Reply #21: Sounds like it *will* increase coal consumption

[starroute]

http://www.ecofriendlymag.com/sustainable-transporation-and-alternative-fuel/surpising-conclusions-in-epas-analysis-of-waxman-markey-climate-bill/

EPA projects a continued and robust role for coal-fired electricity generation under Waxman-Markey, with overall electricity from coal-fired power plants actually higher than 2005 levels through at least 2025. Electricity generation from conventional coal-fired power plants (without carbon capture and sequestration) will be slightly higher in 2015 under the Waxman-Markey bill than in 2005 and will remain roughly constant through 2020, according to EPA’s projections. By 2025, conventional coal-fired power plants will be just a few percentage points lower than 2005 levels. After including EPA’s projections for new coal plants with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, electricity generation from coal actually increases between 2005 and 2025 under the Waxman-Markey bill .

The EPA also finds that the legislation would legally permit emissions in regulated sectors of the economy to remain above 2005 levels until sometime after 2025. This contrasts with the bill’s stated objective to “reduce carbon emissions from major U.S. sources by 17% by 2020.”

EPA projects “the usage of international offsets average over 1 billion tCO2e each year” under the ACES cap and trade program . That’s in addition to roughly 170-300 million tons of domestic offsets regulated firms are projected to purchase each year between 2012-2030, according to EPA’s modeling . Excluding offsets, EPA concludes that actual emissions reductions in supposedly capped sectors of the U.S. economy will not fall below historic 2005 emissions levels until sometime after 2025 .