Some residents of Bowling Green, Ohio, are saying the city's main power source, Prairie State Energy Campus in Illinois, is expensive, dirty, and unsustainable.
Research has shown the coal plant cost $5 billion to build in 2012, is barely profitable and significantly contributes to environmental pollution.
Joseph DeMare, a Bowling Green resident and solar panel owner, said the report showed continued reliance on the plant is not in consumers' best interest.
"What they found is that the wholesale cost of electricity has dropped so much, because of cheap wind and solar coming online, that Prairie State could be shut down," DeMare noted.
Given recent and projected declines in the cost of renewable energy and battery storage, the report's authors said the plant's future operating costs will likely be significantly more expensive than clean energy, meaning customers will foot the bill until the plant is closed. In a statement on its website, Prairie State Energy Campus said its plant uses domestic resources and clean energy technology.
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Categories: Ohio, Energy