EPA Rulemaking Shutters More Capacity

According to a report from Reuters, GenOn Energy will be forced to shutter eight plants in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New Jersey by 2015 due to “more stringent federal environmental regulations.” The move will deactivate 3,140 megawatts of mostly coal-fired generating capacity, beginning with the company’s Elrama coal-fired plant in Pennsylvania in June 2012 and concluding with its Glen Gardner gas-fired plant in New Jersey in May 2015.

The announcement by GenOn comes just weeks after FirstEnergy Corp. said it would close three coal-fired plants in West Virginia by September of this year. According to information provided by GenOn to lawmakers in Pennsylvania, the cost of compliance with new EPA regulations, particularly Utility MACT, is the main driver behind the plant closures.

“Pragmatic energy policies should not guillotine coal from the nation’s energy grid,” said Pennsylvania State Rep. Camille “Bud” George, (D-Houtzdale). “Unfortunately, reasonable policies that would address valid health concerns while keeping coal and the Shawville plant in the long-term mix for energy viability were not pursued.”

“This is devastating news for Clearfield County that impacts not only the 80 plus workers at the Shawville plant but also has a huge ripple effect,” said Clearfield County (PA) Commissioner Mark McCracken. “The Shawville plant alone has an annual impact on the regional economy of $100 million per year.”

PACE reported recently that efforts to repeal EPA’s Utility MACT rule have begun in the U.S. Congress, with Senator Jim Inhofe introducing a disapproval resolution to nullify the regulation, estimated to be the most expensive in the agency’s history.

“It is becoming increasingly clear that Utility MACT is a serious threat to reliability and to jobs,” said PACE Executive Director Lance Brown. “To the hundreds of families affected by these recent plant closures, the administration’s official line that EPA regulations will create jobs must seem especially hollow.”