Michigan co-op would build first coal-fired power plant permitted under federal climate regulations

The state of Michigan has approved the first permit for a coal-fired power plant under the new federal regulations requiring the best available control technology for new industrial sources of air pollution. Five percent of the plant's fuel will be woody biomass, "which state officials decided would cut the plant's carbon-dioxide emissions," reports Gabriel Nelson of Environment & Energy News. "Fallen trees and other dead plants release the gas anyway if they are left to decompose." The state concluded that carbon-capture and storage technology "was not available or affordable."

The plant would use fluidized-bed technology and be built at Rogers City on Lake Huron by Wolverine Power Supply Cooperative, a group of four rural electric distribution co-ops (co-op map). A Wolverine spokesman said "It will need to take a more thorough look at the permit requirements and the company's finances before it decides whether to build the plan," Nelson writes. "Because the Wolverine permit could set a precedent, it will likely be challenged in court by environmental groups that are trying to block new coal plants from being built." (Read more, subscription required)