Small towns take their lumps after betting big on coal energy plant - Investigations

Small towns take their lumps after betting big on coal energy plant - Investigations: "llustrating the hazards of dabbling in the complex and unforgiving U.S. energy market, a handful cities and towns in the Midwest and beyond are absorbing a financial beating after betting big on an innovative coal-fired power plant shortly before the current domestic oil and natural gas boom hit its stride.

Local governments and utilities that invested in the Prairie State Energy Campus, a massive $5 billion plant outside the village of Marissa in southern Illinois, in the early to mid-2000s thought the project would protect against wild electricity price swings and save money in the long run. Instead, construction cost increases, lower natural gas prices and other factors erased any competitive advantage and left officials wondering if they got a fair shake on the deal.
"

'via Blog this'