|
Cincinnati
Enquirer
New
rules have coal industry on
edge
Jul. 16, 2013
WASHINGTON
— As the Obama
administration prepares to roll out tough new standards aimed at
sharply
curbing carbon pollution, it’s hard to overstate the high stakes for
Ohio.
The
state is home to Murray Energy
Corp., America’s largest privately owned coal producer, and American
Electric
Power, which has one of the biggest fleets of coal-fired power plants
in the
nation.
Some
830,000 residential,
commercial and industrial customers in Ohio and Kentucky rely on
electricity
from Duke Energy, which operates 22 coal plants in six states.
Plus,
Buckeye State residents rely
overwhelmingly on coal to power televisions, refrigerators, air
conditioners
and lights. In 2010, Ohio generated more carbon emissions than all but
three
other states.
“We
limit the amount of toxic
chemicals like mercury and sulfur and arsenic in our air and our water,
but
power plants can still dump unlimited amounts of carbon pollution into
the air
for free,” President Barack Obama said in his June 25 climate change
speech.
Critics
say the new federal
regulations could devastate the coal industry, jack up electricity
prices and
hurt the economy. Proponents say they will improve public health, stem
the
threat of extreme weather and usher in a new era of energy innovation.
One
thing both sides agree on:
Obama’s plan is short on key details, and the coal sector will grapple
with
significant uncertainly until at least next summer. That’s when
officials at
the Environmental Protection Agency are scheduled to propose a new rule
limiting carbon emissions at existing coal-fired power plants...
Read
the rest of the article at the
Cincinnati Enquirer
|
