Transition from Dirty Coal to Clean Energy Accelerates in the West

In Nevada, Sithe’s (power plant developer) parent company, the Blackstone Group, officially announced on a conference call this afternoon that it was dropping the proposed 750-megawatt coal Toquop Energy Project. Joining Blackstone’s Tony James was Senator Harry Reid and Mesquite Mayor Susan Holecheck. The company said that it is instead pursuing a 700-MW natural gas plant with a 100-MW photovoltaic solar plant. See the attachment for more details.

In Colorado, Gov. Bill Ritter has proposed legislation, the Colorado Clean Air-Clean Jobs Act, that will close two coal plants totaling 900MW in Colorado by 2017. See the link for details.

Colorado has also increased its Renewable Portfolio Standard to 30% by 2020. This means that 30% of the energy required for electricity in Colorado will be from clean renewable sources by 2020. The previous law was 20% in 2020.

http://climateprogress.org/2010/03/22/colorado-xcel-coal-plant-natural-g...