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UPDATE 1-US coal power plant retirements top 9,000 MW in 2012

Reuters -- More than 9,000 megawatts of coal-fired generation were retired in the United States in 2012 as stricter federal pollution standards moved closer to reality and cheaper natural gas made coal plants less attractive economically, according to a Reuters survey of power generators.

U.S. companies have retired or announced plans to shut or convert more than 36,000 MW of older coal-fired plants over the next few years as they work to reduce emissions in advance of new environmental rules and shift to less-expensive natural gas.

Eventually, the transition from coal may shut as much as 60,000 MW to 100,000 MW of coal-fired generation across the country, according to various industry estimates.

Coal plants account for about 316 gigawatts (GW) of generation in the United States, or about 30%...

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Submitted Jan 05, 2013 By: NOTSOGRN

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honda0105 Champion Author Tallahassee Posts:18,643 Points:1,611,470 Joined:Nov 2008	Message Posted: Jan 8, 2013 5:06:18 AM Ignore honda0105 Report Abuse wonder how many lives that reduction in particulate matter saves.
MAC48 Champion Author Dallas Posts:1,551 Points:768,670 Joined:Dec 2006	Message Posted: Jan 7, 2013 12:32:00 AM Ignore MAC48 Report Abuse In the mid 1970s there was a prohibition on building new natural gas fired power plants to keep domestic natural gas supplies available for other industrial uses following the Arab Oil Embargo in 1972 or 1973. Electric companies were basically forced to turn to coal when building new power plants. Now that natural gas has fallen from the $12 to $15 range to the $3 to $4 dollar range per mmbtu combined with the new environmental push by the Obama administration, natural gas has become the current best choice for new electric power generation plants. The simple fact is that electric power can be produced in the quantities required by either coal or natural gas but many other industries, such as the chemical industry, cannot use coal and must use natural gas. Keep tuned in folks because if you live long enough this story will again turn back to coal being the electric power generation fuel of choice for new power plants when the inevitable rise in natural gas prices occurs due to a rise in price or governmental edict to assure adequate natural gas supplies for industries that must have natural gas to remain viable.
remay Champion Author Houston Posts:6,978 Points:2,119,565 Joined:May 2006	Message Posted: Jan 6, 2013 10:46:37 PM Ignore remay Report Abuse not good
tidalwave3 Champion Author Tallahassee Posts:1,308 Points:1,466,180 Joined:Jun 2008	Message Posted: Jan 6, 2013 5:14:30 PM Ignore tidalwave3 Report Abuse tell those coal miners in West Virginia area, Pres Obama. And hand out those pink slips :(
Catfish93001 Champion Author Ventura Posts:1,200 Points:247,955 Joined:Jun 2008	Message Posted: Jan 6, 2013 12:04:15 PM Ignore Catfish93001 Report Abuse And then the price of natural gas goes up....
jethro5000 Champion Author Kentucky Posts:1,892 Points:393,560 Joined:Jun 2005	Message Posted: Jan 6, 2013 9:16:12 AM Ignore jethro5000 Report Abuse not sure what to say...
jkpsr Champion Author New Jersey Posts:4,094 Points:1,104,830 Joined:Jun 2005	Message Posted: Jan 6, 2013 1:09:51 AM Ignore jkpsr Report Abuse We will not miss the coal fired plants. Wait until clean coal gets perfected, although natural gas may remain the cheapest solution.
Doomsday64 All-Star Author Austin Posts:874 Points:338,955 Joined:Apr 2011	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 11:39:59 PM Ignore Doomsday64 Report Abuse Not a good thing here.
5Golfer8 Champion Author Tucson Posts:2,148 Points:302,600 Joined:Jun 2011	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 11:39:44 PM Ignore 5Golfer8 Report Abuse Ok
crreed1 Champion Author West Virginia Posts:2,000 Points:2,529,260 Joined:May 2005	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 11:21:10 PM Ignore crreed1 Report Abuse old news
rahcat Champion Author Grand Rapids Posts:2,483 Points:665,125 Joined:Jan 2010	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 11:19:28 PM Ignore rahcat Report Abuse When it comes to unemployment....thank the EPA.
CiVX Champion Author Oakland Posts:7,055 Points:1,360,360 Joined:Feb 2009	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 11:13:32 PM Ignore CiVX Report Abuse Maybe its the reduced price of natural gas instead!
boatfloyd Champion Author Jacksonville Posts:1,733 Points:390,900 Joined:Mar 2012	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 11:13:25 PM Ignore boatfloyd Report Abuse More Natural Gas Please.
skybiker Champion Author South Carolina Posts:7,308 Points:1,561,465 Joined:Jul 2008	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 11:11:26 PM Ignore skybiker Report Abuse Too many rules!!...It's getting out of control!!
judgemobile Champion Author Ohio Posts:7,585 Points:2,448,060 Joined:Nov 2005	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 11:10:34 PM Ignore judgemobile Report Abuse Bummer is out to destroy coal industry--is this what he was elected to do ?
Rooster922 Champion Author Wilmington Posts:3,803 Points:658,995 Joined:Jan 2009	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 11:09:35 PM Ignore Rooster922 Report Abuse Really
fullauto Champion Author Reading Posts:5,330 Points:1,474,015 Joined:Apr 2008	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 11:08:33 PM Ignore fullauto Report Abuse starve em out of existence; oh, they did that to natives here all ready, and it worked.
viperND Champion Author South Bend Posts:3,320 Points:737,890 Joined:Apr 2011	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 11:08:29 PM Ignore viperND Report Abuse hmmm
regout Champion Author Quebec Posts:2,965 Points:834,655 Joined:May 2010	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 11:08:24 PM Ignore regout Report Abuse Very good news.
alaric76 Champion Author New Jersey Posts:16,547 Points:3,036,510 Joined:Nov 2004	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 11:07:49 PM Ignore alaric76 Report Abuse More government theft by regulation.
jrschl Champion Author Louisville Posts:2,977 Points:683,015 Joined:Jun 2011	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 11:07:43 PM Ignore jrschl Report Abuse I hope they stick to their work and open the plant after they upgrade the facility. I foresee energy costs going up because they do not reopen the plant.
Beboper Champion Author Virginia Posts:8,737 Points:2,165,740 Joined:Oct 2005	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 11:07:41 PM Ignore Beboper Report Abuse old news
Ferdman17 Champion Author Albany Posts:1,298 Points:376,485 Joined:Feb 2012	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 11:06:57 PM Ignore Ferdman17 Report Abuse Seems like a no brainier with the price of natural gas.
mfeldstein Champion Author Ottawa Posts:8,186 Points:1,933,405 Joined:Feb 2007	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 11:06:36 PM Ignore mfeldstein Report Abuse Good news.
rsox67 All-Star Author Connecticut Posts:707 Points:268,110 Joined:Jul 2012	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 11:05:33 PM Ignore rsox67 Report Abuse Ok
joel27nc Champion Author Raleigh Posts:10,552 Points:1,861,295 Joined:Mar 2008	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 11:05:31 PM Ignore joel27nc Report Abuse Cleaner air!
KrsnaDragon Champion Author Montreal Posts:2,422 Points:533,575 Joined:Nov 2011	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 11:03:25 PM Ignore KrsnaDragon Report Abuse This can only be good news.
cheaper0ON All-Star Author Ontario Posts:993 Points:400,005 Joined:Jan 2012	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 11:02:55 PM Ignore cheaper0ON Report Abuse Okay.
PrinceLH Champion Author Ontario Posts:2,707 Points:540,970 Joined:Jun 2011	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 11:02:29 PM Ignore PrinceLH Report Abuse So be it!
bvrbill Champion Author Eugene Posts:3,238 Points:520,800 Joined:Jul 2011	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 11:01:19 PM Ignore bvrbill Report Abuse We need to keep all of our energy options.
WIWalt Champion Author Wisconsin Posts:1,741 Points:418,470 Joined:Mar 2012	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 11:00:17 PM Ignore WIWalt Report Abuse So what is the trade off? cleaner air & poluted water from fracking fluid to drink!
PoohMcGoo Champion Author Alabama Posts:3,077 Points:802,635 Joined:Dec 2010	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 10:59:06 PM Ignore PoohMcGoo Report Abuse Ok
Aviator_Rob Champion Author New York Posts:3,810 Points:416,040 Joined:Mar 2012	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 10:58:03 PM Ignore Aviator_Rob Report Abuse I still want to know what these "clean" coal facilities do with all of their mercury-laden fly ash, @thomas41546. Coal leaves behind ash when it's been burned and it's pretty nasty stuff. You don't want any getting into your rivers and streams.
mfeldstein Champion Author Ottawa Posts:8,186 Points:1,933,405 Joined:Feb 2007	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 10:56:43 PM Ignore mfeldstein Report Abuse Less coal more renewable.
Aviator_Rob Champion Author New York Posts:3,810 Points:416,040 Joined:Mar 2012	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 10:56:04 PM Ignore Aviator_Rob Report Abuse The problem with wanting to have both coal, and natural gas plants, @Carol7777 is that the industry hates to have any excess capacity when it comes to electricity production. They want their powerplants running at full throttle 24/7. If you have both, then one kind of plant has to be idle while the other one is producing power.
beachmanglen All-Star Author Tampa Posts:679 Points:497,850 Joined:Aug 2011	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 10:55:26 PM Ignore beachmanglen Report Abuse Nuclear is the answer.
ldiggy All-Star Author Wilmington Posts:788 Points:291,585 Joined:Apr 2012	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 10:55:06 PM Ignore ldiggy Report Abuse Ok.
wcp3rd All-Star Author New Jersey Posts:739 Points:363,350 Joined:Mar 2012	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 10:55:01 PM Ignore wcp3rd Report Abuse OK
HA4CNN Champion Author Toronto Posts:5,639 Points:1,546,415 Joined:Dec 2006	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 10:54:30 PM Ignore HA4CNN Report Abuse The fuel of the future is natural gas but it has a lot less calories than any other fuel.
thomas41546 Champion Author Tennessee Posts:3,773 Points:2,259,640 Joined:Oct 2005	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 10:54:16 PM Ignore thomas41546 Report Abuse coal can be clean emmission if current standard are used when constructing.
30mpg80 Champion Author Lexington Posts:10,061 Points:1,489,805 Joined:Nov 2008	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 10:53:28 PM Ignore 30mpg80 Report Abuse Sure, natural gas is so much cheaper
sleuth696 All-Star Author Ventura Posts:953 Points:204,865 Joined:Oct 2012	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 10:53:23 PM Ignore sleuth696 Report Abuse ok
DEG Champion Author Las Vegas Posts:17,635 Points:3,497,630 Joined:Jul 2003	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 10:53:11 PM Ignore DEG Report Abuse I would think that this has a lot to do with EPA regulations by the Obama administration to make coal use more expensive.
Aviator_Rob Champion Author New York Posts:3,810 Points:416,040 Joined:Mar 2012	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 10:53:09 PM Ignore Aviator_Rob Report Abuse The Cold War's over @wayoung56. No need to fear the commie pinkos anymore. Besides, I doubt you could still recognize one.
Aviator_Rob Champion Author New York Posts:3,810 Points:416,040 Joined:Mar 2012	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 10:50:05 PM Ignore Aviator_Rob Report Abuse Is Dayton prone to blackouts, @mstearno? If not then you have all the energy you need.
DarthDadJr Champion Author Virginia Posts:7,322 Points:1,523,370 Joined:Jul 2008	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 10:49:49 PM Ignore DarthDadJr Report Abuse Makes sense...the abundance of NG created by fracking has made coal plants costly to operate.
us4usa Champion Author Missouri Posts:6,003 Points:1,115,215 Joined:May 2008	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 10:49:19 PM Ignore us4usa Report Abuse Then we can export all of our coal to China to be burned in their coal plants and they can deal with all the air pollution, just hope it stays over there... Wonder what happens when the EPA/TreeHuggers shuts down Fracking???
Aviator_Rob Champion Author New York Posts:3,810 Points:416,040 Joined:Mar 2012	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 10:49:01 PM Ignore Aviator_Rob Report Abuse I think @357revo doesn't want to believe in climate change because he secretly wants beachfront property in Pittsburgh.
pkrbkr Champion Author Wisconsin Posts:8,232 Points:1,717,280 Joined:May 2006	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 10:48:43 PM Ignore pkrbkr Report Abuse Shut down the EPA-not power plants!
vibdata Champion Author Massachusetts Posts:4,090 Points:849,300 Joined:Nov 2005	Message Posted: Jan 5, 2013 10:48:24 PM Ignore vibdata Report Abuse Boy oh boy. And I thought this was an article about 9000 retirements this year from a power company. Well, if this much power's going offline, I guess the people are too.