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"The decline of coal plants has continued under President Trump."
David Fahrenthold Retweeted‘That’s what happens when a big plant shuts down in a small town.’ The decline of coal plants has continued under President Trump. That means an ongoing shift toward cleaner energy, but also rough times for places like Adams County, Ohio. w/@StevenMufson
Link to tweet
Health & Science
‘That’s what happens when a big plant shuts down in a small town.’
By Brady Dennis, Reporter focusing on environmental policy and public health issues, and Steven Mufson
March 28 at 12:52 PM
ADAMS COUNTY, Ohio — The barges floating down the Ohio River no longer deliver coal to the two power plants that have stood here for decades, twin sentinels looming over this rural county east of Cincinnati.
The boilers have sat idle since May, when both the J.M. Stuart and Killen power plants closed on the same day. They once provided about 700 jobs but now are among the latest casualties of a declining industry that has seen nearly half of the nation’s coal-fired plants close over the past decade.
The vanishing of coal plants from the American landscape began years ago, but it has persisted under President Trump, who came into office promising to revitalize the coal industry. He has rolled back environmental regulations meant to curb pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, installed a former coal lobbyist as head of the Environmental Protection Agency and tweeted in favor of keeping certain units operating. And yet, utilities have continued to shut down plants.
The main reason? Coal can’t compete against cheaper, cleaner alternatives, such as natural gas and solar and wind energy. ... More coal plant capacity disappeared during Trump’s first two years in office than during President Barack Obama’s entire first term, and the closures are set to continue in 2019 and beyond.
....
Stuart and Killen were among the 19 coal-fired plants to shut down across the country during 2018 — one of the largest waves of U.S. coal plant retirements ever in a single year. Stuart, which once had a staggering capacity of 2,318 megawatts, remains the largest U.S. coal plant ever to close its doors.
....
....
Brady Dennis is a national reporter for The Washington Post, focusing on the environment and public health issues. He previously spent years covering the nation’s economy. Dennis was a finalist for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for a series of explanatory stories about the global financial crisis. Follow https://twitter.com/brady_dennis
Steven Mufson covers the business of climate change. Since joining The Washington Post in 1989, he has covered economic policy, China, diplomacy, energy and the White House. Earlier he worked for The Wall Street Journal in New York, London and Johannesburg. Follow https://twitter.com/StevenMufson
‘That’s what happens when a big plant shuts down in a small town.’
By Brady Dennis, Reporter focusing on environmental policy and public health issues, and Steven Mufson
March 28 at 12:52 PM
ADAMS COUNTY, Ohio — The barges floating down the Ohio River no longer deliver coal to the two power plants that have stood here for decades, twin sentinels looming over this rural county east of Cincinnati.
The boilers have sat idle since May, when both the J.M. Stuart and Killen power plants closed on the same day. They once provided about 700 jobs but now are among the latest casualties of a declining industry that has seen nearly half of the nation’s coal-fired plants close over the past decade.
The vanishing of coal plants from the American landscape began years ago, but it has persisted under President Trump, who came into office promising to revitalize the coal industry. He has rolled back environmental regulations meant to curb pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, installed a former coal lobbyist as head of the Environmental Protection Agency and tweeted in favor of keeping certain units operating. And yet, utilities have continued to shut down plants.
The main reason? Coal can’t compete against cheaper, cleaner alternatives, such as natural gas and solar and wind energy. ... More coal plant capacity disappeared during Trump’s first two years in office than during President Barack Obama’s entire first term, and the closures are set to continue in 2019 and beyond.
....
Stuart and Killen were among the 19 coal-fired plants to shut down across the country during 2018 — one of the largest waves of U.S. coal plant retirements ever in a single year. Stuart, which once had a staggering capacity of 2,318 megawatts, remains the largest U.S. coal plant ever to close its doors.
....
....
Brady Dennis is a national reporter for The Washington Post, focusing on the environment and public health issues. He previously spent years covering the nation’s economy. Dennis was a finalist for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for a series of explanatory stories about the global financial crisis. Follow https://twitter.com/brady_dennis
Steven Mufson covers the business of climate change. Since joining The Washington Post in 1989, he has covered economic policy, China, diplomacy, energy and the White House. Earlier he worked for The Wall Street Journal in New York, London and Johannesburg. Follow https://twitter.com/StevenMufson
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