EPA win has coal industry in an uproar
April 17, 2014 | By
Barbara Vergetis Lundin
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has upheld the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) mercury and air toxics (MATS) standards for power plants to the great concern of the coal industry.
Due in part to regulations like MATS, almost 300 coal-fueled generating units in 33 states have announced their plans to close. Just this month, the East Kentucky Power Cooperative announced it will shut down four coal-fueled plants due to exorbitant MATS compliance costs. The cost to the electricity sector is estimated at approximately $200 billion with 544,000 jobs lost due to the fallout. According to the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE), an industry investment of $130 billion has already reduced emissions from coal-fueled power plants by nearly 90 percent. The industry plans to invest another $100 billion over the next decade to develop and deploy clean coal technology. "We are disappointed that the D.C. Circuit Court reaffirmed EPA's overreaching ways by upholding the MATS rule, which EPA estimated to be one of the most expensive regulations ever put forward. The ruling bolsters our resolve to continue pushing back against EPA overreach," said Laura Sheehan, senior vice president of communications for ACCCE. "All the while, EPA and its environmental group allies fail to acknowledge the great strides made by the industry to reduce emissions of all types, including those regulated under the MATS rule." Coal currently provides nearly 40 percent of the United States' baseload power. Coal plant retirements have already led to increased reliance on natural gas, which ACCCE calls "a just-in-time fuel source" subject to volatile price spikes. ACCCE predicts major impacts next spring in the wake of the MATS compliance deadline. For more: © 2014 FierceMarkets, a division of Questex Media Group LLC. All rights reserved. http://www.fierceenergy.com/story/epa-win-has-coal-industry-uproar/2014-04-17 |