Free Republic

Germany's cabinet on Wednesday approved putting on-reserve lignite-fired power plants back online from October until the end of March 2024, the economy ministry said, as a step to replace scarce natural gas this winter and avoid shortages. In the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and a sudden drop in Russian gas imports to Germany, Berlin reactivated coal-fired power plants and extended their lifespans, with a total output of 1.9 gigawatt hours generated last winter. Despite gas bottlenecks easing since last winter with new liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal deliveries, coal-fired power plans will be reactivated

The utility’s 1.6 million Colorado customers will see their bills rise 4.4% — about $4 on the average residential bill — on Sept. 1 ... lectricity bills for 1.6 million Colorado customers of Xcel Energy will rise 4.4% — about $3.99 on the average residential bill — on Sept. 1, under a settlement approved Wednesday by the state Public Utilities Commission. In 2022, Xcel Energy, Colorado’s largest electricity supplier, filed for a $312 million rate hike, but under the settlement it will get an increase of $96 million. The reduced revenue figure was reached in a settlement between Xcel Energy...

China approved 168 coal-fired power plants in 2022, the most rapid expansion of the country’s coal-fired power capacity since 2015, according to a report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) and Global Energy Monitor (GEM) Monday. Chinese companies began constructing 50 gigawatts (GW) worth of coal-fired power capacity in 2022, more than triple the rest of the world put together and spiking 50% from 2021, according to the report. Conversely, President Joe Biden’s signature Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is expected to lead to the retirement of 30 GW to 60 GW of U.S. coal-fired power...

The Hawaiian islands’ coal shipments are ending. The bulker carrying the state’s final coal shipment will leave this week after refueling the state’s last coal-fired power plant. That plant is scheduled to close in September forcing the state’s energy providers to compete with the US Navy for oil tankers. AES Hawaii, operator of the largest power plant on Oahu, received 15,000 tons of Indonesian coal from the Liberian flag bulker MV Flying Tiger. The 180-megawatt plant is the biggest source of the island’s electricity and provided 13% of the state’s overall power in 2018.

Dozens of coal-fired power plants across the U.S. plan to stop burning coal or to shut down by the end of the decade, the Associated Press reported. The decision is not driven by climate change concerns but to comply with a new wastewater rule requiring them to clean coal ash and toxic heavy metals from the water before it's dumped back into streams and rivers. The plants had an October deadline to tell state regulators how they plan to comply. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the rule is expected to affect 75 coal-fired power plants across the country. The...

Despite pledges to contribute to global efforts of reducing emissions, China will continue to maximize the use of coal in coming years as it caters to its energy security... Chinese President Xi Jinping has told representatives from its biggest coal-producing region, Inner Mongolia, that China "could not part from reality" and that it is "rich in coal, poor in oil and short of gas... The energy transition is a long process and China cannot just "slam the brakes" on coal. ... China said it would help run its coal-fired power plants at full capacity in a bid to ensure energy...

A study commissioned by the National Black Chamber of Commerce, which represents 2.1 million black-owned businesses in the United States, found that the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan would increase black poverty by 23 percent and cause the loss of 7 million jobs for black Americans by 2035. The study also found that the EPA' plan would increase Hispanic poverty by 26 percent and cause the loss of 12 million jobs for Hispanic Americans by 2035. The EPA proposed the Clean Power Plan on June 2, 2014 to cut carbon emissions from power plants. ... There was a...

Conservation: The Chevy Volt is said to be able to get 230 miles per gallon. That's if it's continually plugged into a fragile and overburdened power grid. Where will you be when the lights go out? Since most U.S. electricity generation is not carbon-free, the Congressional Research Service agrees. The "widespread adoption of plug-in hybrid vehicles through 2030 may have only a small effect on, and might actually increase, carbon emissions," it observes. "If you are using coal-fired power plants and half the country's electricity comes from coal powered plants, are you just trading one greenhouse gas emitter for another?"...

Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm "exceeded her legal authority" when she directed the state Department of Environmental Quality to impose new legal requirements on future coal-fired plants, Attorney General Mike Cox has determined. State Rep. Kenneth B. Horn, a Frankenmuth Republican, was one of two lawmakers who had asked Cox to issue an opinion on the governor's directive that she announced in her State of the State address this month. In her announcement, the Democratic governor called for the DEQ to review the need for new coal-fired plants and to explore alternatives before issuing air quality permits. She said the state...

WASHINGTON – One of the world's top scientists on global warming called for the United States to stop building coal-fired power plants and eventually bulldoze older generators that don't capture and bury greenhouse gases. But 159 coal-fired power plants are scheduled to be built in the next decade or so, generating enough power for about 96 million homes, according to a study last month by the U.S. Department of Energy. Burning coal is one of the major sources of carbon dioxide, the chief greenhouse gas causing global warming. In prepared remarks to be delivered at the National Press Club Monday...

Several Southern California cities have abandoned plans to renew long-term contracts for coal-fired electricity, gambling on the availability of adequate alternative energy from cleaner sources. Local officials told Utah-based Intermountain Power Agency on Monday they wouldn't be renewing their contracts for cheap, coal-fired power, which expire in 2027, and would instead be looking for available alternatives, from wind farms to desert solar power. "It's a huge change," said Mayor Todd Campbell of Burbank, which is one of the cities that decided to not renew its contract. The others are Pasadena, Glendale, Riverside and Anaheim. They join the Los Angeles Department...