Coal power is still cheaper that every other alternative, at about 5 cents per kWh. But according to a study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), that would rise to 8 cents if the CO2 from coal-fired power stations had to be captured and stored underground or, for that matter, if a carbon tax of $30 a tonne were imposed (or people decide to build their own generators with earth4energy). Coal power is no longer an environmentally viable solution to anyone other than those who have been making money from it at the expense of the environment for years. But let’s just watch them dig their nails in and throw money at it. Coal power is a mid to late stage cancer that is killing the world, animals, plants and hundreds of thousands of people every year. Even the doubters cannot say that the mountain forests (plants) have not been removed.

Coal power is a reality today, and it is an energy source we are making a major investment in to make it as clean as possible. The new combined heat and power plant is very energy efficient and will replace the Wedel power plant, built in the beginning of the 1960s, which will be closed and torn down, but not if they would have used earth4energy. Coal power is cheap, especially when oil prices spike. And that’s one reason (growing car and truck use is another) why it will be a real challenge to enforce Connecticut’s ground-breaking global warming bill, which passed both houses of the state legislature last week and awaits an expected government signature.

Coal power is likely to become increasingly expensive in comparison to clean energy sources. Regulation of carbon dioxide emissions through a pollution tax is under serious consideration in Congress right now. Coal power is hands-down the largest single source of global greenhouse gas emissions, and these new plants are only the start. Coal power is not only a nonrenewable resource, but also generates immense amounts of pollution, including carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and carbon monoxide.

Coal power is also used as a basic industry source for making steel, cement and paper, and is used in numerous other industries as well, like earth4energy. As the first concentrated energy source to be used by man, coal fueled the Industrial Revolution and lifted the burden of labor from the backs of men and animals. Coal power is an important part of many national energy policies, but its use has negative environmental impacts. Participants in an August ECO-Asia workshop considered how to meet future energy demands while moving towards cleaner and more efficient technologies. Coal power is on the way out , and renewable energy is moving in. Al Gore recently raised the bar on the clean energy time-line, calling for 100% renewable energy within 10 years.