Coal Moratorium NOW!, January 17, 2008
59 COAL PLANTS CANCELLED OR SHELVED IN 2007
Progress Towards a Coal Moratorium
SAN FRANCISCO -- Fifty-nine proposed coal-fired power plants were cancelled or shelved during 2007, according to research compiled by Coal Moratorium NOW! and Rainforest Action Network. Both groups are calling for a moratorium on the construction of new coal-fired power plants.
The list, including documentation, is posted online at "Coal Plants Cancelled in 2007." It includes data supplied by Sierra Club, coalSwarm, the U.S. Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Lab, and utility industry sources
Ted Nace, founder of Coal Moratorium NOW! said, "Although we knew that many plants were being nixed, we were stunned by the total number. It spells real hope for the movement seeking to blunt the coal rush."
Because coal is the largest contributor to the human-made increase in carbon dioxide, coal plants are at the top of the list of global warming threats cited by climate scientists. Dr. James Hansen, director of NASA's Goddard Space Center, the world's largest climate research agency, told Congress on April 26, 2007, that a moratorium on new coal plants is "the most critical action for saving the planet at this time."
"Coal-fired power plants are the wrong investment for our climate, our health, and our economy," said Becky Tarbotton, director of Rainforest Action Network's Global Finance Campaign. "Utilities, regulators, and investors are realizing that the path ahead is energy efficiency and renewable energy. It's time to stop financing and building coal and fund the future."
Among the study's conclusions:
** Climate concerns played a role in at least 15 plant cancellations. These included five plants in Florida, where Gov. Charlie Crist has made global warming a top issue; a three-unit plant in Kansas opposed by Gov. Kathleen Sibelius; and several plants affected by strict new carbon regulations in western states.
** Coal plants disappeared entirely from some utilities' long-range plans: Increasingly, coal plants were cancelled before they could even be named, due to increasing regulatory scrutiny of long-range integrated resource plans by states such as Oregon and California.
** Renewables began elbowing out coal: Regulators in several states favored utility-scale renewables over coal. In Delaware, regulators cancelled a coal power plant proposed by NRG Energy in favor of an alternative proposal that combined wind and natural gas. In California, the combination of a strict carbon emissions standard and a renewable portfolio standard prompted utilities to enter into contracts for large thermal solar projects sponsored by Ausra, BrightSource, and Solel.
** Grassroots opposition mounted, financial markets cooled to coal: After a spate of enthusiasm in 2006, coal plant financiers in 2007 recoiled from escalating construction costs; litigation by environmental groups; and public opposition to coal expressed through rallies, sit- ins, petitions, and local referenda in Texas, Maine, Montana, Utah, Iowa, Minnesota, Virginia, and elsewhere. As sponsors ran into difficulty raising funds, numerous projects were quietly abandoned.
** More plants were abandoned than rejected: Of the 59 cancelled or sidetracked projects, only 15 were rejected outright by regulators, courts, or local authorities. In the remaining 44 cases, the decision was made by the sponsors themselves. Besides climate concerns, leading reasons for abandoning plants include (1) rapidly rising construction costs, (2) insufficient financing or failure to receive hoped-for government subsidies, and (3) lowered estimates of demand.
** Heavy spending but poor results for "clean coal": Despite a multi- million dollar advertising campaign by the coal industry in support of its "clean coal" message, the public was unconvinced. An October poll by Opinion Research Corporation showed that 75 percent of American adults would support a five-year moratorium on new coal plants if funding for renewable alternatives was increased and efficiency standards were tightened.
Background on the Coal Boom
After mainly building natural gas turbines during the 1980s and 1990s, utilities returned to coal when natural gas prices jumped in 2000. In May 2007, the Department of Energy's "Tracking New Coal-Fired Power Plants" (5/07) study counted 151 proposed coal plants. Five months later, "Tracking New Coal-Fired Power Plants" (10/07) counted 121 proposed plants. According to a survey completed in the first week of January 2008 by Coal Moratorium NOW!, the number of proposed plants (including those under construction or recently completed) now stands at 113. Details on Coal Moratorium NOW!'s study may be seen at the following links:
** Coal Plants Cancelled in 2007
** Proposed Coal Plants: state-by-state descriptions
** Proposed Coal Plants: spreadsheet
** Table of Proposed Coal Plants by Expected Year of Completion
** Table of Proposed Coal Plants by Type of Utility
** Table of Proposed Coal Plants by Region
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Coal Moratorium NOW! tracks the coal boom and advocates for a moratorium on new coal plants. Together with the Center for Media and Democracy, Coal Moratorium NOW! also co-sponsors www.coalSwarm.org, a coal-oriented wiki. Contact: info@cmNOW.org or Ted Nace at 510-331-8743.
Rainforest Action Network (http://www.dirtymoney.org) runs hard- hitting campaigns to break America's oil addiction, reduce our reliance on coal, protect endangered forests and indigenous rights, and stop destructive investments around the world through education, grassroots organizing, and non-violent direct action.
Links Included in this Press Release
** "Coal Plants Cancelled in 2007"
** Opinion Research Corporation poll
** "Tracking New Coal-Fired Power Plants" (5/07)
** "Tracking New Coal-Fired Power Plants" (10/07):
** Proposed Coal-Fired Plants: state-by-state descriptions
** Proposed Coal-Fired Plants: spreadsheet
** Table of Proposed Coal Plants by Year of Completion
** Table of Proposed Coal Plants by Type of Utility
** Table of Proposed Coal Plants by Region
** List of Proposed Coal Plants, Placed on Hold, or Abandoned in 2007 (full list with details available here).
1. Indeck Energy Services declines to renew the option for the property the company intended to use for the 660 MW Elmwood Energy Center in Elmwood, Illinois, indicating that it did not intend to pursue the project further. In September 2006, the U.S. EPA's Environmental Appeals Board had overturned the air permit, finding that it lacked emissions control requirements and environmental impact assessments. December 2007.
2. With no air permit applications on file and no development partner, it appears that Radar Acquisitions Company's Buick Coal and Power Project is now defunct. December 2007.
3. Rentech puts coal-to-liquids plant slated for East Dubuque, Illinois on indefinite hold, citing "pressure" put on the project by a lack of national CO2 policy. December 2007.
4. Alcoa scraps plan to build a 950 MW coal plant at the site of a shuttered aluminum smelter in Frederick County, Maryland. December 2007.
5. Idaho Power and PacifiCorp abandon plans for a 600 MW expansion of the Wyoming Jim Bridger Station, a power plant jointly owned by the two companies. A spokesman for PacifiCorp cites the uncertainty around coal, and states the company is looking at natural gas and wind power projects instead. December 2007.
6. Steelhead Energy's 545 MW IGCC proposal, the Southern Illinois Clean Energy Center, is declared inactive by the EPA. December 2007.
7. Mountain Island Energy abandons plans for a 600 MW coal plant in Soda Springs, Idaho, which had been announced in January 2007. December 2007.
8. PacifiCorp and the state of Wyoming cancel their jointly sponsored IGCC and coal sequestration demonstration project at the Jim Bridger Station, which had been scheduled for operation in 2013. December 2007.
9. PacifiCorp scraps plans for a 950 MW expansion of the Intermountain Power coal plant in Utah. The cancellation comes after six California cities that rely on the plant refused to support the expansion in July 2007; two other cities refused power contracts with the plant earlier in the year. December 2007.
10. Following the denial of permits for Sunflower's Holcomb plants, the Kansas City Board of Public Utilities abandons plans to build a 235 MW coal plant at Nearman Creek in Wyandotte County. December 2007.
11. Having announced that it was placing siting plans for a new 600 MW coal plant on hold due to rapidly escalating costs, Westar Energy, Kansas's largest utility, pursues regulatory approval for 295 MW of new wind capacity. December 2007.
12. Two months after breaking ground, Orlando Utilities Commission and Southern Company shelve plans for 285 MW Stanton Energy Center, an IGCC plant in Orange County, citing concerns about future carbon controls in Florida. November 2007.
13. Energy Northwest's application for the 793 MW Pacific Mountain Energy Center in Kalama, Washington, is suspended by state regulators because of insufficient plans for carbon sequestration. November 2007.
14. Voters in Wiscasset, Maine, defeat two ballot measures that would have allowed a variance from local height limits, effectively blocking Point East from pursuing its proposed 700 MW coal plant, Twin River Energy Center. November 2007.
15. Matanuska Electric Association cancels plans to build a 100 MW coal plant in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough of Alaska. Local opposition by elected officials and increased costs are cited as reasons. November 2007.
16. Idaho Power Company cancels plans to produce 250 MW from coal- fired plants by 2013. Instead, the company adopts new plans to add 101 MW of wind power and 45.5 MW of geothermal power by 2011, and to develop a natural gas turbine in Idaho by 2012. November 2007.
17. Sunflower Electric Power Cooperative's proposal for the 1400 MW Holcomb Units 1 and 2 is denied an air permit by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) due to concerns about global warming. The Director of KDHE states that it would be "irresponsible" to ignore global warming concerns when evaluating whether to build a new plant. October 2007. (A month earlier, in September, Sunflower Electric Power Cooperative proposal for the 700 MW Holcomb Unit 3 was cancelled after Colorado adopted a law requiring that rural electric cooperatives get 10 percent of their power from renewable resources.)
18. Madison Power's 600 MW Marion Gasification Plant (IGCC) plant in Marion, Illinois has been placed on hold due to construction of a nearby supercritical coal plant which has hindered power demand and tied up transmission and coal transport infrastructure. October 2007.
19. NRG's Huntley Generating Station (680 MW IGCC) "on hold" because it "must find cost reductions to maintain state-awarded financial support." October 2007.
20. Buffalo Energy Partners IGCC plant in Wyoming has been cancelled due to transmision constraints, rising construction costs, limited available technology guarantees and an unsuccessful bid for funding. October 2007.
21. Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy shelves plans for a 600 M IGCC plant in Colorado for at least two years, citing rising construction costs and slowing demand. October 2007.
22. Tampa Electric suspends 630 MW expansion at its Polk Power Station. The decision is influenced by Florida Governor Charlie Crist's push to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. October 2007.
23. Dynegy and LS Power cancel a proposed 500 MW coal plant in West Deptford, New Jersey, proposing instead a natural gas plant. October 2007.
24. Rochester Gas and Electric, a subsidiary of Energy East, changes plans for the proposed 300 MW Russell Station II plant from coal to natural gas. The decision is based partly on public opposition to coal. September 2007.
25. Westmoreland and Montana Dakota Utilities fail to begin construction of the North Dakota Gascoyne 175 MW power plant or request an extension of the air permit. As a result, the air permit is rendered invalid and the company must go through the air permitting process again if it intends to construct the plant. September 2007.
26. Montana regulators revoke the air permit for Bull Mountain Development's 300 MW Roundup Power Project. September 2007.
27. American Electric Power and Oklahoma Gas & Electric's 950 MW Red Rock Generating Station is rejected by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission for failure to evaluate alternatives such as natural gas. September 2007.
28. Avista Utilities (Washington) completes its 2007 Integrated Resource Plan, eliminating at least one coal plant from its resource strategy. The company cites Washington state law prohibiting new coal plants whose emissions would exceed those of a natural gas plant. September 2007.
29. Southwestern Power Group cancels its proposed 600 MW IGCC Bowie Power Station in Arizona in favor of pursuing a natural gas fired plant. The company cites economics and regulatory uncertainty. September 2007.
30. Franklin Circuit Court reverses the air permit for Peabody Coal Company's 1500 MW Thoroughbred Generating Station in Kentucky due to inadequate air pollution control analysis. August 2007.
31. Florida's Department of Environmental Protection rejects the Seminole Electric Power Cooperative's 750 MW Seminole 3 Generating Station on the grounds that the plant would not minimize environmental and public health impacts, and would not serve the public interest. August 2007.
32. Great Northern Power hasn't submitted an air permit application for its proposed 500 MW Nelson Creek coal plant in Circle, Montana. A GNP lobbyist testifies in a state legislative session that the company is no longer pursuing the project. August 2007.
33. Great Northern Power withdraws its air permit application for the 500 MW South Heart Power Project in North Dakota. August 2007.
34. The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission decides that Excelsior Energy's 600 MW Mesaba IGCC plant "is not in the public interest." August 2007.
35. Florida Municipal Power Agency withdraws its state permit application for the 800 MW Taylor Energy Center shortly after the Florida Public Service Commission rejects the Glades Power Plant. July 2007.
36. The Florida Public Service Commission rejects the permit application of Florida Power & Light's 1960 MW Glades Power Plant citing, in part, uncertainty over the cost of future carbon regulations. July 2007.
37. Tenaska cancels its 660-880 MW Sallisaw Electric Generating Plant in Oklahoma on the grounds that it is not economically viable. July 2007.
38. The Sierra Club reports that LS Power and Dynegy have quietly abandoned plans for a 1600 MW coal plant in Sussex County, Virginia. The companies no longer list the plant on their websites. July 2007.
39. Tondu Corp abandons plans for the Nueces IGCC plant in Corpus Christi, Texas, citing rising costs and uncertain construction schedules for IGCC. The company plans to build a gas plant instead. June 2007.
40. The Delaware Public Service Commission rejects NRG Energy's proposal for a 600 MW coal plant at its existing Indian River Power Plant in favor of an alternative wind/gas proposal. May 2007.
41. Wisconsin Public Power Inc. and the city of Escanaba, Michigan, cancel plans to build a 300 MW coal plant in Escanaba. May 2007.
42. Corn Belt Energy Corporation abandons plans to build a 91 MW coal plant in Illinois. The plant would have been financed by a grant from the United States Department of Energy. March 2007.
43-50. As part of a buyout of Texas utility TXU by private equity firms, TXU enters abandons plans for eight out of eleven proposed plants in the state. February 2007.
51. The North Carolina Utilities Commission rejects one of the two 800 MW units at Duke Energy's Cliffside Steam Station Modernization proposal, citing increased construction costs. Opponents continue to fight the second unit. February 2007.
52. The Oregon Public Utility Commission rules that PacifiCorp had failed to prove a need for Hunter Unit 4, a proposed 575 MW coal plant in Castle Dale, Utah. January 2007.
53. After being on hold for over two years due to siting issues, it appears that the 100 MW Bethel Power Plant proposed by Nuvista Light and Power has now been abandoned. 2007.
54. Xcel Energy abandons plans to build a 550 MW coal plant near Rosemount, Minnesota. 2007.
55. Having lost its partner on the project (Foster-Wheeler, which was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange), it appears that Colorado Springs Utilities has abandoned its 150 MW Ray D. Nixon Power Plant proposal. 2007.
56. Clean Coal Power Resources has not posted any new information on its company website for several years, and it appears that the company has abandoned Fayette County Economic Development Project, a synthetic fuels project in Illinois. 2007.
57. The EPA's coal plant tracking website reports that Dynegy's proposed 1300 MW Baldwin Energy Complex in Baldwin, Illinois, which was listed in the May 2007 Department of Energy "Tracking New Coal- Fired Power Plants" survey, has been abandoned. 2007.
58. Illinois Energy Group's 1500 MW project in Franklin County, Illinois, which was included in the Department of Energy's May, 2007, "Tracking New Coal-Fired Power Plants" survey, has been abandoned. 2007.
59. Turris Coal Company appears to have abandoned a 25-35 MW coal plant proposal in Elkhart, Illinois. The plant had been listed in the Department of Energy's May, 2007, "Tracking New Coal-Fired Power Plants" survey. 2007.
For complete list, with documentation, see: "Coal Plants Cancelled in 2007"