TEXAS DECISION MAY BOOST PUSH FOR CLEAN COAL IN STATE AIR PERMITS

Texas regulators are planning to decide this week whether air permitting authorities should require coal gasification technology to be weighed as an alternative to conventional coal-burning at proposed new power plants in the state, a decision utility officials and environmentalists are watching for its implications for one of the nation's largest energy markets. The decision, slated at press time for Dec. 14, by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) comes in the wake of a settlement announced Dec. 5...