In planning energy future, think local, small and clean

OVERSHADOWED by the expanding debate over global warming, another environmental issue is heating up: the grim prospects that Appalachia and the other coal-rich areas of America face as energy companies plan a series of some 150 major new coal-burning plants.

But now, with coal and oil prices soaring, cogeneration should be poised for major expansion. Recently most of the sites have run on natural gas, but they’re ideally suited for several emerging new energy technologies

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