US coal power plants scuttled, Sierra Club cheers

By Bernie Woodall

LOS ANGELES, May 1 (Reuters) - Cancellation of a coal-fired power plant in Michigan announced on Friday brings to 97 the number of plants scuttled since 2001, said the Sierra Club, an environmental group that opposes coal plants because they are major emitters of gasses blamed for global warming.

Plans remain active for only 59 of the 220 coal coal-fired plants planned and in various stages of permitting since 2001, said Bruce Nilles, head of the Sierra Club's campaign to eliminate coal-fired power plants in the United States.

In 2008, 24 coal projects were canceled, according to Sierra Club's count. This year, nine plants have been dropped.

The rest are "on ice" and will likely never be built, Nilles said.

The Sierra Club wants existing coal-fired power plants to be replaced by cleaner power, but the U.S. Department of Energy's statistical arm expects coal to provide the largest share U.S. electric generation for years.

Coal is expected to fuel 47 percent of generation in 2030, down just 2 percentage points from 49 percent in 2007, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its 2009 Annual Energy Outlook. Overall, electricity from coal-fired plants in 2030 would be 19 percent higher than in 2007.

New coal-fired capacity will be limited by concerns about greenhouse gas emissions and the potential for mandated limits, but EIA noted that existing plants will keep operating.

Other factors besides environmental worries are working against coal plants: higher construction costs and lower prices for natural gas, a cleaner alternative for generation.