In a continuing trend, plans for more coal-fired electricity plants have been dropped. Announced today was the indefinite suspension of plans for the 1,600-megawatt White Pine Energy Station project, originally planned by LS Power for the Ely, Nevada area. LS Power dropped plans for a similar plant near Waterloo, Iowa in January.
Also announced today was the suspension of plans for a separate plant in Iowa, originally proposed by Wisconsin-based Interstate Power and Light. Last month, plans for a 250-megawatt coal plant in Montana were abandoned. Also in Montana, the U.S. Air Force recently abandoned plans for a plant designed to make jet fuel from coal.
According to data from the Sierra Club, plans for more than 90 coal-fired projects totaling more than 55,000 MW of capacity have been dropped for various reasons over the past few years. In 2007, the Department of Energy forecast 151 plants would be built in coming years. The agency's latest forecast lowered the figure to 95. Last year, a total of five new plants were completed.
In North Dakota, environmentalists are attempting to stall progress on a coal drying plant under construction west of Dickinson. The project is currently tied up in the state's Public Utilities Commission, which is attempting to determine whether the plant requires a permit as opponents have argued.
For more on coal trends in Nevada, click here. For more on trends in Iowa, click here.
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