Report Says WInd Power Competitive with Coal

According to a new report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, wind energy has become cost-competitive with coal in some regions due largely to falling prices. According to Bloomberg, the cost per megawatt for turbines was about $1.33 million last year, which is 19 percent less than in 2007. The report says that in parts of the United States, Brazil, Mexico, Sweden, the overall cost of wind power is now $68/MWh, while coal power costs $67/MWh. Cheaper still is natural gas at $56/MWh.

http://www.grist.org/article/2011-02-07-report-wind-power-now-competitive-with-coal-in-some-regions

Minnesota Mulls Changes to Coal Law

The Minnesota House energy and natural resources committee on Tuesday approved on an 11-6 vote a bill presented by Rep. Michael Beard to modify recent changes in the state's air laws relating to coal-fired electricity. The bill would allow out-of-state electricity produced with coal to come into the state unrestricted and make it possible for new coal-fired plants to be built in Minnesota. The bill, and a similar one in the Senate, must be considered by other committees before reaching the House and Senate for votes.

The law has implcations for North Dakota's coal industry. Under the current law passed during the previous legislative session, Minnesota utilities would be required beginning in 2012 to assume costs of between $9 and $34 for each ton of carbon dioxide emitted by plants producing importing power, including those in North Dakota. Opponents of the law say this would place coal-generated power at a competitive disadvantage to renewable energy sources such as wind and solar and would drive up the cost of electricity. The North Dakota attorney general's office has announced that it is considering a lawsuit against Minnesota over the coal laws, arguing that they violate interstate commerce laws.

http://www.swcbulletin.com/event/article/id/17470/

DOE Publishes CO2 Storage Manual

Washington, DC The most promising methods for assessing potential carbon dioxide (CO₂) geologic storage sites – a crucial component of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology – is the focus of the latest in a series of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) CCS "best practices" manuals. Read more...

DOE Demonstrates Clean Coal Technology

Washington, DC -- A novel technology that could help release some of the currently unusable energy in an estimated 2 billion tons of U.S. coal waste has been successfully demonstrated by a Department of Energy (DOE) supported project. Read more...

Spiritwood Start-Up Date Announced

A $350 million lignite-fired power plant near Jamestown, North Dakota will go online on Jan. 1, 2012, according to a news report today. The plant, known as the Spiritwood Station, is owned by Minnesota-based Great River Energy and originally was set to start up in 2010. The date was postponed due to a weak economy in Minnesota, where most of the electricity will be sold.  Spiritwood is Great River Energy's first baseload power plant built since 1981 and North Dakota's first coal-fired power plant in a quarter century.