I’m no fan of Obama, but let’s be honest here: The biggest factor in the closure of these power plants in western Pennsylvania is probably the declining prices of natural gas as the development of Marcellus shale gas extraction unfolds. Nobody is using less electricity these days, so these coal-fired plants are simply being replaced by gas-fired plants.
Not accurate. It is the inability the meet the 'new' EPA mandate on CO2 emissions that is prompting this shutdown.
It's true that Nat Gas prices are low now, but they are still several times higher than coal prices for electrical generation. In addition, these plants served as base-load units, not cycling or peaking units which is where natural gas in typically used in generation applications.
This is all about Obama's illegal EPA "Greenhouse Gas" mandates.