A new report recently released by the American Public Power Association (APPA) documents that almost half of new power plants being built in the US are coal-fueled facilities. APPA’s third annual report tracking new power generation construction shows coal-based plants accounting for approximately 43% of new plants currently under construction. The coal-based plants will produce some 18,200 MW of energy out of a total of nearly 42,000 MW of new generation under construction.

Coal-based power plants rank first among new electricity generation plants under construction, with natural gas fired plants ranking second accounting for 40.8% of plants being built. For plants that have received permits, but have not begun construction, coal-based plants represent 22% of new generation, representing about 6,700 MW of new generation. Coal-fuelled plants rank third on the list of permitted plants, with natural gas plants totaling 47% of permitted construction and wind farms accounting for 25.6%.

A copy of the report is available at http://www.appanet.org/files/PDFs/Newplantsanalysis2009.pdf