Co-ops propose $2 billion coal-fired plant in Georgia

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Ten electric co-operatives serving fast-growing areas of Georgia will seek permits to build a $2 billion, coal-fired power plant in Washington County, a spokesman said on Wednesday.

Ten electric membership coops formed a partnership, Power4Georgians LLC, to develop the 850-megawatt Washington County Power Station near Sandersville, Georgia, about 60 miles

southwest of Augusta.

Applications for air and other permits were filed last week with the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, said Dean Alford, a spokesman for the partnership.

The co-ops see demand for baseload power to serve their 700,000 customers 24 hours a day growing by 1,000 MW, or 33 percent, to 4,000 MW by 2016, he said.

They currently acquire much of their baseload power from Oglethorpe Power Corp and through a variety of wholesale contracts, many of which will expire in 2013, Alford said.

When the co-op managers saw the increased cost to renew the wholesale contracts, they began to study the idea of building a supercritical coal plant as an alternative to provide more affordable power, Alford said.

"These 10 co-ops felt like they needed to take these steps at this time," Alford said.

The Washington County station will burn a mix of pulverized low-sulfur coal from the Powder River Basin and eastern U.S. coal, according to a release.