The head of one of the nation’s biggest coal companies says he can keep First Energy Solutions' coal-fired power plants from shutting down.
Murray Energy CEO Robert Murray tells Bloomberg news that if government subsidies are granted he can get financing to buy the coal plants targeted for closing. And with his company providing the coal, he says he can keep them running.
Sandy Buchanan, who heads the non-profit Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis in Cleveland says current research suggests otherwise. “Given the market conditions, and given that the only presumable fix is a short-term political fix under one administration…you know…lenders don’t look a couple of years, they look at the long term markets. And all the long-term market trends are completely in the opposite direction.”
First Energy Solutions has filed for bankruptcy and said it will get out of the competitive energy production business and close its nuclear and coal-fired plants.
