59 Proposed Coal-Fired Power Plants Were Canceled or Shelved During 2007

January 17, 2008 – Vol. 12 No. 43

Coal Moratorium NOW! and Rainforest Action Network Study: 59 Proposed Coal-Fired Power Plants Were Canceled or Shelved During 2007.

Both groups are calling for a moratorium on the construction of new coal-fired power plants.

Coal plants are at the top of the list of global warming threats cited by climate scientists. Coal is the largest contributor to the human-made increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide.

“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 to start funding the future.”

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.”

The study - Coal Plants Canceled in 2007 - includes data supplied by the Sierra Club, coalSwarm, the US Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Lab, and utility industry sources.

The study findings included:

--- Climate concerns played a role in at least 15 plant cancellations including 5 in Florida and a three-unit plant in Kansas.

--- Coal plants disappeared entirely from some utilities’ long-range plans due to increasing regulatory scrutiny of long-range integrated resource plans by states such as Oregon and California.

--- New renewables were preferred by regulators over coal in several states. In Delaware, regulators canceled a coal power plant in favor of a 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 electric projects instead of coal.

--- Grassroots opposition to coal including litigation by environmental groups as well as rallies, sit-ins, petitions, and local referenda helped defeat coal in Texas, Maine, Montana, Utah, Iowa, Minnesota, Virginia, and elsewhere.

--- The cost of coal power plants has grown thus plant builders have had difficulty raising funds and quietly abandoned projects.

--- More plants were abandoned than rejected: Of the 59 canceled 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 due to high costs, lack of funding and lowered estimates of demand for power.

Links:

Study: Coal Plants Canceled in 2007
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Coal_plants_cancelled_in_2007

Coal Moratorium NOW!
http://cmnow.org (Includes links to details on the study)

Rainforest Action Network
http://www.dirtymoney.org

Disclaimer, Forward-Looking or Safe Harbor Statement on original press release: No