EPA wants data on coal ash storage sites
One of the plants is owned by Columbia-based South Carolina Electric & Gas Co.; four belong to state-operated Santee Cooper; and Duke Energy and Progress Energy own the other two.
Details about the sites, results of inspections and histories of any spills or leakage have to be furnished by the utilities to the Environmental Protection Agency.
The request follows the failure in December of a dike at a Tennessee power plant that released tons of toxic coal ash, which ruined area residences and killed millions of fish.
Chances of such a catastrophe are remote, said Laura Varn of Santee Cooper.
“The walls are built with sound science, and we perform routine dike inspections and employ solid maintenance practices throughout the year,” Varn said.
About 61 percent of electric power consumed by S.C. homes, businesses and industries is generated by coal-fired generating plants.
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UK low-carbon electricity generation stalls in 2019
LONDON - The amount of electricity generated by low-carbon sources in the UK stalled in 2019, Carbon Brief analysis shows.
Low-carbon electricity output from wind, solar, nuclear, hydro and biomass rose by just 1 terawatt hour (TWh, less than 1%) in 2019. It represents the smallest annual increase in a decade, where annual growth averaged 9TWh. This growth will need to double in the 2020s to meet UK climate targets while replacing old nuclear plants as they retire.
Some 54% of UK electricity generation in 2019 came from low-carbon sources, including 37% from renewables and 20% from wind alone. A record-low 43%…
