[dennisw]

I started up quite a few small coal-fired industrial power plants that generated tens of megawatts plus industrial process steam. They would fit right in next door to the truck stops. They could even pipe the waste heat from the condenser to the truck cabs to keep the drivers warm during those long recharges.

I figure coal emissions can be scrubbed very, very clean these days. Much cleaner than 30 years ago. Is this true? (not talking about CO2 here)

[ProtectOurFreedom]

The primary nitrogen, sulfur, airborne particulate, and fly ash (solid waste) pollutants were all well controlled 30-40 years ago. Small improvements were made afterward, but it was a declining benefit at at ever increasing high cost (”diminishing returns”).

So, always needing something to meddle in, the EPA turned its attention to mercury emissions from coal plants and that’s been a sticking point for 30 years. It is very hard and expensive to capture mercury emissions. Imminent mercury regulations have been on the table a long time and that threat has accelerated the shutdown of older plants (along with poor efficiency of old plants).

For a long time, natural gas / combined cycle plants with efficiencies in the 60% range were the solution — no emissions except CO2 and water vapor plus very high efficiency.

But we all know the greeniacs have turned their attention to CO2 and started calling it a “pollutant.” It’s the old Hitler/Goebbels playbook — tell the big lie long enough, hard enough, and frequently enough and people believe it.