What happened to the 151 proposed coal plants?

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This article is part of the Coal Issues portal on SourceWatch, a project of CoalSwarm and the Center for Media and Democracy.

Beginning around the year 2000, in response to increases in natural gas prices, utilities across the United States began a renewed push to build new coal-fired electricity generating plants and coal-fueld synthetic fuels plants. The National Energy Technology Laboratory, a division of the Department of Energy, issues periodic updates of "Tracking New Coal-Fired Power Plants," a database of such projects, but that report ceased providing project-specific information after May 2007. The May 2007 list, which showed 151 proposed coal plants, received widespread publicity and helped galvanize the movement for a coal moratorium.[1] As of August 2009, the status of the plants shown on the list was as follows:[2]

  • Cancelled, abandoned, or on hold: 89 projects;
  • Early stages of development: 9 projects;
  • Advanced stages of development: 20 projects;
  • In operation or under construction: 33 projects.

In addition to the 151 proposed coal plants listed in the May 2007 NETK report, at least 63 additional coal projects have been proposed in the United States, for a total of 214 proposals. The disposition of these proposals is as follows:[3][4][5]

  • Cancelled, abandoned, or on hold: 130 projects;
  • Early stages of development: 23 projects;
  • Advanced stages of development: 27 projects;
  • In construction or operating: 33 projects.

More details on these projects can be found at Coal Moratorium Now! as well as at Proposed coal plants in the United States.

Information on proposed coal plants outside the United States can be found at Proposed coal plants (international).

Contents

Cancelled, Abandoned, or on Hold

Early Development

Advanced Development

Operating or in Construction


Resources

References

  1. Ted Nace, Stopping Coal in Its Tracks, Orion Magazine, January/February 2008.
  2. Proposed Coal Plants Table, Coal Moratorium Now!
  3. Table of Proposed Coal Plants by Year, Coal Moratorium Now!
  4. Table of Coal Plants by Transmission Region, Coal Moratorium Now!
  5. Table of Coal Plants by Type of Sponsor, Coal Moratorium Now!

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