From Healthy CT Alliance:
The Healthy CT Alliance issued the following statement today upon the release of an independent report concluding that profits from the last coal-fired power plant in Connecticut have plummeted and are unlikely to recover. The report, titled “When, Not If: Bridgeport’s Future and the Closing of PSEG’s Coal Plant,” was issued this morning by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis in Cleveland, OH. It found that PSEG’s Bridgeport Harbor Unit 3 is economically unsustainable and recommends that the plant’s owners and the City of Bridgeport plan for the closure of the plant within the decade.
“This report confirms what we’ve known all along: that the era of getting our energy from dirty coal is over, and it’s time to plan for Bridgeport’s future,” said Elaine Thompson-Ward on behalf of the alliance. “Bridgeport Harbor Station isn’t profitable anymore, and it’s on its way out. It’s up to us, the plant’s neighbors, and our local leaders to make sure there’s a plan in place for what happens after the plant retires. This is an incredible opportunity for a forward-thinking vision for a Bridgeport with clean air and a stronger, 21st-century economy.”
IEEFA’s report and a PowerPoint presentation on its key points may be viewed at www.ieefa.org/report-when-not-if-bridgeports-future-and-the-closing-of-psegs-coal-plant/
Healthy Connecticut Alliance is a group of concerned Bridgeport and Connecticut residents who are calling for PSEG to retire the Harbor Station plant. We envision a healthy and sustainable future for Bridgeport communities, a future that is “beyond coal.”
Why don’t these people go away!!!
This report is a little flaky. It would appear by the name ‘The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis’ is some kind of financial group but they are really an environmentalist group. From their web site, they have never found a coal plant or coal mine to be financially sound. Apparently, there is nothing profitable about coal. It would make one wonder why we continue to mine and use so much of it. Unless their opinions are tainted by some other influence than profitability. This is odd because coal is the cheapest and most plentiful fuel we have. They also say ‘there is no credible reason to expect that these pre-tax earnings will again reach the high levels achieved in 2007 and 2008.’ Then they explain the need for electricity dropped because of a drop in industry in CT. Now, we do not need the electricity because we have no industry. If we do not expect earnings to ever return to 2008 levels that would imply these people never expect industry to return. The article explains the main reason for the drop in profits is the drop in production. (duh!) You make less electricity, you make less money. They do a lot of comparison between the coal plant and gas plants. Gas is cheaper than oil but more than coal. Gas prices spiked in 2008 (when we were using gas to fuel industry) and have since returned to ‘normal’ due to a drop in demand. Oil prices have continued to rise and coal has stayed relatively stable.
*** Sign of the times and the time to go is here! ***