The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has launched an investigation into the “estimated costs and expected in-service date” of the Kemper County Energy Facility carbon capture and storage project, owner Southern Co. revealed in a May 5 filing with the commission. “Southern Company and [subsidiary] Mississippi Power believe the investigation is focused primarily on periods subsequent to 2010 and on accounting matters, disclosure controls and procedures, and internal controls over financial reporting associated with the Kemper IGCC,” according to the report.
“Southern Company and Mississippi Power are cooperating fully with the SEC. The ultimate outcome of this matter cannot be determined at this time; however, it is not expected to have a material impact on the financial statements of Southern Company,” the report says.
The plant, a new-build, post-combustion CCS facility near the city of Meridian, has been producing energy with natural gas since August 2014. Once fully operational, the plant will use Mississippi lignite, a low-rank brown coal, to produce electricity. It will employ a custom integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) system and CCS technology to produce electricity from the coal with carbon emissions roughly equal to that of natural gas. The CCS and IGCC portions of the plant are not online.
The project, originally billed at $2.4 billion, now has a projected price tag of more than $6.7 billion after a recently reported cost spike of $35 million. The company remains confident the project will reach full operation in the third quarter of this year, more than two years behind schedule. The Kemper facility has been under construction since 2010. A representative from Southern Co. did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
