I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
The developers of the Desert Rock power plant don’t have any plans at the moment to resubmit an application for an air quality permit from the EPA, says freelance reporter Laura Paskus in a piece for the High Country News. Instead, the company is examining its options in light of an energy landscape significantly changed from the early 2000’s when it began developing the project.
In 2003, when it was launched, coal’s star was rising: The Bush White House refused to acknowledge the existence of climate change, and regulatory agencies were generally more permissive.
Seven years later, though, Desert Rock looks all but dead. The economy is flailing, and investors worry how future climate change legislation will affect energy development. Meanwhile, electricity demand in the Southwest is declining, and with public utilities scrambling to keep up with statewide mandates to generate more power from renewable energy sources, nobody is currently seeking new sources of coal power.
The piece by Paskus gives some interesting tidbits. For instance, early on the company cited growing demand for electricity, but these days not one of six Southwestern public utilities listed in Desert Rock’s environmental impact statement are planning to add new power from coal.
Sithe Global just recently showed it is willing to shift gears, announcing plans to develop a natural-gas/solar power combo project in Nevada rather than a coal plant it had planned.
