Jan 4, 2007 7:21 pm US/Central
Environmentalists Want To Slow Push For TXU Plants
NORTH TEXAS (AP) ―
Environmental groups said Thursday they will ask the Legislature to slow down plans for up to 19 new coal-fired power plants that they worry will pump millions of tons of pollution into the air every year.
TXU Corp. plans to build 11 plants, and Gov. Rick Perry in October ordered state agencies to speed up consideration of permits.
The Alliance for a Clean Texas wants lawmakers to pass new energy conservation measures in the upcoming legislative session and pass a resolution to halt permitting of new coal plants in the short term, said Tom "Smitty" Smith, director of the Texas Office for Public Citizen.
"It would send a clear message," Smith said. "We're concerned they're rushing through. We need to call a time-out on the permitting."
TXU has said the proposed plants will meet the state's growing demand for power, give an economic boost to small towns and reduce toxic emissions by replacing older, less efficient plants.
Other opponents of the plants include a coalition of 17 mayors whose cities are downwind of the plants, including Dallas Mayor Laura Miller and Houston Mayor Bill White.
There are more than a dozen coal-fired plants operating in Texas.
Slowing down the plan for new ones would hamstring Texas' ability to meet demand for electricity in a booming population, said TXU spokeswoman Kim Morgan.
"We don't have the luxury of time when it comes to the growing demands of electcrity in this state," Morgan said.
A study commissioned last year by Public Citizen and another advocacy group, the Sustainable Energy and Economic Development Coalition, warned that toxic emissions from new units would lead to 240 deaths a year.
TXU and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality disagreed. The state agency said its data indicates that the plants pose no risk of premature death.
The environmental alliance, which includes the Sierra Club, the Texas League of Conservation Voters and other groups, said Texans could meet energy needs with better conservation, including updates to commercial and residential building codes, stronger energy saving requirements on manufacturers and a solar rebate program.
That likely won't be enough to meet demand, Morgan said.
"Conservation (and) energy efficiency are big part of the solution," Morgan said. "But until society dramatically changes the way we live our day-to-day lives, the demand for electricity will remain."
The groups also want lawmakers to spend an extra $85 million or more for state parks, which were forced to make severe cutbacks in recent years.
Texas Parks and Wildlife officials have struggled to maintain the state's 600,000-acre parks system of canyons, rivers and trails as lawmakers have consistently raided a sales tax fund created for parks to spend the money elsewhere.
The parks got $20.6 million of the $105 million fund in 2006. Agency officials have recommended spending the entire fund on the parks system.
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