A power generation company announced Friday it will shut down a Bastrop County coal mine, the power plant in Milam County it supplies coal to, and another power plant in Freestone County.

A Norfolk Southern freight train hauling coal makes its way through downtown Pittsburgh in January. (AP file photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Three Oaks Mine near Elgin, the Sandow Power Plant in Milam County and the Big Brown Power Plant in Freestone County are run by energy company Luminant.



“Sustained low wholesale power prices, an oversupplied renewable generation market, and low natural gas prices, along with other factors, have contributed to this decision,” Luminant said in a statement Friday.

Some Central Texans opposed the mine coming to Bastrop County when it obtained permits and arrived more than 10 years ago. The project was bitterly contested through four years of hearings and public forums.

Luminant estimates that approximately 450 employees will be impacted by the Sandow plant and Three Oaks mine closure. Affected employees will be offered severance benefits, the company said.

Earlier this week, White House officials announced they would be moving to kill an Obama-era effort to limit carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants.

Speaking Monday in the coal-mining state of Kentucky, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt said he would be issuing a new set of rules overriding the Clean Power Plan, the centerpiece of President Barack Obama's drive to curb global climate change.

With information from the Associated Press.



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