Energy and Global Warming News for June 14: Twilight of the Coal Era? Natural gas, concentrating PV and advanced heat pumps

Twilight of the Coal Era?

The electricity market is in the doldrums, but the market for new generating stations that use natural gas is going strong, industry experts say. Why? Because gas is beginning to replace coal, according to Randy H. Zwirn, president of the Siemens Power Generation Group.

On Monday, Siemens is announcing that it has won contracts to supply five new high-efficiency gas plants to Progress Energy at two sites in North Carolina that have old coal-fired generators. It is...