Press Release

America’s Power Statement on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Plans to Force the Shutdown of Coal-Fired Power Plants

Washington, D.C. – America’s Power President and CEO Michelle Bloodworth issued the following statement regarding the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) plans to use new regulations to shut down coal-fired power plants, as part of the administration’s efforts to decarbonize the power sector.  The announcement follows last month’s decision by the Supreme Court that placed constraints on EPA’s authority to regulate carbon emissions from coal plants:

“EPA must carefully consider the impact of its environmental regulations on the nation’s already vulnerable electricity grid.  Impartial grid officials and regulators responsible for keeping America’s lights on have been warning of potential grid reliability problems, citing the retirement of coal-fired power plants as a main reason.  Even without new EPA regulations, some 86,000 MW of coal are expected to retire by 2030.   Now EPA plans to issue new regulations to force the shutdown of even more coal plants which could further jeopardize the nation’s electricity supply.  For example, just one of these new regulations is projected to force the closure of another 25,000 MW of coal by 2025.  We support a responsible grid transition, but new regulations that jeopardize grid reliability would be irresponsible.”

America’s Power is a partnership of industries involved in producing electricity from coal.