"Coal: Company Suspected Of Using Plant Closures To Get Subsidies"

"Coal plant closures have become routine in 2018. American utilities plan to close roughly 13.5 gigawatts of coal capacity this year, the second-highest annual total on record.

But even by that standard, the announcement by FirstEnergy Solutions that it intends to disconnect its last two coal plants was particularly notable.

Few power companies have had a greater impact on the national debate around coal.

FirstEnergy Solutions, the power plant division of FirstEnergy Corp., filed for bankruptcy protection in April. The company has aggressively lobbied Washington for a federal lifeline for its ailing coal and nuclear facilities, which have been weighed down by low wholesale power prices and stiff competition from natural gas."

Benjamin Storrow reports for ClimateWire September 6, 2018.