Monk: Group to explore need for coal plant

A nonprofit environmental group says it will spend $100,000 or more to do its own study to see if Santee Cooper’s proposed coal-fired power plant in southern Florence County is really needed.

“This will be an exhaustive analysis of alternate options,” said Dana Beach, head of the S.C. Coastal Conservation League, one of the state’s most respected and activist environmental groups.

Lonnie Carter, CEO of Santee Cooper, the large state-run utility seeking government permission to build the coal-fired plant, said he welcomes the outside study and will cooperate with Beach’s group.

“We have offered to make all of our studies and work that has been done by (our) independent consultants available to them for review,” Carter said.

Studies by Santee Cooper, also called the S.C. Public Service Authority, show the new plant is needed to meet growing energy needs, Carter said.

In recent months, the proposed plant has turned into one of the state’s most controversial issues. Hundreds of people have attended public hearings and written the Department of Health and Environmental Control to express concerns or support.

Santee Cooper is applying for permits to build two coal-fired, 600-megawatt units along the Great Pee Dee River. A megawatt is a million watts, and a 600-megawatt unit can power more than 300,000 houses. Santee Cooper plans to spend $1.25 billion to build the first unit and later decide when to build the next one.

Almost 2 million South Carolinians receive power from Santee Cooper, either directly or indirectly. Many of the utility’s service areas are marked by rampant growth, such as Horry and Berkeley counties.

Around the nation and world, except in developing nations like China, coal-fired plants are coming under scrutiny.

Many plants have been stopped as pressures mount to find more efficient and renewable energy sources, such as wind or solar power. Coal is one of the world’s dirtiest fuels.

Even with modern pollution control devices, Santee Cooper’s first 600-megawatt unit still would throw an estimated 115 pounds of mercury into the air per year. Even minute amounts of mercury can be deadly, contaminating fish and causing problems in humans.

The plant would emit tons of particulate matter and hazardous gases, as well. Coal-fired plants also emit millions of tons of carbon dioxide a year, which most scientists contend contributes significantly to climate change.

Meanwhile, DHEC is poised to issue an air permit for Santee Cooper’s new plant, possibly within a few months. Also watching DHEC’s action is the Southern Environmental Law Center, which says it will sue to stop the plant, should a permit be issued.

Beach said his group is doing the study because, under S.C. law, no outside independent group formally scrutinizes Santee Cooper’s claims when it wants to build a new power plant.

In this way, Santee Cooper — a state agency — is different from an investor-owned utility such as Duke Energy or SCANA, whose claims that a new power plant is needed must be investigated by the S.C. Public Service Commission.

CEO Carter said Santee Cooper’s 11-member governing board — appointed by the governor with Senate approval — serves the same purpose as the Public Service Commission.

“Every step of the way, every decision that is made by our board is through a public process,” Carter said. “Our board has a very thorough and public process for doing this.”

Blan Holman, a lawyer with the Southern Environmental Law Center, took issue with Carter, saying Santee Cooper’s board — unlike the Public Service Commission — does not hold formal public hearings and is not as vigilant.

“They are not an objective watchdog,”said Holman.