The Energy Department, in a long-anticipated report on the security of the U.S. electric grid, makes the case for rescuing America's coal industry from widespread plant shutdowns but stops short of the assault on renewable power that environmentalists had feared.
The study, commissioned by Energy Secretary Rick Perry, who has warned that policies favoring solar and wind may be forcing plants to shut and threatening the grid, recommends that the Environmental Protection Agency ease rules on coal plants. It also calls for changes to how wholesale electricity is traded and easier permitting for resources such as coal, nuclear and hydropower.
The report hands President Donald Trump a plan for fulfilling his campaign promise to revive America's ailing coal industry and put miners back to work. It paints a somewhat grimmer picture of grid security than an earlier draft that concluded the nation's power system is more reliable than ever, in spite of coal plant shutdowns. By contrast, the final report cautions that "market designs may be inadequate" to keep "traditional" power generation online.
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