The years of talking have finally given way to the years of building: Preliminary construction on the Kemper County IGCC power plant is now under way.

    Mississippi Power has spent the past several years planning and sorting out red tape to build the $2.4 billion “clean coal” plant.

    Preliminary construction began over the summer, and a ceremonial groundbreaking has been set for December 16.  The plant is scheduled to begin operation in 2014.

    Mississippi Power’s most public challenge was gaining approval from the Mississippi Public Service Commission to finance the plant by raising rates.

    After months of hearings, the PSC approved the plant, but with conditions that Mississippi Power said made the financing impossible. After a re-hearing, the PSC approved the rate hike without those same conditions, and project began to get moving.

    The plant is more expensive to build than a traditional coal plant, but the technology used to convert the coal into electricity allows for the use of a cheaper form of coal called lignite. Mississippi Power says lignite is so much cheaper it will more than make up for the increased rates consumers have to pay to finance the plant.

    In a traditional coal plant, coal is burned directly to generate electricity. The Kemper plant will use a technology, new to the United States, called Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle in which lignite coal will be converted into a gas and that gas, rather than the coal itself, will be used in a gas turbine to generate electricity.

    Lignite cannot be used in traditional coal plants because its moisture levels are too high, making it hard to burn – but in the IGCC plant, cheaper lignite can be used because it’s not burned as coal, but converted into another substance.

    According to Anthony Topazi, who was recently promoted from the position of Mississippi Power CEO, Mississippi Power will have to generate more electricity in coming years to meet its growing need. Without the lignite plant, Topazi said the company will have to use more natural gas, which is more expensive than both lignite and regular coal.

    If Mississippi Power does not build the Kemper plant, he said, they project having to increase their use of natural gas from 33 percent to 68 percent of their total fuel use. By building the plant at Kemper, Mississippi Power projects a 46 percent usage of natural gas, a 23 percent usage of lignite, and a 31 percent usage of traditional coal.

    The company will also save on transportation costs, because the lignite mine and the lignite plant are being built right next to each other in southern Kemper County, near DeKalb.

    In addition to using a cheaper fuel source, the IGCC plant is safer for the environment than traditional fuel plants. Mississippi Power has said its environmental impact is similar to that of natural gas.

    Mississippi Power plans to capture 90 percent or greater of mercury, sulfur dioxide, and particulate emissions, and 65 percent of carbon dioxide emissions. The company also says on its Web site that no processed water from the plant will be discharged into rivers, creeks, or streams.

    The company says the mine will also have a minimal environmental impact, with mined land being rebuilt to landowner specifications.

    Some environmental advocates, including Sierra Club, say the so-called “clean coal” plant isn’t clean enough, saying that, along with the mine, it will destroy streams and wetlands, will dump toxic coal ash, and will “emit enough toxic mercury to contaminate thousands of water bodies and millions of pounds of fish.” Sierra Club said the plant “will be classified as a major source of pollution under the federal Clean Air Act.”

    Though whether the plant is environmentally safe is a subject of argument, it is accepted as fact that the plant will not be as detrimental to the environment as a traditional coal fired plant.

    There is also little dispute over claims that the plant will be an economic boon to Kemper County.

    Brian Henson, the executive director of the Kemper County Economic Development Authority, said the plant will create enough tax revenue to allow a tax break to residents. The company predicts the creation of 1,000 temporary jobs at peak construction, and said there will be 260 permanent jobs created after construction. A WIN Job Center has been created in Kemper County to help with hiring at the plant.

    Henson said he also expects the plant to create more indirect jobs through businesses that spring up around the power plant.

    The plant is also expected to boost the economy is counties near Kemper, particularly northern Lauderdale County, where county supervisors and economic development officials have said they expect to see an increase in businesses and home rentals.

    Mississippi Power has also entered into a contract with the City of Meridian to purchase the city’s gray water, a byproduct of wastewater treatment, for use at the plant.

    Though the financial benefit to Kemper County and the surrounding area is clear, the company has been criticized for using a pre-emptive rate hike to finance the plant, especially since Kemper County, which is not in Mississippi Power’s service area, won’t be affected by the rate hike.

    Topazi said the rate hike was the only viable way to finance the plant, and that getting the financing without it would have meant much higher interest rates, and thus ultimately more cost to Mississippi Power customers.

        For more information on the project, visit www.mspower.com.