Even as administration officials vowed this week to head off scheduled retirements, some aging plants are now breaking, and costs could run to the billions.
The irony here is that utilities and states that have been dragging their feet on closing their coal plants might get hammered by these costs to keep them open. Meanwhile those who have long since closed their plants will be unaffected. I’ll be curious to see how this affects electricity prices.
Is the obsession they have with coal just that they heard pollution from coal burning predominantly affects the poor?
They want votes from coal miners. But from what I’ve heard anyone in the industry says it’s terrible. And lobbying of course.
There can’t possibly be enough coal miners for the electoral math to be that important. This feels more like a “cultural win” - sticking it to those tree lovers peddling scams like climate change, or whatever.
It’s the same as farmers. Can’t lose the family farm, can’t lose those generational coal jobs. Doesn’t make sense but it’s the image.
I think it’s more than anything part of the approach to fill the playing field with as much chaos as possible while you steal everything you can get your corrupt hands on, but it could be more than that I suppose.
I think its a combination of bribes and cultural relevance as a thing of the past
I don’t think bribes actually factor in here; nobody but them wants the coal to continue. There’s already more profitable replacements for those who would bribe them.
I think it’s more a reactionary thing — progressives want to eliminate coal, and so that must be prevented at all costs. Which ties into the historical culture thing.
