TRUMP CLEAN POWER ROLLBACKS IN TX: Texas Republicans are cheering the Trump Administration’s proposal to roll back the Clean Power Plan. Texas sued over that Obama-era plan to curb carbon emissions, calling it federal overreach. Still, when it comes to where Texas gets its power, experts say the new policy wouldn’t change much. The new plan gives states more leeway on regulating coal plant emissions, which could mean some Texas coal plants stay open longer.
But coal is losing its importance in the Lone Star State. Professor Victor Flatt with the Law Center at the The University of Houston says “That’s because we have a competitive electricity market, wind and natural gas are so inexpensive here.”
And Felix Mormann, Associate Professor with Texas A&M’s School of Law says natural gas pairs better with renewables than coal. “Natural gas fired power plants have the ability to reduce and increase their input very quickly, " explains Mormann. "And that’s what’s required in a grid where we have a lot of output coming from solar and wind that depends on weather conditions.”
Even nationwide, some analysts say the new policy would only delay coal’s eventual decline.
