Another Blow For Old King Coal

The Coal Plant in Marshalltown is dead. Despite a massive effort to "git 'r done"--the Alliant Energy plant planned for Marshalltown has been called off. According to Alliant Energy:

The decision to cancel the project is based on a combination of factors including the current economic and financial climate, increasing environmental, legislative and regulatory uncertainty regarding regulation of future greenhouse gas emissions and the terms placed on the proposed power plant by regulators.

“Our company and our partners appreciate the tremendous support demonstrated for this project by our labor partners, industry, agriculture and business leaders, the community of Marshalltown and economic development organizations across the state," says Tom Aller, president-IPL. “While our company is disappointed in this missed opportunity to further Iowa’s efforts to grow its economy and position our state as a leader in renewable energy, we will continue to focus our efforts on expanding our renewable energy resources and energy efficiency initiatives and reducing our environmental impact.

Concerted effort by environmental activists to prevent the plant from being permitted and built was largely responsible for slowing the project. "Given the fact that clean coal is still a theory and that federal legislation to limit global warming pollution from power plants is inevitable, the smart money is now on clean, renewable energy," said Marian Riggs Gelb, executive director for the Iowa Environmental Council.

In an article in the Des Moines Register, Senate majority leader Mike Gronstal says:

“Warren Buffett says Iowa has the most progressive policy in the country as it related to energy production. We've done that with both base-load capacity for coal-fired plants. We've done it with natural gas plants and we have become a world leader in wind energy. And we’ve done that all by working with those folks."

“I want to keep Iowa a world leader particularly in the area of wind energy and other renewable sources of energy,” Gronstal said. “We’re going to have discussions with those folks. They’ve made their decision and we’ll consult with them. We’ll hear they’re concerns, we’ll decide if we’re going to act.”