Has the coal power boom cooled off?

Just last fall, it appeared the Texas coal rush was rolling ahead like an unstoppable locomotive.

Skyrocketing natural gas prices were pushing electricity prices up, and electric demand was growing. Coal, relatively cheap and relatively dirty, seemed the reasonable alternative.

But this summer, the coal train has hit some rough rails.
Environmental groups fighting the permits have been emboldened by recent turns of events. Lone Star Sierra Club executive director Ken Kramer said it’s no longer just a “ragtag bunch of environmentalists” and local citizens who are sounding the alarm.

“I think a number of big-city mayors have awakened to the fact that these proposed coal-fired power plants could dramatically undercut their efforts to try to achieve their air quality standards,” he said. “It gives us some reason for hope that the tide is beginning to turn.”

Tom “Smitty” Smith, director of Public Citizen’s Texas office, said the opposition to coal-fired power plants is growing.

Waco Tribune Herald