Tagged: Coal

Kentucky Utilities will spend $57 million to install updated pollution control equipment and pay civil penalties under the terms of a proposed consent decree.

The money will go to installing a sulfuric acid mist emission control system at the company’s Ghent power plant, replace a coal-fired boiler and pay $300,000 in fines to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Hopkins County officials are bracing for a drop in coal severance tax funds following a slowdown in coal production over the next 18 months.

State officials are reporting a 26 percent drop in coal severance for the 2012-13 fiscal year, which began July 1. That could leave Hopkins County with $1 million less than the $4.05 million officials projected from 2012-2014.

The Tennessee Valley Authority's reliance on coal has dropped and the use of natural gas as fuel to generate electricity has increased. The Commercial Appeal reports TVA's use of gas climbed 70 percent in the fiscal year ended September 30. At the same time, coal-fired generation declined 30 percent from fiscal year 2011.