Panel backs coal-plan moratorium

BOISE – The Senate State Affairs Committee on Monday approved a two-year moratorium on most new coal-fired power plants in Idaho, a blow to a Southern California utility that’s trying to build a $1.4 billion plant near Twin Falls.

The bill, which passed the House March 23, goes to the full Senate.

Opponents of Sempra Energy’s 600-megawatt proposal for Jerome County packed a fourth-floor Statehouse meeting room to testify for the two-year ban on issuing licenses or permits to such plants.

Sempra says the plants are needed because the U.S. Department of Energy predicts electricity demand will grow at 1.9 percent annually until 2025, outpacing supply. The company says a plant in Idaho could provide power for the state and the Pacific Northwest.

Foes, including former Gov. John Evans and more than 30 cities and groups such as the Idaho Cattle Association, the Idaho Conservation League and the Twin Falls City Council, say more time is needed to study possible effects. Some fear the plant could spew tons of pollution, including mercury, harming health and existing businesses.

“We want to take our time to form a regulatory environment,” said former Sen. Laird Noh, R-Kimberly, who spoke in favor of the bill. “We need a moratorium to really understand what’s going on here.”

Idaho currently has no coal-fired power plants, having rejected a plan for a 1,000 megawatt facility — big enough to light 750,000 homes — in the mid-1970s.

The plant that San Diego-based Sempra wants to build wouldn’t be regulated by the Idaho Public Utilities Commission. Sempra wants to sell the electricity it generates to existing utilities, such as Idaho Power.

The moratorium, being pushed by House Speaker Bruce Newcomb, R-Burley, won 7-2 support from the committee, in part over fear a coal-fired power plant would require more than 6 million gallons of water a day to generate the steam necessary to turn a power-generating turbine.