The legislation would give federal regulators new authority to delay power plant retirements in the name of grid reliability.

Hansen, D-Monongalia, said based on her comments, he believes Lane should recuse herself from any debate about the future closure of coal-fired power plants and gather more data on renewable sources of energy. Lane told an interim committee she has no plans to vote in favor of closing a coal-fired plant.

Drax Group said on Thursday it could convert part of its power station in Yorkshire, northern England, into a data centre as soon as 2027, using land, cooling systems and transformers once dedicated to coal generation.

The Comanche Power Plant in Pueblo will continue to operate a coal-powered electrical generating unit that was slated for retirement this month for one more year. The move comes after Xcel Energy, the state’s largest utility company,