December 31, 2007

Letter to the Editor, Alexandria Gazette

In Chuck Hagee's December 5, 2007 article "Air Board Again Denies Mirant Stack Merge Request...", the proposed Dominion / Allegheny Power 502 Junction-Loudoun 500 kV transmission line and the Mirant Potomac River Generating Station (PRGS) are juxtapositioned as an either/or choice for electrical reliability in the Virginia power grid, pitting groups who seek to close Mirant’s PRGS against those who seek to stop the power line.  In fact, the Virginia conservation community recognizes both Mirant’s PRGS and the proposed power line as liabilities and supports better alternative solutions that ensure reliability of the grid and affordable power, improve the quality of our air and water and health, save Virginians money, address global warming, and create good jobs. 

The proposed transmission line would actually lead to a less stable energy grid and higher costs to ratepayers.  A reliable and efficient electricity network meets demand by balancing regional generation capacity and transmission interconnect length.  Long transmission lines, such as the proposed Dominion/Allegheny line to bring power from highly-polluting coal plants in the Ohio Valley, reduce grid stability by leading to dependency upon distant suppliers and increased losses, similar to supplying our water from the Great Lakes.  Dependency upon long transmission lines creates opportunity for congestion and cascade outages, and results in substantial transmission fees, an important fact for ratepayers who would also be footing the $1 Billion cost of the line.  Investment in the lines would discourage investment in cleaner local power options such as efficient natural gas combined-cycle plants (at least two are proposed), offshore wind turbines, and decentralized solutions such as small-scale solar hot water, photovoltaic, and geothermal heat pumps that would better balance the grid, increase energy productivity, and clean the air.   

The line is not needed.  Dominion’s own figures show that only 20% of the capacity of the proposed transmission line is allocated to Northern Virginia, with 80% intended to feed MD, DC, PA, and Delaware.  Dominion’s forecast of 7% growth in electricity demand in NoVa by 2011, used to justify the line, assumes no demand management or efficiency actions are taken, even those required by new federal regulation on lighting, existing state goals for conservation, or recent action by Governor Kaine to implement demand management.  Preliminary studies in Northern Virginia show that demand could be easily reduced by 10% - more than Dominions growth predictions.  Energy efficiency, conservation, and demand management programs have proven successful in more than 26 other states - saving ratepayers billions of dollars, avoiding the need for new power plants, and resulting in per-capita energy use as much as 50% below current Virginia levels.  New transmission lines or generation plants should not be approved before such programs are implemented in Virginia (none currently are).   Dominion’s forecast also ignores trends such as Smart Growth, which combines energy-efficient compact residential living with access to services and transit, and which is more reflective of Virginia’s future growth than the suburban build-out of the last two decades.

Dependence upon coal power is driving global warming.  Recent analysis of Global Warming indicates that limiting atmospheric carbon dioxide levels to 550 parts–per-million (ppm) (current levels are 383) is not sufficient to avoid damaging effects such as high levels of sea rise and dangerous weather.  In fact it may be necessary to reduce current carbon levels.  This suggest a need for an immediate ban on new sources of CO2 such as new coal power plants, replacement of existing base load coal power plants with lower carbon sources such as natural gas, and transition to renewable sources such as wind, solar, geothermal, and sustainable biofuels.  Such visionary carbon regulations are lagging, but are nonetheless imminent, as evidenced by current discussions of a cap-and-trade system.  This makes Mirant’s PRGS and the proposed line bad long term investments.    

Coal power is inherently polluting.  The profitable Mirant PRG Station, which helped Mirant achieve a $775 million net income for the third quarter of 2007, is damaging human health and the environment with toxic mercury, particulates, and ground level ozone.    This is why the Sierra Club, its allies, and local citizens have fought together for years to either clean up or close it.  Pollution from coal plants is increasingly becoming an expensive liability as indicated by recent settlements against Dominion and AEP. Dependence upon coal plants in the Ohio Valley simply increases and redistributes the pollution and toxins while adding new problems.  

Virginians deserve clean, affordable and reliable energy solutions, not additional liabilities.  By increasing productivity through energy efficiency and demand management programs, investing in renewable wind; solar; sustainable biofuels; geothermal energy infrastructure and energy efficient technology, and by using smart growth principles to design new communities, Virginia can improve the environment and citizen health, save money, and better ensure economic development and sustainable job growth.

Brooks Cressman

Conservation Chair

Sierra Club

Virginia Chapter