State regulators approved experiments Tuesday in the James River intended to support a proposed USD 6 billion coal-fired power plant in Surry County.

The Virginia Marine Resources Commission voted unanimously to allow Old Dominion Electric Cooperative to test three types of metal screens in the river to see which one would best serve a planned pipeline for carrying millions of gallons of cooling water a day from the James River to the power station.

It is one of the first permits granted for the project, which will require many other local, state and federal approvals before construction could begin on what would be the largest coal-stoked plant in Virginia.

A handful of environmentalists and would-be neighbors urged the commission to reject the experiments, arguing they were poorly conceived and might harm aquatic life within the test area of the river about 1,400 feet from shore at the end of Cobham Wharf Road in Surry County, near an old boat launch.

Utility officials acknowledged they are considering this site for their final intake pipe, which would be buried beneath the James except for a spout where cooling water would be sucked through a filtering screen.

Ronald Perry a Newport News resident said that "We've got a proposed beast on our hands, and this is one of the tentacles to it.”

But commission members reminded opponents that this is only a small test, intended to last no more than 26 weeks, and that ODEC would have to come back for a new permit if the utility ever decides to build the plant in the town of Dendron, as proposed. ODEC has not applied for any intake pipe as yet, only the screen testing.

The overall project, which has caused much debate among environmental groups and those who say more energy and jobs are needed, is essentially on hold because of the fragile economy.

Mr Davis Phaup an environmental engineer for ODEC said that however, utility officials are continuing to press ahead with permitting and other preparatory work, including a massive environmental study overseen by the Army Corps of Engineers.

At the current rate, Mr Phaup told the commission, plans call for the plant to be operational by January 2021. He said the experiments will consist of three screens the size of album covers one made from stainless steel, one coated with a water-based epoxy and the other from a copper-nickel alloy about 8 feet underwater and anchored to the bottom of the river.

The utility, he said, wants to see which screen weathers the local conditions best and clogs the least with algae and other marine growth, known as biofouling.

(Sourced from hamptonroads.com)