Brace for higher electricity bills as EPA rules demand costly changes to power plants. CNN’s Bill Weir declares Biden’s coal power plant rules mark the demise of coal energy in America.
Key Points:
- EPA requires carbon capture tech for coal plants, starting 2032, to continue operating past 2039.
- Carbon capture captures CO2 emissions, but costs may prompt plant retirements.
- Wyoming Mining Association criticizes rules for raising costs and destabilizing the grid.
- New rules also target natural gas plants, but existing ones spared for now.
- EPA projects $370 billion in climate and health benefits, but concerns about grid reliability rise.
- New rules mandate coal plants cut 90% of emissions, lacking viable technology.
- Regulations also address mercury and coal ash pollution.
- Lack of serious carbon capture efforts will force most coal plants to shut down.
- Approximately a quarter of coal plants were already slated for retirement.
The EPA projects “up to $370 billion in climate and public health benefits over the next two decades, but the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, in its long-term and seasonal assessments, has been warning of increasing risks of blackouts partly due to retirements of coal plants and increasing reliance on weather-dependent generation from wind and solar power.
Source:
h/t Coastie Patriot