LA to Eliminate Power from Coal By 2020

Mayor Antonio Villariagrosa announced in his second inaugural address that Los Angeles would stop the use of electricity derived from polluting coal plants by 2020.

It's an ambitious target, since LA currently gets about 40% of its diet of electricity from coal, mostly from two coal-fired plants in Utah. And the Mayor did not lay out any details of the plan during his speech, or in an accompanying press release.

Plans to wean the city off of coal have been in the works for years, however. Just days before the Mayor's address, Intermountain Power Agency, which runs the two coal plants in the Great Basin region of Western Utah, decided not to build a third coal plant, largely because of stricter environmental concerns in LA.

Ultimately, it will be up to the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power to determine how to replace all that missing power -- over 2800 megawatts. Solar power appears to be a prime contender, but it's unclear if the industry can ramp up production of new plants that quickly.

Submitted by Ben Upham

Attend BREATHE LA GREEN SALON on Coal / Clean Coal Aust 20, 2009