Why are we going back to coal?

Great comment piece in yesterday's Times questioning the new coal rush in general and Kingsnorth in particular...

"It is extraordinary that the Government is trying to rush through a new generation of coal-fired power stations. Coal produces almost three times as much carbon dioxide per unit of electricity as gas. The shift from coal to gas in the 1980s accounts for almost all the progress Britain has made on reducing emissions. But John Hutton, the Energy Minister, has been bending over backwards to help the energy company E.ON to build a new plant at Kingsnorth, Kent, which now has planning permission."

Read the full article

PS There's a big verbal punch up going on in the comments section following this story, so feel free to weigh-in!