Accessibility links
Deregulation Nation: Coal-Fired Power Plants : 1A The EPA has proposed the Affordable Clean Energy rule, which many see as an effort to erase former president Obama's Clean Power Plan. The new proposal signals a win for supporters of the coal industry, but will this proposed rule make coal more competitive on the market?

Want to support 1A? Give to your local public radio station and subscribe to our podcast. Have questions? Email the show at 1a@wamu.org and find us on Twitter @1a.

1A

Deregulation Nation: Coal-Fired Power Plants

Deregulation Nation: Coal-Fired Power Plants

Listen · 34:59
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/643038563/643081857" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule, which will relax pollution regulation on coal-fired power plants. Many view the ACE rule as an effort to erase former president Obama's Clean Power Plan, introduced in 2015, which would have imposed pollution regulations on coal plants in order to pivot to cleaner sources of energy.

The new proposal signals a win for supporters of the coal industry. They've long feared that stricter regulations will throttle business, driving coal further out of the market in favor of renewable alternatives.

But environmentalists say it's the Trump administration's latest attempt to eclipse climate change and its devastating effects.

What are the environmental and health risks associated with loosening regulations? And will this proposed rule make coal competitive in the energy market?