A $15B upgrade for utilities: New EPA rules stoke Consumers, DTE move to wind and gas | Crain's Detroit BusinessThe EPA proposed in June that power plant carbon emissions be cut 30 percent by 2030. The proposal, coupled with previous rules that aren't friendly to coal, put natural gas front and center as the new leading candidate for a base-load fuel.
A fracking-induced glut of it has soaked the markets, and natural gas produces half the carbon emissions as coal from a power plant, according to the EPA, making it a natural choice for utilities as a coal replacement.
Wind is cheap and available in Michigan, making it the top choice for renewable energy power, industry executives said.
Even without the new EPA proposal, utilities had reason to move away from coal. They have been adjusting their power generation arrangements to meet existing EPA rules, such as Mercury and Air Toxics Standards that utilities must meet by April of next year, unless granted extensions. At the state level, Gov. Rick Snyder in December went on the record saying Michigan should become less reliant on coal, which makes up more than half the fuel used to produce power in the state.
The utilities say they are working on it. Consumers plans to shutter seven coal-fired units in 2016, leaving its five largest units in operation. DTE is also weaning itself away from coal. (See map, below.)
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