From Fortune · Jordan Blum · · 2m
Coal stays online to feed the AI boom
The EPA just scrapped power plant carbon limits, and the near-term winner is old coal keeping data centers lit.
In brief
The EPA just scrapped power plant carbon limits, and the near-term winner is old coal keeping data centers lit. The rollback buys fossil plants three to five more years of life while nuclear and geothermal try to catch up to AI's power demand. Originally reported by Fortune.
Old coal gets a reprieve
The EPA finalized a repeal of Biden-era emissions mandates for power plants. Experts say the first real effect is keeping aging coal and gas plants viable longer to feed data centers.
Announced during a record summer
NOAA had just reported that the summer of 2026 was the warmest in U.S. history, roughly 3 degrees Fahrenheit above average. The EPA's claim: power plant emissions have "no material impact" on global climate.
“emissions from power plants have no material impact on global climate change”
The stopgap argument
Dan Romito of Opportune frames it as stepping back to move forward. Coal buys three to five years while next-gen nuclear and geothermal mature enough to carry data center load.
“It's a Band-Aid for a lot of these data centers to figure out how to get replacement or complementary power.”
Demand is already here
Permitting reform looks dead for the year and announced power projects keep stalling. Romito argues the plants are needed not for projected demand but for what the grid is carrying today.
“This power is not going to magically come out of nowhere.”
A signal to hyperscalers
Less regulatory uncertainty is meant to unlock investment in newer, more efficient plants. The pitch is that modern gas capacity runs far cleaner than the coal it replaces.
Killing the authority itself
Beyond undoing the 2024 standards, which required 90% carbon capture or deep cuts, the EPA proposes rescinding all remaining greenhouse gas rules for power plants and its power to write them.
“We also are proposing to rescind all remaining greenhouse gas emissions standards for power plants, all of them.”
Critics call it denial
The Sierra Club's Holly Bender points to wildfires, floods and rising bills. Environmental groups estimate thousands of avoidable deaths and billions in added health costs.
“This is full-throated climate denial while the climate crisis happens in real time.”
Courts decide next
Fossil plants make up nearly 25% of U.S. climate pollution, second to transportation. With the 2009 endangerment finding already gutted, legal challenges are certain.
“If you have a problem with the law, change the law.”
The short version
The rollback buys fossil plants three to five more years of life while nuclear and geothermal try to catch up to AI's power demand.
