I freakin love coal plants. I know: it's nerdy weirdness. It was what I was interested in working on coming out of college in '94. I didn't find anything at that point, but seven years later I was able to get a job in the industry. I think I've done work in every coal plant in a 100 mile radius, and even did some preliminary design for a Peabody plant that never went. Sure, there were always environmental concerns, but they were all concerns that could be addressed with more investments and better engineering. The back end systems (air quality control systems) grew to the point that they were roughly the size of the main part of the plant. But, better engineering meant less pollution, so I did not have a problem working on them.
Now, I can't. There is really no way to get away from the fundamental chemistry that dictates the ratio between a BTU of energy released and the CO2 that gets released with it. Carbon capture on the scale needed for one of these plants? It's possible, but certainly less realistic than alternative energy options. It's too bad. They are beautiful dinosaurs.