The Trump Administration Just Dropped Its Pro-Coal Alternative to Obama’s Clean Power Plan

Photo: Getty On Tuesday, the Trump administration released a new rule proposal at the center of its environmental deregulatory frenzy. The long-anticipated rule would replace the Clean Power Plan , an Obama era initiative to rein in pollution from coal-fired power plant that was considered the former president’s signature policy for combatting climate change. The proposal is dubbed the Orwellian “Affordable Clean Energy” rule. The public will have 60 days to comment on its merits or lack thereof. Advertisement Trump is expected to tout the proposal as a lifeline for coal at a West Virginia rally later on Tuesday (we’ll probably also hear about CLEAN COAL!!!! ), but it’s unlikely to save a dying, economically unfeasible industry. Cheap natural gas has been largely responsible for shuttering hundreds of coal plants in the U.S. The falling price of renewables has only further loosened coal’s grip on the power sector. The new plan will have a hard time working against these market forces, with even industry representatives telling the New York Times that “the fuel mix for providing electricity is changing, with increased investments in natural gas and renewables.” One thing Trump’s Affordable Clean Energy rule will do is likely allow […]

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