IBJNews

Purdue poised to cancel coal-fired power plant

Back to TopCommentsE-mailPrint

Purdue University is moving to cancel plans for a new coal-fired power unit that had been strongly opposed by environmental activists.

The school's board of trustees committee passed a resolution Thursday calling for canceling the $53 million Wade Utility Plant project based on financial and regulatory concerns. The full board was scheduled to vote on that proposal Friday.

Purdue vice president of physical facilities Bob McMains told the Journal and Courier of Lafayette that the estimated increase in the cost of fuel and expected future regulations for coal use and ash disposal made the plan unworkable.

Activists had said the project would worsen air pollution and breathing disorders around the West Lafayette campus.

School officials now want to replace the campus' aging coal boiler unit with a natural gas boiler.

ADVERTISEMENT

  • 21st Century
    Well that is good news. It's 21st Century and coal is a major source of carbon pollution. Why not turn the school scientist loose and invent/improve lets say methane.
  • Good
    Good, hopefully he does. Then when he is president, maybe he will let his oil buddies drill more oil so the price of gas does not keep going up like it did a couple years ago when it wrecked our economy! Maybe you activists will get a job, and not have time to talk up your global warming stupidity. Just maybe we can keep using oil and coal unitl alternatives are developed. Wow, what an idea..we continue to use the resources that our great God has blessed us with while our great scientists that our great God has blessed us with come up with alternatives.
  • Activists
    Haven't the activist already cost tax payers enough money? Everyone knows that we need to work on cleaning up our environmnet, but we need to use what we have available now while creating better solutions. These morons think that we should not use oil. Now, that our country has ban new drilling, we have to pay out the you know what for a gallon of gas. It also forces our country to rely on the Middle East for fuel. This is a great situation as well since they are so level headed over there! Thank you activists. Keep up the good work screwing up our nation.
  • Only a matter of time...
    I'm sure Mitch will step in to fund his coal buddies and open this pit back up!

    Post a comment to this story

    COMMENTS POLICY
    We reserve the right to remove any post that we feel is obscene, profane, vulgar, racist, sexually explicit, abusive, or hateful.
     
    You are legally responsible for what you post and your anonymity is not guaranteed.
     
    Posts that insult, defame, threaten, harass or abuse other readers or people mentioned in IBJ editorial content are also subject to removal. Please respect the privacy of individuals and refrain from posting personal information.
     
    No solicitations, spamming or advertisements are allowed. Readers may post links to other informational websites that are relevant to the topic at hand, but please do not link to objectionable material.
     
    We may remove messages that are unrelated to the topic, encourage illegal activity, use all capital letters or are unreadable.
     

    Messages that are flagged by readers as objectionable will be reviewed and may or may not be removed. Please do not flag a post simply because you disagree with it.

    Sponsored by
    ADVERTISEMENT

    facebook - twitter on Facebook & Twitter

    Follow on TwitterFollow IBJ on Facebook:
    Follow on TwitterFollow IBJ's Tweets on these topics:
     
    Subscribe to IBJ
    1. This is a big help. Thanks for share it here.

    2. Doug Henning!

    3. These guy were thugs — they grew up in freaking Haughville! Smh, sigh. If the mayor needs/wants "quality" Black Hoosiers who are NOT corrupt, give me a call — I know plenty. Land bank info here - http://www.kubepharm.com/indylandbank/IndyLandBank.html

    4. Magician and illusionist!

    5. The basic idea of nice apartments with parking and retail is a good one, but this design seems overwhelmingly big/tall for Broad Ripple. The size could be disguised a bit with lots of big trees/landscaping, but the complex is too massive to blend in easily. That section of canal between College and Westfield will also need to be upgraded on both sides. Nice apartments facing onto a nice promenade with shade trees/plantings could bring together the canal towpath/Monon recreation, the outdoor seating at existing restaurants, and this project into something that upgrades the whole area. A plan for the whole stretch makes more sense than facing nice new housing onto what looks like a ditch. Is there a plan? Does the public have input? Who pays? The apartment idea seems to be reasonable, but Whole Foods is not a good idea for appropriate retail. Besides the store being physically too big, there are already Fresh Market at 54xCollege and Whole Foods in Nora for fancy groceries. Good Earth and Kroger are within walking distance of the Shell site. There are at least 7 grocery stores within a safe bike ride. Whole Foods would add nothing but traffic congestion. This design is on the right track, but there needs to be more work done to ensure that it blends in with and enhances the existing community. A project that large will set a tone for that whole part of town. It could be a real asset, but only if done right.

    ADVERTISEMENT