The days of burning coal without massive expansive as in $100 million per plant or more in emissions control are over in the USA. It is almost assured that this plant lacked the triple layers of scrubbers. Even with scrubbers the emissions are not zero where as natural gas emits ZERO lead,Mercury,or particulates. Natgas does have some NOx from high temp combustion the levels are so low they meet EPA limits via specially designed combustion chambers or SCR is used down stream of the turbines. Natural gas has zero sulfur dioxide when burning sweet gas which all pipeline grade gas must be by law. Only gas plants burning flare gas or Y gas before the midstream plant will have any sulfur in it and Only if the gas source it self was sour.
Coal is a dead end technology best left in the dust bin of the 19th and 20th century. The simple fact is that even with millions in scrubbers coal will never be as clean as natural gas and gas will never meet nuclear power level of air cleanliness.
The costs to meet the emissions for coal to just barely pass the limits is exuberant and natural gas will meet and exceed those limits as will Nuclear without hundreds of millions in extra scrubbers. The days of burning coal at atmospheric pressure and letting the stack gasses go unfiltered into the air are over forever accept it and move into the 21th century.
As always peer reviewed science.
https://www.epa.gov/mats/cleaner-power-plants
Coal can be zero emissions oxy fired combustion can meet or beat the EPA regs for not only coal but natgas as well.
Shirley ain’t no Jester.
Coal is a God given resource for the benefit of mankind. It serves no purpose sitting in the ground while the criminally insane revel in that position.
You are making my case with comments such as this: Coal is a dead end technology best left in the dust bin of the 19th and 20th century.
Sure allow insane environmentalists to control your life and a few billion other lives that matter.
Overnight were gonna change the world. A concept I vigorously disagree with. Coal vs natural gas is a concept that overtime has been proven to be financially dangerous due to the volatility of the price of gas, and that is just one variable. Gas requires pipelines, and they just aren’t all sized properly, our enough of them. Transitions take time and time is not a consideration for the insane.
As you have clearly stated in the EPA link, the EPA has bought into the ever shrinking timeline for the destruction of life as we have known it. They are not the friend of the average American that desires to live in a world of seventy degree temperatures indoors when the OAT is minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit or worse.
I suppose if we all start digging tomorrow, we could have our 55 degree underground house built by this winter. Coupled with south facing windows, and a good concrete solar collecting wall, we might on a good day get that 55 degrees up to a livable 70 during daylight.
I agree that nuclear technology is an option that is at the moment lagging severely behind, while the Navy is running Subs and small city sized Carriers on nothing but. In that regard, good luck convincing the populace much less the vaunted EEEEE PEEEEE AYYYYY.
Oh, and compared to coal there is no comparison. Just saw another article by the insane, attempting to make the case how much cheaper renewables are to other forms of energy production. As if cheap is the answer to everything. I’LL be giving due consideration to cheap when I’m freezing.
Wait just a moment I won’t be freezing, the house may be, but I will have two layers of long johns and a parka on so I’ll be ok until night when I have to sleep in the down bag with the same amount of clothing on. Not to mention when it’s time to take a nice hot shower or wash the heavy clothing necessary to sustain life in northern climes. I’m thinking the thinking required to believe the insanity is not called thinking.
...and then there is this: while coal has often been denounced as a notorious fossil fuel, a producer of climate-warming carbon emissions, Consol is viewing the resource as an ally that could be used at a plant that would result in zero carbon emissions – even negative emissions. In my opinion climate warming carbon emissions are the God given results of science built on a foundation of truth. Not the insane thinking of the moron class.