Energy firm not giving up on South Georgia coal plant

Despite a resource-sapping legal battle and the loss of its joint venture partner, a New York-based energy company says it still plans to build a coal-fired power plant in South Georgia.

“We believe there’s a demand for the capacity from the plant,” Michael Vogt with LS Power Associates said Monday.

On Friday, Houston-based Dynegy Inc. announced the end of a joint venture partnership with LS Power that involved building new coal plants, including Longleaf in Georgia’s Early County. Vogt said the plant, which LS Power began working on in 2001, never hinged on Dynegy’s involvement.

But first, LS Power must first win a legal battle against the Sierra Club in the Georgia Court of Appeals. Last year, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thelma Wyatt Cummings Moore overturned the state environmental permit issued for the proposed plant. She cited concerns about unregulated carbon dioxide emissions that have been blamed for global warming.

The final hurdle, Vogt said, will be securing long-term customers for the plant, which could power about 1 million homes if built to full capacity.

If all goes according to the company’s plan, construction on the plant could start by the end of this year.