U.S. coal will likely get breath of fresh (*cough* *hack*) air in regulatory reprieve

[wtmusic]

Why the EPA might delay its carbon rules for power plants

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"At issue here is a rule the EPA proposed last March that would set carbon emissions standards under the Clean Air Act for all new coal- and gas-fired power plants built in the United States. Going forward, any new plant would have to emit no more than 1,000 pounds of carbon-dioxide per megawatt-hour of electricity produced.

Most modern natural-gas plants can meet that standard, so they should be fine. Conventional coal plants, however, average upwards of 1,800 pounds per megawatt-hour. That means it would be impossible to build a new coal facility in the United States unless it could capture and bury its carbon-dioxide — a technology that’s still very much unproven.

The problem with this proposed carbon rule, critics say, is that the EPA took a rather novel step by lumping both coal plants and gas plants together into one “source category” — essentially holding them to the same carbon standard. That’s not how this section of the Clean Air Act is usually implemented."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/03/18/why-the-epa-might-delay-its-carbon-rules-for-power-plants/

[Nihil]

1. Gosh ... the EPA bending over backwards for powerful lobbies ...

... quelle surprise ...