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  how "merchant coal" is changing America

  This article correctly points out the irony between the planned LS Power coal plant near Waterloo and Iowa's leadership in wind power and biofuels.  An AP article of Thursday August 31, 2006, discusses a proposed new wind farm in Franklin County, two counties west of the planned coal-fired plant. This 200 to 300 megawatt wind farm will increase Iowa's wind power capacity still further. No problem if the electricity is sold out of state-- Franklin County residents and all earth residents are in a win-win situation.

  Waterloo and Black Hawk County residents deserve better.  More importantly, we all deserve better and had better fight for it.  New fossil fuel power plants should be carefully thought out as to need and the ability to replace more heavily polluting power plants.  

  In an August 23 article in The NewStandard, "Texas Utility Admits Coal Plants Will Increase Some Pollutants", TXU, Texas' largest utility company, is reported to be planning to quickly build 11 new coal-fired plants in the state, 9 more than it had planned just six months ago.  That doesn't sound need-based to me.  There appears to be no intention or mechanism to replace older more polluting plants with the newer ones.

  My own city's electricity generation is 90 percent via coal, 10 percent renewables.  However, it is a municipal utility and encourages citizens to become more energy efficient and reduce power demand. I'll be trying to help them bring both the total megawatts and the 90 percent figure down, so they will never need to buy power from a speculator in fossil fuels.    On How "merchant coal" is changing the face of America posted 3 years, 2 months ago 2 Responses