Mississippi Power, Sierra Club settle dispute over controversial Kemper County plant

Mississippi Power's Kemper County plant. File Photo/Gulflive.com
Mississippi Power's Kemper County plant. File Photo/Gulflive.com
Mississippi Power’s Kemper County plant.
File Photo/Gulflive.com

JACKSON, Mississippi (AP) — Mississippi Power Co. and the Sierra Club have agreed to end litigation over construction of a coal-fired power plant in Kemper County.

The announcement came Monday from the company and the environmental group.

Robert Wiygul of Ocean Springs, the attorney for the Sierra Club, says Mississippi Power will stop using coal at plants in south Mississippi and Alabama.

He says the company also will create a $15 million fund to promote energy efficiency in its service area.

Wiygul says the Sierra Club will drop regulatory challenges before the Public Service Commission and legal appeals pending in local and state courts.

The price tag for the power plant, a lignite mine and associated pipelines is expected to run to $5.2 billion overall, up from an original estimate of $2.8 billion.