Plans for 150 coal plants scrapped: Sierra Club

Purdue University's decision to cancel plans for a new coal-fired plant at its Indiana campus brings the total number of abandoned plants to 150 since 2001, the environmental group Sierra Club said on Friday.

Purdue said in a release on Friday that its Board of Trustees halted plans to install the new coal-fired boiler and will ask state regulators to allow the university to install a natural gas boiler instead.

Purdue said it dropped plans to build the coal plant after gas prices fell and the likelihood of future environmental regulations with respect to coal.

The Sierra Club, which wants to see all coal plants shut, said the industry has not started construction on any new coal plants over the past two years and has announced the phase out of more than 50 plants over the next several years.

In 2001, the Sierra Club said more than 150 coal plants were slated for construction. Now, only about 41 coal projects are in active development or construction, according to the Sierra Club's coal tracker

Source:
Reuters, "Plans for 150 coal plants scrapped: Sierra Club", accessed February 6, 2011