters are not surprisingly right here in the Southeast. Below is a reposted blog from National Wildlife Federation’s Kendall [...]
With less than a week to go before Christmas, you might think that this post is about an early present. In fact, it’s about a late present—two decades late—but it is a fantastic present anyway. Today, after more than two decades of delay, EPA has finally announced strong, life-saving emission limits for mercury from coal [...]
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson is set to finalize a crucial new clean air rule to limit mercury pollution. Meanwhile opponents of clean energy are tripping over themselves to have the most outlandish (and erroneous) criticisms of the rule. For instance, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported the following on December 15th: Athens[, GA] Republican [...]
National Public Radio’s Morning Edition ran a story today on how Southern Company is putting its corporate policy of aggressively fighting beneficial health standards ahead of mothers and children, as well as fish and other living organisms. The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed new standards to limit emissions of mercury, a toxic heavy metal, and [...]
Georgia Power Company (GPC) operates a fleet of old coal plants. Their oldest coal units, Yates units 1 and 2, are 61 years old. Unlike wine, cheese or a savings account, coal plants do not get better with age. They become more expensive to maintain, less efficient and more damaging to human health and the [...]
Hope everyone is having a great Thanksgiving with lots of family, friends and food. Many things to give thanks for today, including for me, that we may be on the verge of a significant investment in renewable energy that will benefit the Southeast. A recent article in the Tennessean titled “TVA may pipe in wind [...]
Board of Director elections held Saturday, November 12 at Cobb EMC raised the profile of member dissatisfaction with the Atlanta-area utility co-op’s decision-making and leadership to a new level. New board members swept all four seats in the election by huge margins and will be sworn in at today’s Cobb EMC board meeting (Nov. 22, [...]
To follow our recent blog post about activities in North Carolina last week surrounding the release of the Energy and Water in a Warming World (EW3) initiative’s new report, Freshwater Use by U.S. Power Plants: Electricity’s Thirst for a Precious Resource, here’s a look-back on our events in Georgia. Why release such a report in [...]