Power plant communities look toward a future beyond coal

Not many people call Cheshire, Ohio, home now. Nearly 20 years ago, bulldozers sent by a utility company razed most of its homes in the small Appalachian village along the Ohio River. One of the nation's largest coal-fired power plants still looms over the village's handful of remaining businesses and its post office. The Gen. James M. Gavin Power Plant, named for a decorated World War II paratrooper, has the capacity to generate 2.6 gigawatts of electricity, enough to power 780,000 homes. The plant is Ohio's largest polluter, emitting about 13 million metric tons of greenhouse gases each year, with a history of residents living nearby reporting health problems such as asthma. But Gavin's time draws short. As power companies continue to shift to renewables, communities like Cheshire likely will no longer have a major source of pollution, opening up a future for them to create. Utilities are pledging to decrease their carbon footprints as the price of renewables plummets and coal becomes less competitive with other sources, especially cheap natural gas. The changes come as President-elect Joe Biden heads toward office, hoping to turn a campaign promise to fight climate change into action. Biden's goal of 100 percent clean energy with zero emissions by 2035, if reached, would slash emissions that contribute to warming temperatures, increasing flood zones, raging wildfires and lingering droughts. 'We had no quality of life' Most of the Cheshire's residents fled years ago when American Electric Power, which has since sold the plant, paid residents $20 million to relocate in the early 2000s. At the time residents reported "milky droplets, soot and white specs from the plant's exhaust," according to archival reports. There were complaints of headaches, burning eyes and sore throats. The community's former high school is in close proximity to the plant. Decades later, it's just now being demolished. During sporting events, "all the other schools would just complain so much because of the smell of the air that they had to run in," said Carol Davey, who was a student when the village was bought. "Last year, my mother actually had a double mastectomy due to breast cancer. Of course, I can't say unequivocally that working in the power plants or living in Cheshire was the cause." Residents also said the plant would cut checks to have village residents' cars repainted. The pollution ate the paint off vehicles, said Jennifer Harrison, who belongs to one of the families that accepted the buyout. "I worry about my kids. They grew up there," she said. Her children were in high school when the family moved. She said there has been a high rate of adult cancer among other village children from that time. Before accepting the buyout, she said, "We had no quality of life." The coming void The move toward renewables is happening as many coal-fired power plants age and approach the end of their lives. For example, Gavin's oldest unit dates to 1974. Projections show Gavin's unit 1 reaches typical lifespan in 2024, and unit 2 in 2025, said Emily Grubert, a civil engineer and environmental sociologist at the Georgia Institute of Technology, who conducted a study on coal-fired power plants across the country. They'll soon need to be replaced, Grubert said. "And it turns out that's true for the majority of the fossil fuel electricity infrastructure in the United States before 2035," she said. Indeed, about half the nation's coal plants will retire by 2030 with the final retirements by 2050, according to projections made by a partnership of universities, including Harvard University, dubbed the Clean Energy Futures Project. With it, sulfur dioxide emissions, which can cause breathing issues in vulnerable populations, are expected to reach zero by 2040. All conventional coal generation, without carbon capture and storage, is projected to be eliminated by 2035, according to the project's model, which is similar to Biden's plan to have zero emissions in the energy sector by 2035. But with the void left by coal-fired power plants, questions are raised about what the future holds for those communities and clean-up efforts. The Gavin plant is now owned by a hedge fund, Blackstone Group, and a private equity firm, ArcLight Capital Partners. Neither company responded to multiple requests for comment. While the Gavin plant has a track record of pollution, it also remains the largest taxpayer in Gallia County. The second largest taxpayer is the 1.08-gigawatt Kyger Creek Power Plant, which is nearly 2 miles away from Gavin and dates to 1955. "Some people see the plants as an economic generator. And some people know that even over the course of the last couple decades, coal is on the decline, and that its decline is inevitable," said Davey, who lived in Cheshire until nearly a year ago. The Gavin plant paid about $5 million in taxes last year, said Gallia County Auditor Larry Betz. For every tax dollar paid, the county school district received 70 cents. The plant's closure "would be devastating," Betz said. Industry in transition More coal-fired plants are scheduled to close. "There's no question that the U.S. power sector is undergoing a transformation driven by changes in the fuel mix, economics of renewable technology, as well as the push for a clean energy economy," said Lisa Barton, chief operating officer for American Electric Power. "I think the industry and importantly, AEP, has made great strides in advancing down that path towards zero. For example, coal generation at one time for AEP was 70 percent of our fleet. Today it reflects about 46 percent of our fleet. And by 2030, it will be 26 percent." AEP is largest owner and operator of electricity transmission infrastructure in the country, Barton said, which gives it significant access to the nation's renewable energy resources. Plant closures will continue. So how can governments aid communities and prepare for the transition? Will people move back? Residents wonder. "There are folks that understand that this is just a reality that will happen one day," Davey said, who also works for the Ohio Environmental Council. "Then there are the others who think that if we just pour money, more money or more bailouts, that we can save coal. "But I think especially in the case of Cheshire, lots of folks come to work in those plants, commuting from far away — an hour, or two hours. It's not really seen as the main economic driver that it once was." As plants close, Biden says he plans to lead investment in the communities that have relied on them. "We can't write them off or act like they don't matter," Biden's website says. "Each has assets that can be leveraged to diversify their economies, create good, middle-class jobs, and help the country get stronger — assets like a rich culture, natural beauty, a proven workforce and entrepreneurial spirit. "The federal government should be a partner to help these communities capitalize on these strengths and build vibrant communities where good jobs are available and young people want to stay or return home." The Biden plan includes establishing a Task Force on Coal and Power Plant Communities to help communities "access federal investments and leverage private sector investments to help create high-paying union jobs based upon the unique assets of each community, partner with unions and community colleges to create training opportunities for these new jobs, repair infrastructure, keep public employees like firefighters and teachers on the payroll, and keep local hospitals open," according to the Biden platform. The Biden transition team did not provide additional details or answer questions about the plan for this story. Lack of concrete plans In many states, including Ohio, there are no funds to help communities transition. Displaced workers are encouraged to reach out to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and Ohio Development Services Agency. "As the new administration develops its policies, we'll continue to have conversations regarding additional resources and funding for communities that may be impacted, but specific decisions have not been made yet," said Dan Tierney, a spokesman for Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, in a statement. AEP makes efforts to shift workers to other jobs when plants close, Barton said. Plants are either sold or retired and dismantled, with parts sold for scrap or disposed of. The sites of the plants are then remediated. She said resources should be directed to communities, particularly ones with plants in rural areas. "When these plants retire, it results in a significant reduction in skilled jobs in that particular community, and a very large reduction in the community tax base," she said. "It's so important from a national energy policy perspective that we don't leave these communities behind. They were instrumental in building America in the electrification of the country. We are very avid supporters of any policy initiatives that would help those communities to be able to withstand that transformation." Policy initiatives should include the continuation of tax credits and incentives encouraging companies to invest in new energy technology, Barton said, "as well as possibly even having incentives associated with closing plants early." For residents like Davey, who left Cheshire last year after issues with her drinking water, this is just one struggle Appalachian communities face. It's the same region of the country that's been ground zero for cases of forever chemicals, or PFAS (per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances) linked to certain types of cancers. "We've dealt with our fair share of environmental lows, whether that is C-8 (or forever chemicals) in the water, bad air quality because pollution is excessive or private and public lands extraction," she said. "This story is one that's not just our story, but it's our parents' story. It's our grandparents story. We found a way to survive through all those changes. I think there is a population of folks looking for how to not only survive, but how to thrive." ___ (c)2021 The Columbus Dispatch (Columbus, Ohio) Visit The Columbus Dispatch (Columbus, Ohio) at www.dispatch.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.