Revising emission regulations could sustain declining industry, but expansion unlikely in ’the golden age of natural gas.’
HOUSTON—Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin’s March 12 announcement that he will “reconsider” power plant regulations adopted under the Biden administration is welcome news to the nation’s $28 billion coal-producing industry, mine operators said March 13 at CERAWeek by S&P Global.
“Coal is not going away,” Alliance Resource Partners Senior Vice President for Sales and Marketing Timothy Whelan said. “I feel a lot better sitting here today than I did 12 months ago.”
Coal may not be going away, Robindale Energy President Bud Kroh said, but even with less restrictive emissions rules, the United States “won’t see more coal plants open” in coming years.
The “upside,” he said, is “I think every existing coal plant is going to stay open for the foreseeable future.”
The rule requires fossil fuel-powered electricity plants to “capture 90 percent of…
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