UPDATE: On Jan. 8, the Marietta Daily Journal published an article including SACE and others’ on responses to the indictment. On Thursday, Jan 6, 2011 Dwight Brown, CEO of Cobb EMC, was indicted by a Cobb County Grand Jury on 31 counts of theft, false statement, racketeering, and conspiracy. Cobb EMC is the lead organizer [...]
In welcome and exciting news, the Georgia state court Judge, Ronit Walker, ruled Thursday that the proposed coal-fired Plant Washington air permits are inadequate to protect public health and the environment. According to the ruling, the permit for the proposed 850-MW facility violated Clean Air Act safeguards to limit harmful and toxic air pollution. GreenLaw [...]
In 2008, ten Georgia Electric Membership Corporations (EMCs) joined under the banner “Power4Georgians,” and went public with a proposal to build a new coal-fired power plant in Sandersville, GA, known as Plant Washington. From our perspective, this has been a bad deal for EMC members and the environment from the start, but considering recent trends, [...]
On September 13, SACE, represented by GreenLaw and the Southern Environmental Law Center, and our allies at the Sierra Club Georgia Chapter, Ogeechee Riverkeeper, and Fall-Line Alliance for a Clean Environment (FACE), began the official hearing process in court as part of our legal challenge to Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) air permits for Plant [...]
This week marked a major victory for clean water and a step in the right direction for clean energy in Georgia, as a judge threw out water use permits for the proposed coal-fired Plant Washington. The denial of these permits could require the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) to take another hard look at whether [...]
On Tuesday, March 9th the Ochs Center for Metropolitan Studies out of Chattanooga, TN released a report entitled, “Energy Efficiency as an Alternative Strategy for the Power4Georgians EMC“. The report identifies how the Electric Membership Corporations (EMCs) investing in the Plant Washington coal facility would benefit their local communities by investing in energy efficiency instead. [...]
Another New Coal Plant Proposed in South Georgia by Power4Georgians Power4Georgians is at it again. Just recently, citizens in Ben Hill County started hearing rumors that Power4Georgians, a consortium made up of Snapping Shoals EMC, Central GA EMC, Washington County EMC, Upson EMC, and Cobb EMC is looking to develop another 850 MW coal-fired power [...]
As we begin to reflect on our 2009 coal challenge in Georgia, it is clear that the opposition to Plant Washington continues to grow and we are confident that in 2010 Power4Georgians, the consortium of EMC’s proposing this coal plant, will be fighting an uphill battle. Over the course of 2009 we saw more and more [...]
Georgia Citizens attended statewide public hearings on Tuesday to voice their opposition to Plant Washington and their frustration with the lack of public opportunity for comment. On Tuesday, Oct. 6th, Georgia citizens gathered together at statewide public hearings sponsored by a coalition of organizations called Georgians for Smart Energy. Residents were there to voice opposition [...]
SACE has just released a new short film that shows how the Power4Georgians’ proposed coal-fired Plant Washington would use up to 16 million gallons of water daily, causing a significant threat to Georgia’s precious water resources. In the film, Saving Georgia’s Water: Preserving Georgia’s Economic Future, business owners, residents, and sportsmen discuss negative effects that [...]
