The Toll Beyond Coal: Who Bears the Cost of Coal Plant Decommissioning and Coal Ash Disposal? A Case Study of the Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska
Laramie River Station, one of MEAN’s seven coal assets, Source: Casper Star-Tribune
a report completed by sdsg in 2020
The report can be found here
The Press Release can be found Here
A Slide Deck for the 09/24/20 webinar can be found here
The Toll Beyond Coal: Who Bears the Cost of Coal Plant Decommissioning and Coal Ash Disposal? A Case Study of the Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska
Because MEAN works with 14 communities throughout Colorado, the information within SDSG’s previous and current study are relevant and ongoing for many Colorado energy customers. The previous MEAN study, in two volumes addressed: first, limitations to renewable energy under the municipal utilities’ contracts and policies; and second, seven community profiles which underline the complexity of the MEAN system and its customers. That initial study of MEAN led to more questions about how this energy agency based in Nebraska affects the energy future of Colorado. SDSG’s most recent study, “Toll Beyond Coal,” investigates how MEAN may be responsible for the decommissioning costs of its coal assets and how planning for those costs could affect Colorado customers.
U.S. coal plants are experiencing record closures, so the logical question is when, not if, the coal assets under MEAN will close and how the agency plans to afford their portion of the closure costs. This study begins by looking at how environmental, fiscal, and regulatory changes have expedited coal plant closures. Although there are many economic and regulatory factors driving the decline of coal’s cost competitiveness, this study highlights the effects of the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2015 coal combustion residuals rule. This rule addresses the safe disposal of the waste from burning coal, coal ash. Since the regulations for the disposal of coal ash were initially less stringent, the retrofits necessary to comply with updated environmental standards considerably increase the costs of decommissioning coal plants.
How will MEAN pay the costs of decommissioning and how will it affect Colorado communities served by the energy agency?
