Coal on the Run: 59 Coal Plants Defeated!

Grassroots pressure by citizen groups and activists across the country has defeated 59 proposed coal-fired power plants in 2007, according to a new report from RAN and Coal Moratorium NOW! The report is Coal plants cancelled in 2007, and is worth a read.

Big coal, on the other hand, is currently able to proceed on just 16 plants, although they are attempting to shove dozens more dirty coal plants down our throats this year.

We can satisfy our energy needs with conservation and efficiency measures. We don’t need to build a single additional coal-fired power plant. No one realizes this more than the utilities.
Shutting down plans for a coal plant isn’t always because the plant is rejected. Significantly, more often than not, the utilities are abandoning their own plans.

More plants are being abandoned than rejected: Of the 59 projects listed below, only 15 were rejected outright by regulators, courts, or local authorities. In the remaining 44 cases, the decision was made by utilities themselves. Reasons for abandoning plants include (1) rising construction costs, (2) insufficient financing or failure to receive hoped-for government grants, (3) lowered estimates of demand, and (4) concerns about future carbon regulations.

Help our friends defeat the dirty, worthless, unneeded Dominion plant in Wise County Virginia by getting involved over at Clean Energy VA. The citizens of Wise County are doing a bang-up job of telling Dominion to drop the plant. About 300+ folks showed up to Richmond for the State Corporation Commission meeting regarding the Wise County Plant on January 8th. 93 folks spoke out against the plant, out of 122 total speakers. 20 of those opposing the plant came all the way from SW Virginia, and another 5 or so from Blacksburg, VA. It was an absolutely unprecedented public showing at the SCC, and that the public hearing lasted until after 9pm.

About JW Randolph

Raised on the banks of the Tennessee River, JW's work to create progress in his home state and throughout Appalachia has been featured on the Rachel Maddow Show, The Daily Kos and Grist. He served first as Appalachian Voices’ Legislative Associate and then Tennessee director until leaving to pursue a career in medicine in 2012.