New York environmental regulators adopted stringent carbon dioxide emission standards Thursday making it extremely difficult to build new coal plants in the state. Regulators set a CO2 emissions limit of 925 lbs per megawatt-hour for new and expanded fossil fuel-fired plants. The new standard will be difficult to reach unless plants are outfitted with carbon capture and storage systems. In conjunction with a upholding greenhouse-gas-emission rules and increased competition from cheap natural gas, the regulations will stifle the development of new coal plants and may lead to the mothballing of older plants.
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