Texas coal plant announces plans to shut down
By Miranda Green - 09/25/18 04:16 PM EDT A northern Texas coal fired plant is adding itself to a growing list of coal refineries shutting their doors.
Officials announced Tuesday that the Oklaunion plant based in Vernon, Texas, will retire in 2020, citing a failure to compete in the energy market, the Houston Chronicle reports.
The owners voted to close the plant after coming to terms with the fact that the 700-megawatt coal plant was not competitive in the state’s energy market run by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, American Electric Power Texas spokesman Greg Blair told the Chronicle.
“The owners voted to close the plant between April and Oct. of 2020. There's a lot more approvals that need to be gotten before that happens, but really the plant was no longer competitive in the ERCOT market," he said.
The plant is at least the fifth one in Texas to close, or to announce plans to close, this year. It joins a number of other coal plants nationwide that are shuttering following a struggle to maintain a profit.
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https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/408369-texas-based-coal-fired-plant-announces-retirement