Progress: No New Coal Plants Started in 2009
The Cunctator
From: Nithin Coca <nit...@nithincoca.com>
i feel like this list needed some signs of progress - well here you go. 2009 - the year America stopped building new coal plants and started moving toward a clean energy future.
No New Coal Plants Started in 2009
Year
End State of Coal
Washington, DC: No new coal plants broke ground in 2009, a result of
a combination of widespread public opposition, rising costs, increasing
financial risks and concerns over future carbon regulations. In 2009 twenty-six
coal-fired power plants—which would have emitted 146 million tons of carbon
dioxide annually-- were defeated or abandoned, the largest number of new coal
plants defeated since the coal rush began in 2001. This progress opens the way
for a transition to a clean energy economy, including a 22.5% increase in
electricity generated from wind between 2008 and 2009.
Total coal use is
down in 2009 according to the Energy Information Agency , as the Obama administration is
considering new regulations for the safe disposal of coal ash, and limiting
emissions of mercury, soot, smog and global warming pollution from coal plants.
From the mine, to the plant, to the ash, 2009 has not been a good year
for the coal industry. The Obama Administration has blocked most new permits to
bury streams with waste as part of mountaintop removal mining operations, and is
also increasing oversight of existing mining operations in Appalachia. The
largest new consumer of mountaintop removal coal, the Santee Cooper coal plant
planned for South Carolina, will not be moving forward.
Neither will
plans to significantly expand the export of coal from the Powder River Basin.
After a decade-long fight, the Dakota Minnesota & Eastern Railroad project
was abandoned in August. The DM&E rail project would have carried enough
coal to power about 50 medium size coal plants.
Among the coal plants
defeated or abandoned this year are the massive American Municipal Power coal
plant proposed in Ohio and the Big Stone II plant in South Dakota. Developers
pulled the plug on both projects, despite having successfully finished the
permitting process, because of rising concerns about the sharply escalating
costs and the promise of future carbon regulations. A new Washington Post survey found that almost two-thirds of Americans
support federal regulations to reduce global warming pollution from power
plants.
Since the beginning of the coal rush in 2001 when there were
more than 150 proposed coal plants announced, 111 proposed new coal plants have
been defeated or abandoned, keeping over 450 million tons of carbon dioxide out
of the air each year. Tens of thousands of concerned citizens across the
country have joined the beyond coal movement, helping bring about tangible
change in the way America is powered.
"2009 has been a remarkable year
in our fight for clean energy," said Bruce Nilles, Director of the Sierra Club’s
Beyond Coal Campaign. "Although there are still about 90 remaining proposals,
the landscape has shifted 180-degrees. Communities across America have become
aware about the danger of coal and have organized to stop these projects from
moving forward. The public is rising up, demanding cleaner energy, and
developers and investors are taking note. There is a shift going on across
America as companies realign away from old dirty practices involving coal and
toward cleaner energy options, including wind, solar and becoming more
efficient."
In 2009 several companies also announced plans to start
transitioning away from existing coal plants, many of which are decades old.
Progress Energy announced plans to close several coal plants in North Carolina,
and the Tennessee Valley Authority is considering phasing out parts of its fleet
of plants in Tennessee and Alabama.
Verena Owen, Volunteer Leader of the
Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign concluded, "the grassroots movement to push our
country beyond coal continues to gain momentum—whether it is pushing for cleaner
energy; no new coal plants; beginning the transition away from the oldest coal
plants; working to improve mining practices; or fighting to clean up toxic coal
ash; people across the country are fired up about a clean energy future and are
refusing to let coal block the way."
The Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign
is a nationwide campaign working to ensure coal is mined responsibly, burned
cleanly, and disposed of safely. The campaign is working to lessen America’s
dependence on coal and accelerate the transition to clean energy alternatives
like wind and solar.
Visit www.sierraclub.org/coal/coalnearyou to view our coal plant
tracker, which shows a full list of proposed coal plants defeated, abandoned and
still proposed.
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