Opinion

The proposed Renovo Energy Center project continues to be stalled. The proposed 1,240-megawatt power plant designed to provide electricity to thousands of customers in Pennsylvania and New York was ill-conceived from the beginning. Yet despite major losses in court and dwindling funding availability in Pennsylvania’s rapidly changing energy landscape, Bechtel Corporation continues to work to force its massive, polluting fracked gas power plant on families and business in Renovo. It’s time for regulators to finally see the project in Renovo for what it is and stop it for good.

Since 2015, Bechtel has had Renovo in its sights as the location for its latest fossil gas facility. Yet what started with a promise of new jobs and development has devolved into faulty permits and funding challenges. Over the summer, Clean Air Council and a coalition of concerned citizens and environmental groups successfully challenged Bechtel’s pollution permits. The Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board granted partial summary judgment on the issues of the sulfur dioxide and volatile organic compounds limits in the permits. In other words, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) broke the law when it approved plans for a power plant to emit such high levels of pollution known to cause health problems including reduced lung function, increased cancer risk, and damage to the central nervous system.

Marathon Capital, the prospective project financing agency has since stepped away from the Renovo Energy Center until all legal issues are resolved. Marathon’s right to recognize the financial risk of the project, which has been a bad idea since day one. The truth is, Pennsylvania doesn’t need another dirty fuel power plant. Today, Pennsylvania produces far more electricity than we consume. The state is the top exporter of electricity. Much of that electricity is from fossil gas. We do not need another source of dirty energy just to ship it off.

Nevertheless, DEP inexplicably approved an 18-month extension of the illegal air permit late last month, giving Bechtel more time to secure funding and finesse the messaging it needs to convince funders and Renovo residents that this project should happen. The reality is, this project will do irrevocable damage to the landscape and air quality and harm the Renovo community. If Bechtel and Pennsylvania lawmakers want to help the residents of Renovo, they should propose a renewable energy project such as solar. As Bechtel itself points out on its website, investing in renewable energy projects leads to more jobs, higher wages, and lower electric bills for customers in Pennsylvania.

The renewable energy era is here, and, if given the chance, it will offer a much healthier and more sustainable future for Pennsylvania and its residents. If Renovo wants long-term success, the energy center needs to be stopped. In its place should come a truly clean source of energy. Residents and regulators should demand it.

Joseph Otis Minott, Esq., executive director
and chief counsel
of Clean Air Council