Posted inEnergy, News, Politics and Government

Judge revives Obama-era ban on coal sales from U.S. lands

By Matthew Brown, The Associated Press BILLINGS, Mont. — A federal judge on Friday reinstated a moratorium on coal leasing from federal lands that was imposed under former President Barack Obama and then scuttled under former President Donald Trump, in an order that marked a major setback to the already struggling coal industry. The ruling from U.S. […]

Posted inEnergy, News

Judge revives Obama-era ban on coal sales from federal lands

By Matthew Brown, The Associated Press BILLINGS, Mont. — A federal judge on Friday reinstated a moratorium on coal leasing from federal lands that was imposed under former President Barack Obama and then scuttled under former President Donald Trump. The ruling from U.S. District Judge Brian Morris requires government officials to conduct a new environmental review before […]

Posted inBusiness, Climate, Energy, Environment, News, Politics and Government

Craig, one of Colorado’s last coal towns, grapples with its future as its power plant and mine shut down

By Patty Nieberg, The Associated Press CRAIG — In a quiet valley tucked away from Colorado’s bustling ski resorts, far from his hometown in northern Mexico, Trinidad Loya found a way to support his family’s American dream: Coal. He, his son and grandson — all named Trinidad Loya — worked for the coal plant in […]

Posted inEnergy, Environment, News

Xcel promises to speed closure of coal-fired Comanche 3 electric plant. Environmental groups are unsatisfied.

Xcel Energy has agreed to accelerate the closure of its coal-fired Comanche 3 power plant by five years to 2035 as part of a settlement, supported by state, local and union officials, but opposed by environmental groups.  Comanche 3 in Pueblo, one of the largest remaining coal-fired power plants in the West, has been a […]

Posted inClimate, Energy, Environment, News

Colorado activists want gas-fired electrical plants to stop spewing pollution over Denver

Switching to natural gas from coal cut pollution at the Arapahoe and Cherokee electric generating stations nearly in half, but activists are now pushing for their early closure to speed the climate change battle and promote environmental justice.  The Sierra Club issued a report Tuesday in partnership with community groups asking why the massive smokestacks […]

Posted inBusiness, Climate, Energy, Environment, News

An obituary for coal at the Martin Drake Power Plant in Colorado Springs, by the numbers

COLORADO SPRINGS — After 95 years of pumping electricity and belching smoke across downtown Colorado Springs, the Martin Drake Power Plant stopped burning coal Saturday. Long targeted by angry neighbors and local and national environmental groups decrying the intense air pollution, Drake was one of the few downtown coal plants remaining in any large American […]