1) Construction won’t begin on this project until fall 2009, at the very earliest - so don’t buy it if they try tell you they’ve waited because of you

2) This project is in trouble for a number of reasons, mostly due to increasing costs and the fact that the company must pre-sell a certain amount of power to go forward, and has not sold enough as of yet. Also, legislation in Michigan and Pennsylvania must be passed to go forward, and the air permit is being challenged. In the unlikely event you hear them say the project will be canceled due to environmental concerns, don’t buy it.

3) AMP will offer a big production and power point presentation, telling you that the because they are closing another plant down while putting this one online, and because they will be purchasing less power on the market, that this plant will represent a net decrease in CO2 emissions. - Be prepared for this one!

First, the plant being shut down is small by comparison, and it will be shut down soon regardless of whether or not the new plant will be built, because it is 60 years old and soon won’t be able to comply with the clean air act.

Second, just because the company will purchase less power on the open market doesn’t mean the plants that create that power will be shut down. This is important - unless all the plants the company currently purchases from are shut down - (and they won’t be) there will be a huge, net CO2 increase.

Finally, this is a plant that will run for 75 years or more.
While the vast majority of the coal fleet is shut down in the next 20 years, and replaced with far cleaner renewables, efficiency, and advanced coal, this dinosaur of a plant will still be running, and will be among the dirtiest in the nation in a decade or less.

4) Amp will talk about “Powerspan” to capture CO2. Know - the company won’t use the CO2 capture technology on this plant, and that this technology for CO2 capture is decades away, if it is even possible to develop. One lab test has been done, and usually technologies take decades to come from the lab to commercial deployment stages, if that is even possible. THIS IS PURE GREENWASHING, WITH NO COMMITMENTS

5) Talk about coal procurement and a mountain top removal ban for this plant - many of the AMP communities have expressed concerns about the coal to be used by the company - you might have some traction if you push for some restriction for the new plant

Good luck and great work!

Our open letter to the candidates was:

“1) Demand that AMP abandon the AMPGS project and invest the capital in renewables and efficiency.
2) Schedule a meeting with the AMP Board of Directors, directly impacted community groups and student groups before the project breaks ground.”

Hope that helps

I’d put invest in energy efficiency first as the cheapest and fastest way to meet energy needs. Renewables are a far second best.