What data can I scrape out of online resources about plants without worrying about copyright infringement?

Where can I find open GIS/location data on coal power plants?

• Is there open, free, or inexpensive comprehensive data on the location of coal-fired power plants in the United States available anywhere? I'm a senior political science student doing research on the health, environmental, and policy impacts of coal power plants on communities around the country and I'm looking for either (ideally) a GIS dataset of all coal plants or (less ideal but still workable) a flatfile list of coal plant locations. The data will be used for mapping and statistical purposes. I've looked through my school's resources, and they don't have what I need. I've also tried calling the Department of Energy, but they don't make that information available if they have it. This kind of data can be leased from Platts or elsewhere, but my budget is extremely limited (department isn't going to give funding to an undergrad). Any advice?

• Answer:

  I think you can get what you need by taking the EPA http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/egrid/index.html dataset. They've got latitude/longitude information in there (eg: I can see that the Eielson AFB Central Heat & Power Plant in Fairbanks is located at latitude 64.6833, longitude -147.0833. Given that, mapping the power plants should be fairly simple. Note: eGRID includes non-coal power plants -- you'd need to ditch them first. But that also should be fairly simple (toss out any line item where PFUELCT is not equal to COAL).