After years of planning and discussion, American Municipal Power–Ohio has decided not to build its gas-powered power plant in Meigs County, Ohio, choosing instead to buy a gas plant that is currently in construction outside Fremont, Ohio.

The city of Oberlin, though a member of AMP, was not scheduled to receive power from the proposed Meigs County Plant. Oberlin withdrew its support from the plant in February 2008 following student protests and a lengthy City Council meeting. The Council made its decision because of environmental and financial concerns.

Elisa Young, an anti-coal activist who has spoken at Oberlin several times, addressed environmental and social concerns about a coal-fired power plant during a 2008 interview with the Review. “There’s a disparity,” she said. “The people buying this cheap electricity will never feel the human and environmental effects. It’s sacrificing one community for another. How many Meigs County lives does it cost to produce one kilowatt-hour of electricity?”

At the point at which the city made its decision, the plant was planned to receive its energy from coal. AMP–Ohio announced its plans to build a gas-powered plant rather than a coal-fired in November 2009.