The federal energy agency said the new plants will generate enough power for about 96 million homes.

    In prepared remarks delivered at the National Press Club Monday afternoon, James Hansen, called for a moratorium on building new coal-fired power plants and said the United States should eventually bulldoze older generators that don't capture and bury greenhouse gases before mid-century.

    Hansen's call "ought to be vetted by those who have an understanding of the energy demands placed on the U.S. economy," said National Mining Association spokesman Luke Popovich. "When seen in light of those demands, then statements like that will appear unreasonable, to put it charitably."

    The director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, who was speaking as a private citizen, said Congress should adopt these coal cuts and if not, "citizens must accomplish this." He said increased efficiency can make up for the cutbacks in coal.

    Hansen's call dovetails with an edict by the private equity group buying TXU, a massive Texas-based utility. The equity group, led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Texas Pacific Group, agreed to stop plans to build eight new coal-fired power plants, not to propose new coal-fired plants outside Texas and to support mandatory national caps on emissions linked to global warming.

    Burning coal is one of the major sources of carbon dioxide, the chief greenhouse gas causing global warming. Coal provides about half of the United States' electricity, according to the Department of Energy.    

    (Agencies)