"The Tennessee Valley Authority, one of the nation’s five biggest users of coal for electricity generation, said Thursday it would close down eight coal-fired power units with 3,300 megawatts of capacity."
"The decision was prompted by a combination of environmental requirements, the age of the plants, competition from natural gas and declining electricity consumption in the TVA’s service area.
TVA executives said at an open meeting of the agency’s board of directors in Oxford, Miss., that they aim to reduce coal to 20 percent of total generating capacity, about half of what it was in 2010.
The plant closures include two coal-fired units in Kentucky, despite an appeal from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who tried to persuade TVA President Bill Johnson to leave them open. McConnell and most of the Kentucky congressional delegation wrote to Johnson warning that the closure would lead to job losses."
Steven Mufson reports for the Washington Post November 14, 2013.
SEE ALSO:
"A Push Away From Burning Coal as an Energy Source" (New York Times)
"TVA To Shut Down Coal Units At Widows Creek, Colbert, Paradise" (Chattanooga Times Free Press)
"Coal-Friendly Lawmakers Move To Shield Industry From EPA Rules" (McClatchy)
"Country’s Largest Public Power Provider Takes Next Major Step to Move Beyond Coal" (Grist)
"TVA Closing 8 Coal Units at Plants in Ala. and Ky." (AP)
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