Matanuska Electric Association (MEA) began working on a proposal for a 100-megawatt circulating fluid bed coal plant to be located south of Palmer, AK and supplied with coal from Usibelli Coal Mine Inc. From the start, this was strongly opposed by various environmental groups and many local residents. In 2007, partly in response to a new local ordinance requiring borough permission before building any power plant, the plans for the Matanuska Coal Plant were shelved for at least 5 years. In 2009 the MEA board began discussions to permanently terminate plans for a coal-fired plant in the area.
By David Coil, Erin McKittrick, Bretwood Higman, Ground Truth Trekking
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