WSE chief operating officer Randy Bird said the company was stopping work on the 1200-megawatt power project in Matagorda County because of the potential for new environmental laws as well as low natural gas prices, which have made the price of coal electricity uncompetitive.

The facility was not without its critics. From the time it was proposed in 2008 it ran into local opposition regarding pollution as well as the water it would need to operate.

Area ranchers and farmers also pushed back against the planned plant.

One party very happy about the decision was the Sierra Club, which said it was celebrating along with fellow environmentalists Public Citizen, SEED Coalition, Environmental Integrity Project, the Environmental Defense Fund and the No Coal Coalition.

“The White Stallion developers came to Matagorda County thinking they could lure us into supporting a project that would suck up our water, pump mercury into our bay and pollute our air,” No Coal Coalition president Eva Malina said.

“This plant is cancelled because we organized to protect our families and Matagorda County.

“I think they thought that since we were a small rural community they would not encounter opposition. They were wrong.”

The environmental groups also pointed to the positives of wind power, which in 2012 provided more than 20% of the state’s electricity on peak days.

“Ultimately, the White Stallion proposal didn’t match the values of the community or the direction of the Texas energy economy,” Sierra Club organization representative Lydia Avila said.

“This is a major victory for everyone fighting for clean air, clean water and the health of our families.”

Nationwide, 175 proposed coal plants have been cancelled due to threatened EPA regulations.

About 139 existing plants were on the path to retirement, the groups said.