PA Environment Digest Blog: The Express: Bechtel Corp Announced It Will Discontinue Development Of The 1,000MW Natural Gas-Fired Renovo Energy Center In Clinton County

On April 14, The Express reported Bechtel Corp will discontinue development of the 1,000 MW natural gas-fired Renovo Energy Center in Clinton County.

“Faced with ongoing appeals from environmental groups, Renovo Energy Center (REC) has decided to discontinue its plan for a $1 billion gas to electric power plant that was to be built in the borough at the former Renovo Industrial Park," according to a statement quoted by the paper from Bechtel Corp.

"After more than eight years, we do not see a path to a reasonable conclusion of the project’s air permit appeal, and have made the difficult decision to discontinue development. We are grateful to the people of Renovo for the welcome and support of our team has received over the years,” the statement continued.

“Bechtel’s decision to cancel this dangerous plant is a crucial win for the health, welfare and safety of the residents of Renovo, who have been peddled lies about this project's purported benefits and illegally cut out of the permitting process,” said Joseph Otis Minott, Executive Director and Chief Counsel of Clean Air Council. “Pennsylvania’s economic growth depends on a clean energy future and will not be achieved by pumping millions of tons of air pollution every year right into the heart of communities like Renovo.”

“Our lawsuit was about protecting Pennsylvania and this environmental justice community from the additional pollution burdens that this plant would have imposed,” said Jessica O’Neill, Senior Attorney at PennFuture. “It is a win for Renovo and for all Pennsylvanians when we realize that the fracked gas industry doesn’t make sense - from an economic, energy, or environmental health perspective. We will continue to push back against facilities and industries that threaten the health of our communities, our workers, and the sustainable energy future that Pennsylvanians want and that our children deserve.”

“The cancellation of this proposed fracked gas burning power plant helps move us forward to a future powered by wind and solar power,” said Robert Ukeiley, an environmental health lawyer at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Every step away from fossil fuels is a step toward averting both climate disaster and the biodiversity crisis.”

“As a great-grandparent, I’m grateful that this power plant didn’t come to fruition because we are now able to protect what is most important - the health of our children,” said Sue Cannon, co-founder of Renovo Residents for a Healthy Environment. “I opposed the power plant because I was thinking about the children in this community, especially my great-grandchild, and what the pollution would do to their health. After all, children are our most precious assets.”

“This decision gives us great hope for the future of Renovo’s health, quality of life, and future prosperity,” said Maureen Ruhl, co-founder of Renovo Residents for a Healthy Environment. “We look forward to building Renovo’s future with a vision based on tourism, our natural resources, recreation, and our railroad history - all of which we hold dear.”

Click Here to read the complete statement by the environmental groups.

Visit DEP’s Renovo Energy Center webpage to learn more about permitting issues.

NewsClips:

-- The Express: Developer Backs Out Of Renovo Energy Plant Project

-- PennLive: Environmentalists Win, Company Drops Plans For $1 Billion Natural Gas-Fired Renovo Power Plant

-- Environmental Hearing Board Rules Renovo Energy Natural Gas-Fired Power Plant Limits On Sulfur Dioxide, VOC Emissions Set Too High [PaEN]

-- Environmental Groups Appeal DEP Air Quality Permit For Proposed Natural Gas Power Plant In Clinton County [PaEN]