New US EPA rules seek to dethrone old King Coal

Regulators are turning up the heat on US utilities with a pair of tough new air-quality rules likely to hasten the demise of older coal-fired plants. Alexander Osipovich examines the implications

April is shaping up to be an eventful month for US power generation firms and their unceasing duel with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). On April 13, a federal appeals court in Washington is scheduled to hear oral arguments in an industry court challenge to the EPA’s Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR). The rule, which seeks to reduce emissions of ozone and fine particles that waft across US state borders, had originally been set to take effect on January 1, but its