The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has stated that new emissions rules drafted by the country’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will lead to closure of twice the currently projected capacity of coal-fired power plants by 2040.
In numerical terms, that translates into retiring 90 gigawatts of coal-fired power plants by 2040. Previously, the projection was to retire 40 gigawatts of coal-fired power plants in the same period.
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The EIA report released last month also includes the following findings: Electricity prices will rise 3-7% throughout the 2020s as companies take action to remain in compliance (compared with the scenario without the new rules); renewable energy capacity will increase by 160% resulting in projected growth to 174 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2040.
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The report iterates that the key strategy to achieve the goals set by the proposed rules would be to switch from coal-fired generation to natural gas-fired power generation. Renewables will play a “growing role in the mid-2020s and beyond”, the report avers.
The EPA is expected to release the final version of the new regulation in August.
Ajith Kumar S