News reports over the weekend indicated that Ohio-based flat rolled steelmaker AK Steel has scrapped plans to build a $310 million cogeneration plant at its Middletown mill. AK Steel and Allentown, Pennsylvania-based Air Products and Chemicals Inc. jointly announced the decision not to build a facility that would capture waste gas from AK Steel's blast furnace and then convert it into steam and electricity.
While the plant would be efficient and have a positive impact on the environment, the reports indicated that it would be cheaper for AK Steel to purchase electricity at current prices rather than generate it.