There has been previous mention of the 154 coal plants on the drawing board in 42 states.
These behemoths are the old school kind of plants, destined to blanket the country with manmade CO2, a leading cause of global warming, and flood nearby water sources with unsafe mercury levels.
The environmental impact is bad enough, but an added scandal is emerging: corporate greed mixed with political dealmaking. A look at what's happening in one state suggests the broader issue.
The Governor of Texas, Rick Perry, went behind the back of his legislature while it wasn't in session. (It only meets for five months every two years.) He signed an executive order mandating a "fast-track" approval process for a dozen old-style coal plants on behalf of several Texas companies.
Now we find out that the company most coveting such quick action, TXU, has been working behind the scenes to sell itself for $45 billion dollars.
They obviously knew some time ago that a sale was in their future. Companies don't arrive at these decisions in haste.
In fact, it's apparently been their business model for the past few years. In 2002, they were struggling, so the board hired a new CEO. He cut losses in Europe and Australia, and jacked rates in their backyard of Texas. The stock went up, naturally.
These moves were made for one reason: to make the company more attractive to a buyer. Friends say that for the past six months, TXU has aggressively phoned and mailed customers to offer long term rates for the next two years.
There is nothing wrong with doing things to achieve the highest possible sales price for your business. After all, coal is the cheapest fossil fuel for producing electricity, and thus generates a higher shareholder return, and that's the game. The customers, however, are not a beneficiary, despite TXU making that bogus argument in its advertising.
According to the New York Times, "With its large, low-cost nuclear and coal-fired group of plants, it {TXU} has been able to raise electricity prices to match the rise in natural gas prices the last three years."
So it isn't about the lofty goals of giving people smaller utility bills, securing future energy needs, or protecting the environment. It's about showing some ankle to a potential suitor, a 19th Century notion that befits these proposed plants. And let's face it: $45 billion dollars suggests some serious ankle, indeed.
Seen in this light, TXU's approach is basic Business 101. Clearly, a major key to making their long-term "financials" attractive to a buyer entails getting the state of Texas to "lock in" the permitting of these plants under existing, less stringent rules before they're tightened by the feds in the post-Bush era.
Governor Perry's executive order did precisely that, although it's now in the midst of legal wrangling. Did he know TXU would be on the block for $45 billion and would stand to make a mint from his decision? Does he have stock in them?
How are other politicians around the country dealing with this? Remember: 154 coal plants are currently planned in 42 states. Utilities everywhere are engaged in this pursuit.
Wake up, before our children choke to death from old energy's last gasp: filthy coal.