Kaine Says Coal-Burning Power Plant Is Necessary

There are about 40 coal-fired plants planned or under construction in the United States. But this month, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) vetoed a bill to build two coal-fired plants in her state.

Sebelius, a rising star in the Democratic Party who is close to Kaine in part because Kansas is also his home state, explained her decision in a statement that said "greenhouse gases contribute to climate change."

Kaine has stood firm in supporting Dominion's plans, which still must win regulatory approval.

"We are not going to eliminate coal, a native source that we have, as one of the sources that will power our country," Kaine said in a radio interview. "The portion [of the energy supply] that is coal is going to get smaller, and it is going to get cleaner, but we are not going to abandon coal from the portfolio."

Kaine and Dominion emphasize that the proposed power plant, to be called the Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center, would use updated scrubbing technology to limit emissions of carbon dioxide, a big source of acid rain. The plant would also be equipped to burn waste coal, a major source of pollution in southwest Virginia, as well as newly mined fossil fuels.

And if the facility is built, Dominion has agreed to convert one of its 11 coal-burning plants in Virginia and North Carolina -- Bremo Power Station in Fluvanna County, Va. -- into a cleaner, natural gas-burning plant.

Dominion also plans to build a third nuclear reactor at North Anna Power Station in Louisa County, northwest of Richmond, as well as increase conservation efforts.

Environmentalists, who played a key role in helping Democrats retake the state Senate last year, counter that a coal-burning plant in Wise would harm the environment, despite Dominion's efforts to embrace new technology.

Antigone Ambrose, an organizer for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, said the plant would produce 5.3 million tons of carbon each year, the equivalent of having an additional 1 million vehicles on Virginia's highways.

"Dominion says it will be using clean coal, which means it's better than a plant that was built 50 years ago, but that by no means makes it a good thing," Ambrose said.

Advocates said they also worry about coal mining's impact on Virginia's landscape.

The plant proposal originated from a 2004 law approved by the General Assembly and signed by then-Gov. Mark R. Warner (D). The provision, part of a deregulation effort, encouraged Dominion to build the plant to meet the state's energy needs while boosting coal production in southwest Virginia.