Local residents braved the frigid cold this morning perched atop a billboard, to protest Progress Energy’s proposed oil fired plant.They unfurled an enormous banner reading, “Burning Oil Ain’t Progress – No New Power Plant in Woodfin!” The residents are part of Rising Tide North America, a group dedicated to fighting the root causes of climate change. The protest lasted over three hours until local police and fire department forced them down.
“Western North Carolina is already suffering from some of the worst air pollution in the country. By building an oil burning plant that we don’t even really need, Progress is choosing to endanger our health for the sake of profit instead of making the necessary investments in energy conservation and clean energy.” said Micah Lee, a life-long Asheville resident who was perched atop the billboard.
According the Environmental Protection Agency, pollution from power plants in North Carolina is responsible for 1,000 premature deaths each year. Progress Energy’s proposed 130 MW oil power plant is projected to emit 247 tons of smog forming nitrogen oxide, 2.4 tons of sulfur dioxide, and 97 tons of lung damaging particulate matter each year. This would put Progress’ plant among the top 5 polluters in Buncombe County. Even these statistics are optimistic, based on Progress’ projection that the plant will only run 10 percent of the time. A recent Wall Street Journal report found that such “peak” power plants often run up to 80 percent of the time, greatly increasing emissions.
In addition to the immediate health concerns caused by the power plant, the activists hope to bring attention to the devastating impacts of climate change, to which this plant would only contribute. “Given the increases in droughts, hurricanes, and massive species extinction that we are already experiencing as a result of climate change, burning oil for electricity is totally insane. In the face of total government inaction, regular people need to take action to transition our society away from fossil fuels,” said Abigail Singer from her perch atop the billboard.
The scientific consensus is that we need to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80 percent by the year 2050 to avert the worst case scenarios of climate change. By building a new oil plant at this critical juncture, Progress Energy would be taking us further down the road of fossil fuel dependence at a time when we need to drastically reduce our consumption. According to EPA statistics oil fired power plants emit on average1672 lbs of carbon dioxide per megawatt hour.
The protest ended when police placed the protestors under arrest and forced them down from the billboard. Rising Tide will keep the pressure on corporate and political officials until the power plant is scrapped, since the energy needs it would meet could easily be met through conservation measures. “It is my generation that is going to have to live with the devastating impacts of climate change caused by power plants such as Progress Energy’s. It is totally irresponsible and insulting that they are willing to gamble away our future when clean alternatives exist,” said Lee.
Buncombe County residents plan on attending this evening’s county commissioner’s meeting to keep the heat on their elected officials.
Great post. I shared it on two of my websites.
http://aroundasheville.blogspot.com
http://easybakecoven.net
By the way, I posted a story about the MTR/West Virginia a few years ago, too. Keep up the good fight!
~Susan
smearing an energy company with hasty generalizations is a very shallow argument, especially when ignoring these facts:
Progress Energy has four hydroelectric plants in North Carolina, capable of producing 218 MW of electricity
(practically zero emissions. Ever wonder why Cali has some of the lowest co2 emissions in the US? Hydro).
In addition, the company has partnered with government and private entities on solar, fuel cell and hydrogen projects.
Progress Energy also supports NC GreenPower, a statewide program that encourages the development of renewable energy. More than 7,500 utility customers, including almost 2,300 Progress Energy customers, voluntarily pay $4 or more on their monthly bills to subsidize the purchase of renewable energy for the grid. About 20 renewable energy generators are under contract or operating under this program.
Other carbon dioxide-reduction efforts: The company supports the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Sustainable Energy, Environment and Economic Development (SEEED project and is partnering with the Southern States Energy Board, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and other utilities on a carbon sequestration project in the Carolinas.
to hippie with a pistol -
the point of the action was not to smear the company, it was to combat the development of a specific unneeded and wanted oil-burning “peak” power plant. There is substantial opposition within the city of Asheville, Buncombe County and the surrounding areas to this plant. While citizens are engaged in the public input channels of the permitting and regulatory processes, Rising Tide activists have chosen to raise public awareness and increase public pressure on Progress Energy to not build this unwanted and unneeded oil-burning plant by employing a tried and true direct action tactic, a banner-hang.
I disagree that any companies “green” practices in other realms excuse them from ridicule for moving forward with dirty, dangerous and global-warming-causing operations that will directly harm communities and ecosystems. And when members of the very communities that will be most directly-affected by such operations choose to take direct action in defense of their homes, these individuals should not be subject to automatic criticism themselves because the company in question alleges benefits other people elsehwere.
Also, “greenwashing” is a term used to describe companies’ efforts to improve their image by investing in and publicizing environmental or pseduo-environmental projects to very little actual impact on total operations, thus relieving some of the heat and opposition that flares up over the bulk of the company’s dirty and dangerous dealings.
One last point, large-scale hydro-electric energy is intensely damaging to the communities and ecosystems in which such projects are developed. I agree with you that hydro is “less-bad” i suppose than fossil fuels but with 50% of our energy consumption easily cut by efficiency and clean wind and slar energy able to provide the rest, i don’t feel any need to praise hydro or call for further development thereof.
Though Progress may be supprting some “less-bad” options in some capacity and actual good options in others, the point remains that burning oil ain’t progress and that the woodfin community doesn’t need it.
I am wondering if anyone knows the exact location of the new plant. I am looking to buy a house in the area and Woodfin is a place I can afford. But I obviously don’t want to be too close… thanks, joanie