A company that wants to build a power plant in Sevier County is now considering using natural gas instead of coal, a switch that opponents contend will eliminate some but not all opposition to the project.
Bruce Taylor, a top executive with Sevier Power and its corporate parent, NEVCO LLC, said the company is "crunching the numbers" to determine if changing the fuel for the proposed 270-megawatt power plant makes economic sense.
"There is a lot of opposition to coal and lot more acceptance of natural gas," Taylor said, indicating Sevier Power expects to make a decision within the next month.
The proposed coal-fired plant has been a source of contention and controversy in Sevier County for most of the past decade. The project's promoters were handed a huge setback in December when the Utah Supreme Court required Sevier Power to update the air-pollution permit for the $600 million plant.
Complying with the ruling, which basically required that the company ensure it would use the cleanest possible technology, potentially could cost the company millions and delay construction by months, if not years.
Sevier County resident Dick Cumiskey, a retired boat designer who has helped lead the opposition to the plant, said burning natural gas would reduce a lot of the local concern about air pollution.
"You still have the issue, though, that they want to build that plant within 1¾ miles of 183 homes," Cumiskey said. "So some people might not any longer be opposed to the plant per se, but still be against it because of the location."
Taylor said burning natural gas at the plant always was an option, but it wasn't viewed as the preferred fuel because Sevier was "basically a coal county."
There are 600 trucks hauling coal on Sevier County's roads every day, he said.
"We saw that as offering a great synergy and a way to support the county where 30 to 35 percent of the residents are employed in either coal mining or trucking. It seemed to be a logical fit."
Taylor acknowledged that opposition to coal-fired plants is widespread -- and growing.
"You've had 106 planned coal-fired plants taken off the table just this last year alone," he said. "It is like what happened to the nuclear power industry."
Cumiskey pointed out that there still will be challenges facing the company even if it decides to embrace natural gas.
"The nearest natural gas line is around 35 miles away from their property. It is going to be a big challenge for them."
