A short diary with some big news. Below is a list of all the new construction in the USA for coal fired power plants of any kind. This list is from the Energy Information Administration from the end of 2018.
Yes, there are only two power plants under construction and zero additions to existing power plants.
University of Alaska, 17 MW
The first on the list is at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, and that project has been completed, although almost two years behind schedule, it seems to be working well. There is a coal mine nearby (no reasonable access to natural gas) and since Fairbanks is very far north solar and wind would be a huge challenge so this is one of the few places where coal makes sense as a fuel. The plant is only 17MW, which is tiny compared to most in the lower 48, so it is not worth much concern over pollution. Here are some articles for more information.
https://www.uaf.edu/heatandpower/background.php
https://www.akbizmag.com/monitor/ua-coal-fired-power-plant-wins-power-magazine-top-plant-award/
https://www.powermag.com/a-powerful-investment-in-education-and-the-community/
https://www.adn.com/business-economy/energy/2017/09/04/theres-only-one-coal-plant-being-built-in-the-nation-and-its-at-uaf/
Plant Washington, 850 MW
The second plant in Georgia has been hanging in limbo for several years until April, 2020 when it was finally cancelled. Since the first proposal in 2008 the investors have disappeared, permits expired, and the business entity, Power4Georgians LLC, has dissolved — but someone tried for one more permit extension and was denied. There was never any real construction activity so nothing is left to clean up. Oh and the chief promoter of this 3 billion dollar waste has been charged with racketeering in unrelated activity.
Since 2010, more than 170 proposed coal-fired power plants have been cancelled across the country amid changing economics and increasing recognition of the social costs of carbon emissions. Plant Washington was the last of these plants standing, however feebly. Its final demise closes the book on a planned boom in coal plant construction that would have locked Georgia into decades of increased carbon emissions.
www.southernenvironment.org/...
The would-be builder of the last coal-fired power plant in the U.S. just lost its state permit to build a proposed Sandersville facility.
The Georgia permit revocation is a formal obituary for an idea that never got much further than planning, a sign on a part-graded site and talk.
saportareport.com/...
The Cause of Coal’s Demise
Here is a much more detailed article about the death of coal power and some political attempts at life support through subsidies.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/will-the-u-s-ever-build-another-big-coal-plant/
One thing to remember is that the coal supporters will always imply that government environmental regulations are the main force killing coal. This is a horrible distortion since the low cost of natural gas would kill coal even without any pollution regulations. This is not the first time that coal has been dumped for another fuel source. Buildings, trains, ships and others all once burned coal but switched as soon as something better came along. Coal is a dirty, nasty fuel and anyone who romanticizes it has never had to deal with it.
There really hasn’t been any construction proposals for the last five years, other than these two projects, so coal fired power plant construction is dead in the USA. Here’s to a brighter, cleaner future.