Power EPA reeling in coal power emissions challenged, now elevated to Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is considering a case challenging the EPA’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from coal power plants.

Fossil fuel-producing states and coal companies, led by West Virginia, argue that the EPA does not have the authority to shift power generation from coal to renewable sources like wind and solar, according to the report. NBC News.

After more than two hours of debate on Monday, it was not clear whether the coal-fueled conservative coalition would get what it wanted, according to the report. Some conservative judges are said to have absorbed the argument against the EPA’s regulation of coal power plants, but the more liberal judges appear to be unconvinced.

Charcoal, by user Flicker oatsy40 (Used under CC License)

Under the Obama administration, the EPA proposed rules to limit the emissions of power plants and credit operators to switch to renewable energy. The same coalition of states and coal companies sued, and the Supreme Court ultimately blocked enforcement of the rule, which was later abandoned by the EPA.

Under the Trump administration, the EPA proposed rules to ease emissions, which were then challenged by a different set of states, as well as environmental groups. On Trump’s final day in office, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia overturned the easing rules, which do not apply to power plant emissions policies. But the appeals court ruling leaves room for the Biden administration to reinstate restrictions on power plant emissions, NBC News noted.

Ramon Cruz, president of the Sierra Club, said a Supreme Court ruling in favor of the West Virginia-led group would put an end to that and could have serious long-term consequences. He said the incident could limit the ability of all federal agencies to operate under the mandate of the right.

Flickr User Kimon Berlin Coal Train (Used Under CC License)

Since the first EPA power plant emissions rules were proposed, coal has also declined. Coal plants have Retirement at record speed in 2019 as energy from renewable energy looks ready to be cheaper in many regions of the world.

That economic reality means that several major utility companies, including California’s Pacific Gas & Electric, are not siding with coal interests in the current Supreme Court case, according to NBC News.

Mine [CREDIT: Global Climate Budget 2018]

With Trump making “bringing coal” a key part of his 2016 campaign, that led the Trump-era EPA through some weird workarounds to keep coal looking like a favorable option.

Remember that in general, the grid keep getting cleanerso despite objections from some utilities, hobbyists and politicians who want to see the emissions mix get dirtier and dirtier, buying an electric car remains a clean investment in the future. .