Coal

[mhlld]

Coal rush? Power project signals boom, debate

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/8332711/

Excerpt.....

Bruce Nilles, the Sierra Club’s senior Midwest representative, said there are around 115 coal-fired power plants on the drawing board around the country because of the nation’s burgeoning demand for electricity, the fast-rising price of natural gas and a coal-friendly administration in Washington. He said the go-ahead for the Wisconsin project could be the signal the rest of the industry is waiting for.

“It is the largest of the first wave of this coal rush. It is a giant, giant coal plant. There are only one or two others bigger” in the country, Nilles said. “Other states are weighing in because of the regional and national significance of this coal plant. Every other utility’s going to say, ‘I want my coal plant, too.”’

The Wisconsin Supreme Court is weighing the future of the plant, which has come under legal challenge from environmentalists and others.

The plant would use pulverized coal to produce electricity, a relatively old-fashioned technology. But the state Department of Natural Resources and We Energies say modern emission controls will drastically cut the pollution.