The Jackson Clarion-Ledger
By Jeff Ayres
Published: December 19, 2008
Mississippi Power says it hopes to be operating within the next decade what it describes as a trail-blazing, clean-coal power plant that will pump millions of dollars into Kemper County and ultimately lower customers' bills. The company is planning to build the $2.2 billion facility, which includes a mine, in the southern part of the county.
It would create power by separating carbon dioxide emissions from coal. The gas would be stored in depleted underground oil wells and sold to companies that would use it to produce oil.
Some 80 to 100 people would work at the plant, with another 180 in the mine.
Customers may see higher power bills related to elements of the plant beyond bricks-and-mortar construction.
But Mississippi Power CEO Anthony Topazi told The Clarion-Ledger editorial board on Thursday that the low-grade coal the plant will use ultimately will help those customers save money.
"This is a unique opportunity," he said. "This is the lowest-cost (energy) option for our customers. This is the best thing to do. I would do this under any circumstances, given the numbers we're looking at and the needs."
He said he hopes to work with the state Public Service Commission to work out a way in which any bill increases could be as slight as possible and quickly balanced by lowered bills once the plant is operational.
When construction would begin is unclear. The company says the plant could be operational as early as November 2013 but also might not be ready until late 2015.
When it comes online, it will take its place as one of, and perhaps the, largest employer in largely rural Kemper County.
No estimates have been done on how much revenue the plant could generate for the county, which is trying to grow its economic base.
"It will (have) a huge impact, financially and job creation-wise, not just for our county but for surrounding counties," says Brian Henson, executive director of the Kemper County Economic Development Authority.
The plant will use lignite, a low-quality coal with higher moisture content and reduced burning capability than other types of coal.
Lignite's value shortcomings are balanced, Topazi says, by a much more stable price range for the coal, which hasn't seen the volatile market highs and lows of other coal or natural gas in the last few years.
"It's decoupled from the other markets," he says. "That decoupling is huge."
Four billion tons of lignite are available to be mined in Mississippi, and there is plenty of it at the plant site and other areas, he continued, so the company will save significantly by not having to bring it in by rail or boat from outside the state.
Those factors should ultimately make the lignite operation an energy-saving operation and reduce customers' power bills, company officials say.
Ideally, the PSC wouldn't be asked to approve any rate increases related to the plant until late 2011 or early 2012, according to Mississippi Power.
It also could mean a significant boost to Kemper County's economy through mineral rights agreements with property owners. Those owners would receive money for their land being used to mine as well as on the amount of lignite mined there.
Clean-coal technology has gotten increased attention over the years as demand for more alternative energy sources has grown.
Some see it as a way of combatting climate change and cutting down on greenhouse-gas emissions from plants that use coal to create energy.
"The same amount of carbon dioxide is emitted from coal as it is from cars and trucks," says Jeff Lindner, a research professor and associate director at Mississippi State University's Institute for Clean Energy Technology.
"We have to do something about carbon dioxide emissions. There's definitely a direct correlation between carbon dioxide emissions and global warming."
Successful clean-coal technology, he says, is still largely a work in progress throughout the power industry, especially in successfully separating carbon-dioxide from coal while keeping it cost-effective and safe.
He said developing and refining such technology eventually can show up on power bills, perhaps to the tune of an extra 20 cents per kilowatt hour.
But Lindner adds Mississippi Power and parent Southern Co. have been as proactive as any company in developing the technology to operate a coal plant that treats the material as cleanly as possible.
The company says it is in the process of testing its ability to remove carbon dioxide from coal.
While many support clean-coal energy, there continues to be a host of criticisms and questions about whether it can meaningfully cut down on greenhouse-gas emissions and whether the expense of doing so is greater than any benefits.
Louis Miller, director of the Sierra Club's Mississippi chapter, says Mississippi Power is relying on unproven, costly technology to build a clean-coal plant when far cheaper alternatives to reduce energy costs exist.
He says plans for similar plants have been abandoned in Florida and New York.
"It's not clean coal, period," Miller said. "The impact to the county and landowners will be significant. This is experimental technology, at best."
Topazi says Mississippi Power is committed to finding a way to make sure the technology is safe and the facility and mine are environmentally compatible.
"At the end of the day, they just don't want any coal," Topazi says of clean-coal technology's critics.
Mississippi Power soon will file with the PSC a request for certification to build the plant.
It has air and stormwater runoff permits from the state.
About half of the $2.2 billion needed to build will be put up by the company.
The rest, officials hope, will come from a mix of federal grants and tax credits.
The company already has been approved to receive about $400 million in federal money and tax credits and is filing applications for more.
Topazi says ideally the company wouldn't seek funding from the state Legislature. But infrastructure needs around the plant site are evident, he says.
If the company doesn't seek state money for those issues, it could turn to a proposed nationwide economic stimulus package, if approved, that would emphasize infrastructure upgrades, Topazi says.
Kemper County is making strides in diversifying its economic base beyond timber and agriculture.
Facilities that make building panels, stainless-steel sinks and pharmaceutical products have opened, and the clean-coal plant would be a huge next step in the county's evolution, Henson says.
Mississippi Power serves about 188,000 customers in 23 southeastern counties.
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