WNEM TV 5 Consumers Energy drops plans for Bay Co. plant

Consumers Energy drops plans for Bay Co. plant

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) -- Consumers Energy is dropping plansto build a coal-fired power plant near Bay City. The utility said Friday it's canceling the project because ofdeclining demand for electricity due to the weak economy andsurplus generating capacity in the Midwest.

Another factor is lowprices for another fuel, natural gas. Consumers announced the 830-megawatt coal plant at itsKarn-Weadock complex on Saginaw Bay in 2007. But the utility saidlast year it was putting the project on hold. Now, Consumers isabandoning it for good.   The utility says it will spend $1.6 billion on air-qualityimprovements at its five primary coal-fired units and expects tophase out seven smaller coal-fired generators over the next severalyears.  

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