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Toquop Announcement Clears Way for Clean Energy
Plant was last coal-fired project in NevadaFor Immediate Release:
Sithe’s parent company, the Blackstone Group, officially announced on a conference call this afternoon that it was dropping the proposed 750-megawatt Toquop Energy Project. Joining Blackstone’s Tony James was Senator Harry Reid and Mesquite Mayor Susan Holecheck. The company said that it is instead pursuing a 700-MW natural gas plant with a 100-MW photovoltaic solar plant. “With its vast wind, solar and geothermal resources and potential for meeting demand with energy efficiency programs, the decision to move away from coal really does bode well for Nevada,” said Charles Benjamin, the state director of Western Resource Advocates. “It opens doors to an even swifter transition to 21st century energy technologies that will create jobs and revitalize Nevada’s economy.” Early in 2009, there were still three proposals for new coal-burning power plants in Nevada, which would have generated 4,850 megawatts of electricity, enough to power roughly four million homes. NV Energy shelved its 2,500 MW Ely Energy Center in February and LS Power followed a month later when it abandoned plans for the 1,600-MW White Pine Energy Station. Both companies, whose plants would have been located near Ely, cited the financial risks, uncertainty of coal and the desire to move forward with projects focused more on renewable energy technologies. Toquop was the last of the three plants still moving forward. “Nevada’s future lies with clean renewable energy, not outdated fossil fuel technologies,” said Steve Rypka, a renewable energy and green living consultant who owns GreenDream Enterprises in Henderson. “Clearing the last obstacle out of the way for that to happen is a big step forward for Nevada.” Residents of Mesquite and southeastern Nevada, along with their counterparts just across the border in southwestern Utah, had fought the Toquop plant for years over concerns about pollution from its smokestacks and the effect on scarce local water resources. They said Sithe’s decision would help protect the region’s air quality and public health. “We can all breathe a little easier now,” said Michele Burkett of the group Defend Our Desert. “Now we hope that this can pave the way for Nevada to become our nation’s leader in developing home-grown clean, renewable energy. That will enable us to become an energy exporter while growing our own economy with good long-term jobs.” Former Public Utilities Commissioner and Nevada Consumer Advocate Tim Hay said the decision by Sithe and Blackstone are in line with trends by utilities and power companies nationwide. In the last several years, more than 125 proposals for coal-burning plants have been halted as developers or regulators determine that there are affordable and reliable options to coal that don’t have its financial risks or require the expenditure of billions of dollars. “More and more power providers and investors are realizing the high risks associated with coal, while at the same time looking for ways that new and existing demand can be met with a combination of cleaner energy sources and also a full menu of energy efficiency measures,” said Hay. “Ultimately, that’s good for both shareholders and rate-paying customers." ###
The Blackstone Group and Sithe Global are trying to develop three large, dirty coal-fired power plants in the United States. These include the Desert Rock Energy Project, the ToquopEnergy Project, and the River Hills Energy Project. These three plants would produce over 2,500 megawatts of electricity for 50 years and, combined, would emit over 20 million tons of climate change-causing carbon dioxide every year, or over 1 billion tons of CO2 in the plants’ lifetimes. In addition, these plants would produce millions of tons of toxic pollutants in the form of airborne emissions and spent coal ash, including nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, mercury, selenium and a variety of heavy metals, while also displacing real opportunities for clean, renewable energy and the jobs that come with them. Local opposition to these plants from Nevada, Utah, the Four Corners region, and Pennsylvania is organized and very vocal. In addition to calls for these plants to be stopped, locals are also asking Blackstone to invest their dollars in clean renewable energy, not dirty coal. But we need your help. Here’s how you can take action.
WHO ARE BLACKSTONE AND SITHE GLOBAL?
Sithe Global is a major private energy developer that constructs, and operates large-scale power plants both domestically and internationally. Their portfolio of projects totals nearly 7,000 megawatts of power projects, with a total capital investment potential of over $15 billion. Most of Sithe’s projects are coal-fired, natural gas-fired or hydroelectric power plants, but also include waste coal, one wind farm, and a palm oil venture. In 2005 Blackstone purchased an 80% ownership in Sithe Global from its previous owner, Reservoir Capital, which retained a 20% ownership. It is clear that Blackstone and Sithe Global are out of touch with national energy markets. Worse, they’re out of touch with the communities which will be harmed by these coal plants. These communities want clean energy and a clean future with long-term jobs for their children and grandchildren. What they don’t want are dirty coal plants and coal-waste facilities, and investors don’t want bad investments surrounded by uncertainty. WHO IS STEVEN SCHWARZMAN?
Comparisons between Blackstone and local communities Mesquite, Nevada The per capita income in Mesquite, Nevada, was $20,191 in 1999. The median family income was $42,941 in the same year. Mesquite’s population in 2000 was 9,389.1 Navajo Nation The per capita income on the Navajo Nation was $6,217 and the medium family income was $11,885 in 2000, well below the poverty line. The population of the reservation in 2000 was 173,987. According to the Indian Country Extension website, Navajos generate an estimated $40.5 million in the informal economy.2 Blackstone Group Blackstone has $94.56 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2008.3 Stephen Schwarzman: Chairman, CEO, and co-founder of the Blackstone Group
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