Florida Blasts Away Old Power Plant to Make Way for New

Photograph by Lauralea Lasher, Your Shot

Port Everglades is just the latest fossil fuel relic to be torn down in a drive that is gaining momentum. Across the United States, utilities are shutting down and sometimes demolishing aging power-generating facilities, most of which burn coal. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, from 2012 to 2016, utilities expect to retire 175 plants that currently are capable of producing a combined 27 gigawatts of electricity. That amounts to 8.5 percent of the nation's total coal-fired capacity in 2011. (See related story: "As U.S. Cleans Its Energy Mix, It Ships Its Coal Problems Abroad.")

[Read entire article]