Coal-Fired

Despite the Supreme Court ruling against the Environmental Protection Agency's plans to curb toxic gas emissions from power plants, analysts believe utilities are still compelled to retire coal-fired units, and see the high court's ruling as a positive development for the natural gas industry.

Despite the Supreme Court ruling against the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) plans to curb toxic gas emissions from power plants, analysts believe utilities are still compelled to retire coal-fired units, and see the high court’s ruling as a positive development for the natural gas industry.

Natural gas consumption in the eastern half of the United States has been much higher than the western half, thanks in large part to the retirement of coal-fired and nuclear power plants but also due to weather-related impacts, the Energy Information Administration said.

Natural gas consumption in the eastern half of the United States has been much higher than the western half, thanks in large part to the retirement of coal-fired and nuclear power plants but also due to weather-related impacts, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said.

Oregon lawmakers are considering a proposal (SB 477) that would outlaw the use of coal-fired electric generation or the purchase of coal-fired power supplies by 2025. Natural gas-fired generation would specifically be prohibited from replacing the lost power supplies.

Driven by Colorado’s Clean Air/Clean Jobs Act (see Daily GPI, April 20, 2010) prompting the closing of older coal-fired power plants, Xcel Energy Inc. said Thursday it has completed a $110 million 34-mile, 24-inch diameter natural gas pipeline to serve a still-to-be-completed gas-fired generation plant.

Wholesale electricity generator Sterling Energy Group Inc. has acquired Kentucky-based Viking Gas Pipeline LLC and Viking Oil and Gas LLC for an undisclosed purchase price and has plans to connect the companies’ natural gas production to its own pipeline system for delivery to its customers.

In an effort to comply with agreements to reduce emissions, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has recommended shuttering its Allen Fossil Plant and the facility’s three coal-fired units, replacing them with a new natural gas-fired plant on adjacent property in Memphis, TN.

Last year's projections for coal-fired power generation plant retirements are already old news, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The numbers are ramping up rapidly, and relatively low natural gas prices play a role, along with stepped-up emissions rules.