By Jonathan G. Dorn Community opposition, legal challenges, and financial uncertainty over future carbon costs are prompting companies to rethink their plans for coal. Since the beginning of 2007, 95 proposed coal-fired power plants have been canceled or postponed in the United States—59 in 2007, 24 in 2008, and at least 12 in the first three months of 2009. This covers nearly half of the 200 or so U.S. coal-fired power plants that have been proposed for construction since 2000. The vast majority of the remaining proposals are essentially on hold, awaiting word on whether the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is going to impose limits on carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions. With further legal challenges ahead and the regulation of CO 2 imminent, 2009 may very well witness the end of new coal-fired power plants in the United States. An April 2007 Supreme Court ruling is proving

to be a seminal decision. In Massachusetts v. EPA , the Court ruled that the Clean Air Act gives the agency authority to regulate CO 2 emissions and that the EPA must review whether such emissions pose a threat to public health or welfare. Complying with the Court order, new EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson submitted an endangerment finding to the White House in late March 2009 indicating that human health and welfare are indeed threatened by CO 2 emissions. This finding opens the door to regulating CO 2 emissions under the Clean Air Act. Such regulation would provide a backup option for curbing emissions if Congress fails to set limits on them through legislation. Read more of this story »

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Earth Policy Institute: The End of an Era — Closing the Door on Building New Coal-fired Power Plants in America