FEATURES – MAY/ JUNE 2009

Power Play

Some say Dendron's new coal-fired plant will help keep energy costs down and create jobs, but will the environment suffer in the process?

By Ben Swenson

Bookmark and Share

 

Virginia uses more electricity than it generates, and few laymen are more aware of this fact than the residents of Dendron, population 300, on the western edge of the Hampton Roads region. Last December, Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC) announced its selection of Dendron as its preferred site for the construction of a $6 billion coal-fired power plant capable of generating 1,500 megawatts of electricity— enough to power 300,000 homes.

While ODEC is only responsible for providing electricity to rural stretches of Hampton Roads, company officials believe that the plant will benefit the entire region and state. A vocal cadre of opponents disagrees and says that there are alternative options. The fate of the plant has yet to be decided; construction will begin in 2012, provided ODEC gets more than 50 necessary permits approved. Company officials and environmentalists have already launched aggressive public relations campaigns, and citizens are beginning to ask important questions about the role that a new power plant will have on the environment and economy in a region that relies on major industries for its livelihood. Dendron, an hour's drive west of downtown

Dendron, an hour's drive west of downtown Norfolk, is only a fraction of the town it once was. A century ago, Dendron was the hub of Surry Lumber Company. The town boasted 3,000 residents and a network of railroads that shipped timber around the country. When the lumber company shuttered its windows in 1927, resident employees had no reason to stay, and Dendron was left without a major business to support a large population. ODEC chose Dendron after a fouryear search of more than 40 sites because of its proximity to railroads, transmission lines and water. The proposed plant, slated to be built on 1,600 acres formerly occupied by the lumber company, will be called Cypress Creek Power Station.

ELECTRICiTY VS. EFFiCIENCY

According to officials from ODEC, Cypress Creek is necessary to keep up with the commonwealth's increasing energy demand. "The governor has forecast over 10 million Virginians by 2015," says ODEC spokesman David Hudgins. "And the electricity use per house has increased. Houses are bigger, and there are more things that people plug in. When you talk about electricity usage in the commonwealth, we're about 4,000 megawatts short." Through conservation, Hudgins explains, ODEC was able to push the need for a plant back about 10 years, but they're now at the point now where they need another base load plant.

A base load generation facility operates continuously and provides electricity, which can't be effectively stored, to homes and businesses 24 hours a day. ODEC already owns a portion of two base load facilities in Virginia—Clover Power Station in Halifax County and North Anna Power Station in Louisa County—and Cypress Creek will be the first that they own outright. ODEC also owns so-called peaking plants that provide power when demand is greatest. As a not-for-profit cooperative, ODEC purchases 57 percent of the electricity it provides from external sources, and Cypress Creek will allow the company to keep up with increasing demand and to rely less on power generated elsewhere. Hudgins explains that the power supplied by Cypress Creek will benefit people in Hampton Roads, the bulk of whom are supplied by Dominion Virginia Power, because it will relieve electrical congestion, which drives up the price of energy in the grid.

Many environmentalists dispute the claim that this coal-fired plant is necessary. Lauren Glickman of Chesapeake Climate Action Network, one of a host of environmental groups that oppose Cypress Creek's construction, says that new coal-fired plants are the wrong solution to growing energy demand. "The proposal to build this $6 billion coal plant is risky and out of touch when Virginia is heading for a clean energy future," she says. "The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy found that, through efficiency, Virginia can stabilize its energy demand by 2025."

The commonwealth ranks 32 among the 50 states in energy efficiency, and Glickman and her colleagues would like to see cooperatives like ODEC do more to encourage conservation. She says that using more efficient a p p l i - ances, better windows and weatherizing one's home are smart moves that can help consumers use less electricity. Glickman also hopes that renewable resources are part of the energy portfolio for the nation's future, and while she's under no illusion that these can entirely replace coal-fired plants—the electric grid would need upwards of 2,000 wind turbines to replace the electricity produced at a plant like Cypress Creek—she says that reducing the usage of each household by a given amount can create a scenario where wind and solar can help power the needs of a new generation. She explains that Cypress Creek is a risky financial investment since a carbon tax, which politicians have floated as an incentive to reduce emissions, would drive up the price of energy created from coal.

Hudgins agrees that energy efficiency is an effective way to curb the hunger for power. He explains that ODEC has been working hard to encourage conservation and efficiency among its customers. The company also uses sources other than coal, such as wind and natural gas, to generate electricity. But efficiency is only part of the solution, he says. ODEC, Virginia and the United States must use all available sources, not only efficiency, but new generation facilities as well, to meet the growing demand. He claims that is the only way ODEC will be able to provide affordable electricity to consumers.

At a meeting in March, ODEC officials publicly presented the environmental effects that burning fuel at Cypress Creek—about 98 percent coal and two percent biomass, or organic waste—will have on surrounding communities. Cypress Creek will produce 14.6 million tons of carbon dioxide, 920 pounds of lead and 118 pounds of mercury annually. ODEC officials are hopeful that they will be able to sell much of the roughly 250,000 tons of fly ash, a solid byproduct of burning coal, the plant will create each year.

Opponents of Cypress Creek question the effects that the plant will have on surrounding communities. It is still too early to tell precisely where emissions from Cypress Creek will disperse. That information will come with an air dispersion model, which will be completed by early July by an ODEC-hired firm using guidelines approved by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.

ODEC understands the environmental concerns and is taking steps to mitigate the negative effects the plant will have on the land, air and water around it. "We're going to spend one billion dollars in state-of-the-art pollution controls on the stacks," says Hudgins. The plant will be designed to capture about 99 percent of the particulate matter released from burning fuel.

Still, Glickman and other environmentalists say that constructing another coalfired power plant is irresponsible, particularly in an area as environmentally sensitive as Hampton Roads. Glickman points to the 3,000 miles of tidal shoreline in Virginia. "Our coasts from Alexandria to Norfolk are vulnerable to increased storm surges and rising seas caused by climate change," she says. "Hampton Roads is second only to New Orleans in its vulnerability to sea level rise."

RESIDENT REACTION

Dendron-area residents are also approaching the Cypress Creek debate with an eye on its economic effects. Many are interested in bringing back a business capable of supporting a wellpaid workforce, and ODEC claims that its proposal will employ about 2,200 people in the construction of the plant, which will take five years, and an additional 200 jobs once it is operational.

Kevin Monahan, a member of the Surry County Planning Commission who farms about 2,000 acres a few miles from the proposed site, welcomes the economic development because it would provide a wider tax base. Monahan is encouraged that ODEC is seeking to train and employ locals to construct and staff Cypress Creek. "The landowners like me, their taxes are through the roof, and if we can get a business in here it would bring those down," he says. "I know there are concerns from individuals who live nearby, and they have a right to be concerned. But we have the nuclear plant and that's been a big asset to this county. I feel like this will be, too."

Not all of Monahan's neighbors agree with him. Dendron resident David Griffin is not so sure that the plant's construction and operation will benefit surrounding communities. While there are likely to be a number of firms bidding on the contract to build the plant—recent renovation work at Surry County High School turned up 18 bids—Griffin disputes the contention that those jobs will come from within the community. He says that ODEC "will be creating jobs for the state, but not the county. There's no skill set. There's a lot of labor here, but no trained labor." He suggests that much of the labor force for construction and operation of the plant will come from outside of the local community, including other localities in Hampton Roads, despite ODEC's desire to hire hands in the immediate vicinity.

The fight over Cypress Creek could ultimately set a precedent for the future of energy infrastructure in Hampton Roads. Although the plant has support from many politicians and residents, Cypress Creek's opposition may still be able to muster enough support to shelve the project. For all the uncertainties looming in Cypress Creek's future, it is sure to fuel vigorous debate over energy policy in an increasingly electrified world.

>>back