When paying $1 for a coal power plant is still paying too much

One dollar. That’s how much an aging New Mexico coal plant is worth. And by some estimates, even that may be too much.

Acme Equities, a New York-based holding company, is in talks to buy the 847-MW San Juan Generating Station for $1, after four of its five owners decided to shut it down. The fifth owner, the nearby city of Farmington, says it’s pursuing the bargain-basement deal with Acme to avoid losing about 1 600 direct and indirect jobs in the area.