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President Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced yesterday its proposal to rollback an Obama-era regulation that created a de facto ban on opening new coal plants.  

EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced that the EPA will revise the Obama administration’s New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) rule requiring all new coal-fired power plants to install carbon capture and storage equipment. The Obama mandate was intentionally crafted to prevent the opening of new coal plants by enforcing costly regulations that rendered the creation of new plants economically unviable.

This move by the Trump Administration will also lift a burden placed on taxpayers. The carbon capture and storage (CCS) system required by the Obama EPA was heavily subsidized at great expense to taxpayers. Despite Obama’s EPA claiming CCS was the “best system of emission reduction” available, no operating U.S. power plant used CCS at the time the regulation was promulgated. Since that time, only two plants using CCS have used the federally funded CCS system while one of the plants announced it will not actually use its CCS system because it is too expensive – effectively wasting taxpayer dollars.  

By rescinding this Obama-era regulation, the Trump administration demonstrated its commitment to an “all of the above” energy policy and dedication to securing affordable energy for Americans consumers.

“By replacing onerous regulations with high, yet achievable, standards, we can continue America’s historic energy production, keep energy prices affordable, and encourage new investments in cutting-edge technology that can then be exported around the world,” Acting Administrator Wheeler said.

Americans for Tax Reform applauds the Trump EPA’s move to lift an unnecessary burden placed on American taxpayers and its commitment to protecting affordable energy for consumers.