pollution

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has confirmed it  is drafting a plan to eliminate all limits on greenhouse gases (GHG) from coal- and natural gas-fired power plants. The EPA on May 24 said a new rule on emissions would be published after interagency review.

The Trump administration has announced several regulatory rollbacks designed to curb limits on power plant emissions, along with cutting protections for air and water quality. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin on March 12 said the agency is moving to undo at least 31 regulations established during the Biden administration in an effort to […]

A major Pennsylvania coal-fired power plant, the largest coal-burning facility in the state before it was closed in 2023, may be converted to a natural gas-fired station. Officials in Homer City on Dec. 3 announced plans to restart the Homer City Generating Station and increase its generating capacity through burning natural gas. A redevelopment group […]

In three front-page rulings this summer, the U.S. Supreme Court made sweeping changes to the ways that federal judges will review future agency actions—including a rejection of its longstanding Chevron

Dennis Wamsted and Seth Feaster at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis recently wrote a commentary looking at Energy Capital Partners’ (ECP) deal to take over ownership of the General James M. Gavin coal-fired power plant in Ohio. The 2,709-MW Gavin plant is ranked as the fifth-largest carbon dioxide-emitting power plant in the […]

After the Supreme Court handed down its decision in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) earlier this year, many speculated on what it does—and does not—mean for future power plant rules

Phasing out all coal for electricity generation in the U.S. by 2030 is necessary both for averting the most dangerous consequences of the climate crisis, and for demonstrating international leadership to

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is set to establish more stringent standards on water pollution from coal-fired power plants. The EPA on July 26 announced it would reinstate Obama-era regulations that were rolled back by the Trump administration. An EPA official on Monday said the new rule would impact about 100 coal-fired plants. The agency […]

In the late 1960s, the U.S. was facing an environmental crisis. Air pollution was a serious problem in cities across the country, industrial activities and the widespread use of hazardous pesticides were

The Trump administration on June 1 moved to limit the ability of individual states to use provisions of the Clean Water Act (CWA) to block energy projects, a potential win for the power generation and other energy industry sectors that have battled lengthy licensing and permitting reviews and rejections based on climate change arguments. The […]

Legal challenges to the Trump administration’s Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule began in earnest April 17, as more than two dozen states and cities, along with several environmental activist groups, filed briefs with the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., seeking a rollback of power plant regulations that also have been decried by coal […]

Indianapolis Power & Light (IPL) on Dec. 9 announced it will close two of the four coal-fired units at its Petersburg Generating Station in southern Indiana, as the utility continues to move away from coal generation. IPL has been pressured by state political leaders and environmentalists to close the 1,700-MW Petersburg facility, the largest power […]

Analysis based on testing mostly conducted by energy companies shows that water near all but two coal plants in Illinois is contaminated with toxic waste. The Chicago Tribune on November 28 reported that a compilation of industry-supplied data from 24 Illinois coal plants shows harmful levels of arsenic, chromium, lead, and other heavy metals in […]

September 10, 2018 08:45 AM Eastern Daylight Time   WARRENVILLE, Ill.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Fuel Tech, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTEK), a technology company providing advanced engineering solutions for the optimization of combustion systems, emissions control and water treatment in utility and industrial applications, today announced the receipt of multiple air pollution control (APC) contracts from customers in the US and […]

On May 22, the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), the American Public Power Association (APPA), and two groups representing U.S. and foreign automakers sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

In a bid to tamp down pollution, India’s government in December 2015 notified the country’s coal generators they would need to meet—for the first time—new emissions limits for nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and mercury, as well as tightened limits for particulate matter (PM) and water consumption. The gazetted notification gave new plants until […]

Rallied by the Supreme Court’s unprecedented stay of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan, a coalition of 20 states has asked the high court to stay another disputed agency rule: the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS). The states are: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North […]

The U.S. and China on Tuesday finalized a memorandum of understanding that will allow them to jointly advance carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) and other clean coal technologies for commercial use.  The agreement between the Department of Energy (DOE) and China’s National Energy Administration (NEA) was set up on Aug. 26 during the U.S.–China […]

China on Wednesday issued a key energy strategy that sets obligatory 2020 targets for renewables and nuclear power use and urges increased natural gas consumption—but which also caps coal consumption.  The State Council’s Energy Development Strategy Action Plan covers the period between 2014 and 2020. It caps annual energy primary consumption at 4.8 billion metric […]

North Carolina’s Legislature last week became the first in the nation to approve a sweeping coal ash bill, but the state’s governor isn’t fully endorsing it.  Both the House and the Senate on Aug. 20 approved the Coal Ash Management Act (S.B. 729), a measure that became an urgent legislative priority after Duke Energy’s February […]