Ash Pond Newsletter: May 2021

The following is a collection of ash pond news from May 2021. The intent of the newsletter is to summarize news regarding ash pond closure activities, lawsuits filed against utilities relating to their ash ponds, as well as regulatory changes impacting ash pond operations or closures.

This downloadable newsletter provides resources and explanations of ash pond news concerning a number of topics, including:

• An update to the 2019 Coal Cost Crossover Report is available, with updates confirming the initial projection that 75% of all coal plants would be uneconomic by 2025, was met in 2020.
• In Marshall County, West Virginia, American Electric Power subsidiaries Appalachian Power and Wheeling Power are planning to retire the coal-fired Mitchell Power Plant.
• The North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s (NERC) 2021 Summer Reliability Assessment provides a warning of energy shortfalls due to above-normal temperatures.
• Duke Energy of Charlotte, North Carolina settled with two insurance companies it sued after they refused to help pay for the multibillion-dollar cleanups required for six sites across North and South Carolina.