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SW: →Proposed coal plant closures: - add section
==Proposed coal plant closures==
===Ohio Power seeks 2010 retirement of Sporn Unit 5===
In October 2010, Ohio Power Co. filed an application with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio for the approval of a December 2010 closure of the coal-fired [[Philip Sporn Power Plant]] unit 5, Ohio Power parent American Electric Power said in a Nov. 1 Form 10-Q filing. Sporn has five coal units, with unit 5 having 450 MW of operating capacity and an in-service year of 1960. The plant's coal suppliers in 2010 included [[Keystone Development]], the [[Mammoth Coal]] unit of [[Massey Energy]], [[Mine Rite Coal]], and [[Newtown Energy]]. In September 2009, [[Appalachian Power]] filed an integrated resource plan (IRP) in Virginia that projected a 2010 shutdown for Sporn unit 5. The same IRP projected that Sporn units 1-4, with 580 MW of total capacity, would be retired in 2018.<ref name=bc>Barry Cassell, [http://www.pennenergy.com/index/articles/newsdisplay/1300993281.html "Ohio Power seeks Ohio approval for fast retirement of Sporn coal unit"] Penn Energy, Nov. 4, 2010.</ref>
As part of a 2007 [[New Source Review]] (NSR) consent decree, Sporn unit 5 is required to be retired, repowered or retrofitted by Dec. 31, 2013. AEP's plan to comply with the consent decree included retirement of Sporn unit 5 at the end of 2013. But based on present and projected economic conditions, Ohio Power said Sporn unit 5 is no longer economic to operate, with the unit forecast to produce negative operating income for the next two years, bringing the company to seek 2010 retirement.<ref name=bc/>
===June 2011: AEP to retire nearly 60,000MW===
On June 9, 2011, AEP announced that, based on impending EPA regulations as proposed, AEP’s compliance plan would retire nearly 6,000 megawatts (MW) of coal-fueled power generation; upgrade or install new advanced emissions reduction equipment on another 10,100 MW; refuel 1,070 MW of coal generation as 932 MW of [[natural gas]] capacity; and build 1,220 MW of natural gas-fueled generation. The cost of AEP’s compliance plan could range from $6 billion to $8 billion in capital investment through the end of the decade.<ref name=kwj>[http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/2011/06/09/aep-would-shutter-5-coal-plants-to-meet-epa-rules/ "AEP would shutter 5 coal plants to meet EPA rules"] Coal Tattoo, June 9, 2011.</ref>
