Vote on coal plant power postponed

By Diane Chiddister

In a room packed with people on Monday night, two Village Council members reversed their previous positions and Council voted to postpone the decision to commit to an AMP-Ohio coal-fired power plant.

On Monday, Council voted 4–1 to postpone the second reading of the coal plant contract until March, with Judith Hempfling, Kathryn Van der Heiden, Bruce Rickenbach and Karen Wintrow voting to postpone and Kathryn Chase voting against. In the last Council meeting, Council members approved 4–1 the first reading for a contract, with Hempfling voting against, and seemed set on a path to pass the final approval at Monday’s meeting.

But things had changed for several Council members.

“I think it’s important that we listen to the strong voice of the people and the wisdom of this community,” said Van der Heiden, who announced at the beginning of the discussion that she would propose postponing the vote.

The issue sparked significant community concern in the past month from those who viewed the coal-powered plant as both an environmental and a financial risk, and expressed dismay that Council had provided official presentations only from pro-coal plant perspectives. Some community members questioned why Council seemed to be moving so quickly on the issue, with its stated goal of making a decision before Nov.1, the deadline urged on Council by AMP-Ohio. The actual legal deadline for signing the contract is March 1.

In previous meetings, Van der Heiden said she would vote for the plant by the Nov. 1 deadline because AMP-Ohio had offered an “off ramp” for the Village to reverse its decision if it chose to do so by March 1. She also requested that villagers contact her to express their concerns on the coal plant.

Many did, Van der Heiden said on Monday night.

“There are large concerns in the community,” she said, especially regarding the Village making a 50-year commitment to the plant, as set by the contract. “We need to hear from other experts in the field before moving forward.”

Wintrow cited both financial and community concerns as having influenced her decision to reverse her vote.

“I’m pleased that Yellow Springs raises the importance of this issue and that villagers are willing to talk about it,” she said, noting that Yellow Springs and Oberlin are the only AMP-Ohio members who so far have chosen not to sign on. In most municipalities, leaders signed on with little discussion about environmental concerns.

However, Wintrow urged caution as Council moves forward with continuing to study the issue, noting the current lack of certainty about alternative energy sources in Ohio. Conservation efforts should be pursued, she said, but such efforts can’t be counted on to solve the problem.

Chase stated that she continued to support signing the contract because she believes the plant will be poised to use “clean coal” when the technologies for clean coal emerge, and that at that point the plant would be a financial asset to the Village.

About 60 villagers attended the meeting, and those who spoke praised Council for its decision to postpone the coal plant decision.

“I want to be part of a community that is principled, that begins with our principles to find practical solutions,” said Abby Cobb.

Council’s decision to listen to the concerns of many villagers not only provides the opportunity to learn more about the coal plant issue but also “creates a community atmosphere of mutual respect,” Jim Rose said.

While Yellow Springs may be small, its decision not to sign the coal plant contract at this point will have influence, according to local attorney Ellis Jacobs, who was instrumental in bringing forward the environmental issues regarding the plant.

“What you do really does matter,” Jacobs said. “You’ll set off a lot of thinking around the state on a lot of issues.”

Van der Heiden urged Council to move ahead soon on setting a date for a special Council meeting devoted to the coal plant issue.

In other Council business:
• Council heard the report on phase one of the Electric System Task Force, presented by task force chair Benji Maruyama. The group had been formed last spring by Council in response to concerns over a proposed new $3.5 million electric substation. Many villagers at that time expressed reservations over the wisdom of investing so much money in a substation that would substantially increase the Village’s power capacity, at a time when many municipalities were focused on energy conservation. Substation proponents said the new construction was necessary for future economic growth in the village.

Overall, according to Maruyama, the task force concluded that a substation is not immediately necessary.

“The task force decided that the substation is not needed now and the decision to delay can be safely made,” he said.

Task force members met eight times over the summer and fall to study issues of local power capacity and quality, he said. The group worked closely with Michelle Palmer of AMP-Ohio, and also spoke with large power users in town, Maruyama said. Task force members were Carol Gasho, Karen Wintrow, Judith Hempfling, Roy Eastman, Richard Zopf, Pat Murphy, Reggie Stratton, Bob Brecha, Steve Conn, David Heckler and Paul Abendroth, who later resigned.

The group’s major findings include that, with the loss of Vernay Laboratories several years ago, the Village uses about 25 percent less power than it did in 1999, and that the possible loss of Antioch College could also affect power use.

The Village currently has access to more than enough power, according to task force member Richard Zopf, noting that DP&L is contracted to provide up to 18 megawatts of power, though the village has not shown a consistent need for more than the 9.1 megawatt peak it had this year.

However, Wintrow expressed concerns that the Village not suffer economically if a new big power user wanted to locate here and the Village didn’t have enough power.

“We don’t want to limit our potential for new development by a substation,” she said.

But that scenario seems unlikely, Zopf said.

“The concept of suddenly needing a whole bunch of power is probably not the case,” he said. “Right now, with DP&L, we have potentially a 50 percent increase if something changes. But we’re not on the edge.”

Adding a third electrical circuit for power delivery in the village could improve the overall system and eliminate brownouts that some users report, according to Maruyama. A third regulator could also be added to regulate voltage. The cost of these additions would be about $330,000, according to task force members.

Also, AMP-Ohio is currently working with the group to develop a model that will help identify future energy needs, Maruyama said.

Now that the first phase is complete, the group will focus on the second phase of its charge, which is an exploration into measures for energy conservation. The group hopes to provide measures that could reduce local consumption by about 10 percent, according to Maruyama. Reggie Stratton of The Antioch Company said that company is currently working on strategies to ensure a 10 to 20 percent drop in usage from conservation measures.

Council members expressed gratitude for the group’s effort.

“The task force recommendations are steps we will want to take,” Hempfling said. The group’s effort showed that, “we have a lot of room, we have time to see how this whole international discussion” on energy issues evolves.

Chase and Wintrow expressed displeasure at the Yellow Springs News for publishing the results of the task force’s study in last week’s paper, before Council had seen the report.

The News will cover other items of Council’s Oct. 15 business next week.

Contact: dchiddister@ysnews.com