Texas revisits coal generation
The $1 billion plant built by CPS Energy near San Antonio allegedly will create enough energy annually to power almost 200,000 homes, The San Antonio Express-News reported.
CPS followed other utilities around the country and stopped building coal plants in the early 1990s in favor of cheaper and cleaner-burning natural gas plants.
But when natural gas prices rose, utilities decided to reconsider coal, to the dismay of environmentalists and health advocates, the newspaper said.
Some San Antonio residents and environmentalists opposed CPS when it first sought a permit for the plant, but they ultimately came to an agreement with the utility over measures to mitigate pollution.
CPS says its environmental controls will drastically reduce emissions compared with older plants, the Express-News said.
The company claims scrubbers, selective catalytic reduction and a fabric filter dust collection system, known as a "bag house," will remove thousands of tons of polluting chemicals annually from the coal waste before it's released into the atmosphere.
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DALLAS - Nearly 3 million homes and businesses in Texas remain without power, some for a third consecutive day, as severe winter weather continues to pummel the state, forcing some localities to issue boil-water notices and urge residents to reduce their electricity usage.
Heavy snowfall, ice storms and bitter temperatures continue to put an enormous strain on the state's power grid. This as the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which manages roughly 75% of the Texas power grid, announced Wednesday morning that some 600,000 households had power restored overnight.
That still left another 2.7 million customers having to endure extreme cold…
