COLUMBUS — Not surprisingly, opponents of American Municipal Power’s coal-fired power plant proposed for Letart Falls are hailing the company’s decision to abandon the project.

The Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club and Ohio Environmental Council have all been involved in litigation over the plant, appealing air and water pollution permits issued by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. As late as last week, a de novo hearing on the plant’s air permit had been scheduled to be heard by the Ohio Environmental Review Appeals Commission in June which seemed to make AMP’s decision even more surprising, to opponents and supporters alike.

The NRDC was the lead counsel on the appeals and NRDC Attorney Shannon Fisk said his organization applauded AMP’s decision to abandon the coal-fired power plant in favor of researching an alternative such as a gas-fired facility. The decision was made by AMP’s Board of Trustees and its 81 member communities which would’ve purchased power from the plant. AMP cited a recent 37 percent increase in the cost to build the coal-fired power plant as a reason for abandoning the project.

“I think reality caught up to them,” Fisk said. “We’ve seen throughout the county that people are realizing coal plants are a bad investment...costs have skyrocketed so much and there’s so much uncertainty with them. We pointed out a number of years ago that this plant would’ve been a costly dinosaur. We’re glad AMP’s member communities have realized it.”

Fisk said as for the legal battle over the plant’s permits, he is assuming that is over, assuming AMP will withdrawal those permits since the project has been dropped.

“This is a signal that Ohio is moving beyond coal,” Nachy Kanfer of the Sierra Club in Columbus said. “I hope when AMP looks at revising this plant it keeps Meigs County in mind and Southeast Ohio when the state does move beyond coal. Southeast Ohio will be in most need of assistance in making that transition. We (SC) stand firmly behind any kind of clean energy or development of that clean energy in this state.”

“AMP-Ohio’s wise decision belies the myth that coal power is cheap power,” Trent Dougherty, OEC staff attorney said. “Financial institutions, major utilities, government regulators and public power organizations across the nation have come to the conclusion that conventional coal makes little sense economically or environmentally. Today, that realization came to AMP as AMP has abandoned plans to build yet another coal plant.”

“We are pleased that AMP has concluded that dirty power is bad business,” Dougherty continued. “Now, AMP can get back to the business of doing what it does best — being a leader in renewable energy and energy efficiency in this state. Years ago, AMP’s plant and rationale for building it may have made sense, but the regulatory landscape has fundamentally shifted.”

Many in the local communities of Meigs County have reacted at the news of the coal plant’s demise with a feeling of resentment towards some of those who opposed the plant; feeling the regulatory process and the legal battles caused the process to be drawn out for longer than it should’ve, possibly at the expense of the plant being built.

“I think what killed this plant was economics,” Fisk said. “Conventional coal-fired plants in this day and age are just economically not a sensible thing to do. We’re moving forward and are willing to work with the residents of Meigs County and AMP’s member communities to achieve a true clean energy approach. Pursuing cutting edge technology will actually create more jobs and could create jobs right there in Meigs County.”

Though AMP has said it will consider the Meigs County site for future development should the project be redesigned, it remains unclear if that will happen. AMP owns approximately 1,000 acres of land in the Letart Falls area along the Ohio River.