THE LITTLE LUMP THAT COULD

f Entergy is successful at rebuilding a unit of its Little Gypsy natural gas plant to burn coal and a refinery byproduct known as petroleum coke, it will be the rare coal project to succeed.

In the past five years, almost as many coal plants have been canceled as have been announced, according to the Edison Electric Institute, resulting in fewer coal plant units in operation today than in 2004.

With such slim odds of getting coal projects off the ground, most companies aren't even bothering to plan them anymore; only eight new coal projects were announced in the entire country last year.

"The trend has definitely intensified," said Jim Owen, a spokesman for Edison, an electricity trade group. "It all in one way or another relates back to carbon and a growing expectation by policymakers and others that we should not be building any new coal plants. The pressure is on in the states."

One exception to that trend is Cleco Power LLC, which won approval to build a $1 billion coal and petroleum coke plant in Boyce and began construction in 2006. The Pineville company's Rodemacher 3 project is expected to open this fall.

But whether Entergy will join Cleco in the handful of companies with new coal plants remains to be seen. The company is awaiting its final permits on the now $1.76 billion Little Gypsy repowering project and is working on financing as controversy mounts. Entergy declined to be interviewed for this story because of lawsuits over the project.

With concerns over global warming mounting, many financiers, policymakers and customers are frowning on coal plants, because they don't know what liabilities or costs could get tacked on later if carbon dioxide emissions are capped and taxed. Economic and environmental concerns have also conspired against coal as investment banks have downgraded coal stocks and required that utilities demonstrate that projects will be viable even with the cost of carbon taxes. Groups like the Sierra Club, meanwhile, have waged national campaigns against new coal plants....