The new group will be the world's biggest exporter of coal for power plants, and the largest producer of zinc.
It has withheld permits for coal mines, tightened pollution controls for power plants that use coal, and is in the process of drafting regulations on greenhouse gases.
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The graphic above shows suitability of sites for advanced coal power plants using geologic storage for carbon emissions.
And powdered lignin can be added to pulverized coal for burning in power plants.
The EPA is saying with a straight face that natural gas combined cycle is an emission reduction system that has been adequately demonstrated for coal power plants.
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Coal is the dominant energy source for generating electricity in China, with Coal-fired power plants account for nearly three quarters of electricity produced in China, and the most intense demand is along the coast in Eastern Chinese provinces.
It designs and builds oil refineries, petrochemical plants, liquefied natural gas terminals and boilers for coal-fired power plants.
For example, the first phase of the EU Emissions Trading program, which contained several design flaws that have since been rectified, has already been found to have reduced emissions by around 100 million tonnes of CO2 mostly by forcing a shift of load from coal to gas power plants and providing an incentive for inefficient coal plants to improve the thermal efficiency of their boilers.
By reducing the need for coal-fired power plants, China Longyuan also earns carbon credits under the Kyoto protocol on global warming.
Meanwhile, Governor Romney once supported a cap-and-trade mechanism to control carbon emissions but as the 2008 presidential race neared, he backed off and favored modest penalties for coal-fired power plants.
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Any policy to reduce heat-trapping pollution will inevitably target the main sources of Americans' energy: the coal burned by power plants for electricity and the oil that is refined to run automobiles.
With 700 gigawatts of new coal-fired power plants planned for the next decade, world demand could surge by a third, or 2 billion tons per year.
Energy derived from natural gas and coal-fired power plants, for example, creates more than 10 times more hazardous waste than the same energy created by a solar panel, according to Mulvaney.
The total amount of coal sold to utility customers was not significantly impacted during the economic downturn as utility coal is used in power plants for generating electricity, the demand for which is largely inelastic.
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Yes, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations that economically punish coal power plants are somewhat responsible for the shift to natural gas power, but so too are technological advances and new natural gas discoveries that have dramatically reduced the price of natural gas.
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Mr Simplot himself, an avowed lover of skiing, duck shooting and the great outdoors, was attacked in the 1970s for his support for new coal-fired electricity plants along the Snake river and for a scheme to generate hydro-power by diverting water from another river into a vast underground tube.
It takes 15 years to secure approval for a nuclear power plant, and clean coal plants aren't economic.
The real culprits are diesel burning trucks and buses (many of which are still operating at Euro III emission levels), factories, and the coal-fired power plants that will supply the electricity for the electric vehicles.
Even in the face of likely litigation, the resulting regulatory uncertainty surrounding new EPA regulations will put the damper on any investments in new major emissions sources for the time being, including new coal-fired power plants.
The New Source Review provision under the Clean Air Act, for example, is intended to prevent older coal-fired power plants from equipping their old units to produce more energy that release more pollutants.
He cites China, where partly state-owned power firms are applying for credits for building gas-fired power plants instead of dirtier ones run on coal.
While other factors, including a sluggish U.S. economy and increasing energy efficiency, have contributed to the decline in carbon emissions from factories, automobiles and power plants, many experts believe the switch from coal to natural gas for electricity generation has been the biggest factor.
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What is true is right now that we don't have all the technology to prevent greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants, but the technology is close and it makes sense for us to make that investment now, not only because it will be good for America but it will also ultimately be good internationally.
But in the short term, at least, coal will remain a key source of energy for the U.S. mainly because the cost of running coal and natural gas power plants remains comparable.
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In fact, the U.S. hit a milestone in April of this year when government data showed that natural gas-fired power plants supplied as much electricity to the nation as coal-fired plants for the first time.
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Mark Ruffalo is throwing his celebrity behind legislation in New York that would lower the cap on emissions (mostly from coal-fired power plants) and help provide hundreds of millions of dollars in incentives for solar energy.
But nothing special need be done for American oil, natural gas or coal to be used in European cars, aircraft and power plants.
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"With proper regulation and enforcement, gas provides a very substantial health benefit in reducing air pollution, " compared with coal-fired power plants, said Daniel Schrag, director of Harvard University's Center for the Environment.
American Electric Power, for instance, focuses more on coal, while Exelon plans on closing two of its small coal plants, Rowe notes.
The demand for gas in power gen is increasing (coal to gas switching has been significant, and most new fossil power plants will be gas-fired).
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