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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced a rollback of power plant emissions standards in Kentucky. The more stringent 2024 limits on mercury and air toxics will be replaced by the earlier Obama-era standard, with EPA Deputy Administrator David Fotouhi claiming this will save Americans $670 million over a decade. Despite the decline of the coal industry, coal still generates 67% of Kentucky’s electricity, leading to the argument that the rollback will help to maintain existing coal generation plants and strengthen grid reliability.
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Trump Administration Announces Power Plant Emissions Standards Rollback in Kentucky
The Trump administration has announced its plan to rollback power plant emissions standards in a bid to boost coal generation. The announcement was made at the Louisville Gas & Electric Mill Creek Generating Station in Kentucky. According to the plan, the administration will repeal the stricter 2024 mercury and air toxics limits on power plants and revert to the earlier Obama-era standard, stated EPA Deputy Administrator David Fotouhi.
Implication for Power Plants
The original 2012 rule had required power plants to invest $2.5 billion for compliance. Compliance with the 2024 requirements would have cost an additional $1 billion, according to Michelle Bloodworth, president and CEO of America’s Power, a coal industry group. She stressed that a third of U.S. coal generators are scheduled to retire in the next five years in the face of increasing electricity demand and prices. The repeal of the 2024 MATS rule will prevent untimely retirements and bolster grid reliability.
Impact on Coal Generation
While it was not explicitly stated that the repeal would lead to new coal generation, Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman indicated it would assist in keeping existing plants, including Mill Creek, operational. Coleman remarked that under the old rule, Kentucky’s power plants would have contended with substantial costs and even possible shutdowns. Fotouhi assured that the repeal of the Biden-era rule would result in savings of $670 million over ten years for Americans.
The State of Coal Industry in Kentucky
Despite the declining coal mining jobs and production, coal still generates 67% of Kentucky’s electricity, second only to West Virginia. LG&E and Kentucky Utilities, a PPL subsidiary, rely heavily on coal, which made up 84% of its generation mix in 2023. Plans to retire two coal units at Mill Creek were postponed from next year to 2031.
The Role of Regulations in Coal Industry
According to Fotouhi, coal generators had reduced mercury emissions by 91% since the original rule’s implementation in 2012. Reductions in emissions of nickel, arsenic, and lead came up to 81%. The 2012 rule led to the retirement of older, less efficient facilities, including some in Kentucky. Obama’s Clean Power Plan and the 2012 rule were criticized as a “war on coal” as they were believed to have affected jobs and tax revenues in coal-producing regions.
Coal vs. Other Energy Resources
Coal’s contribution to U.S. electricity generation has declined to less than 20% from about 50% nearly two decades ago. Natural gas, courtesy of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has become the dominant fuel, with wind, solar, and battery storage also gaining ground. Despite Trump’s promise to boost coal, the dominant form of electricity added to the grid in 2025 was solar, a trend expected to continue. Lonnie Bellar, PPL Service Corporation’s executive vice president of engineering, construction, and generation, said the company does not currently have plans to build any new coal-burning power plants.
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