Key Takeaways
President Trump’s EPA has loosened onerous restrictions on mercury and other air pollutants, saving industry as much as $670 million between 2028 and 2037.
The Biden administration strengthened the Obama-era Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) by tightening the limits on mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants by 70% and placing restrictions on other pollutants such as lead, nickel, and arsenic.
In 2015, the Supreme Court blocked the Obama mercury standards, determining that the EPA did not adequately estimate the costs of the regulations, and remanded the EPA rule back to a lower court for further review.
Because utilities had already decided to close many coal plants in preparation for the rule, then-EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy declared the rule’s success despite the Supreme Court’s ruling.
In a move to provide more reliable and affordable energy, Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has loosened restrictions on emissions of mercury and other air pollutants from coal-fired power plants. According to the New York Times, the EPA estimates the change would save companies as much as $670 million between 2028 and 2037. The cost of adding additional mercury controls to coal-fired power plants to meet the extreme standards of the Biden administration would mean coal plant closures, removing reliable power that can operate 24/7 from the U.S. generating fleet, which was used heavily to keep the lights and heat on during Arctic storm Fern last month.
Background
The Biden administration tightened the limits on mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants by 70% and placed restrictions on other pollutants such as lead, nickel, and arsenic. The Biden rule strengthened the Obama-era Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS), which supposedly resulted in a 90% reduction in mercury emissions from power plants. Since they were adopted in 2012, the standards either forced advanced control technologies on the coal plants that could remain profitable with the additional cost of the technology, or shuttered the plants that could not.
In 2015, the original MATS regulation was sent back to a lower court by the Supreme Court, in effect blocking the rule, but according to Gina McCarthy, the EPA Administrator at the time, the Supreme Court ruling did not affect matters since “The majority of power plants have already decided and invested in a path to achieve compliance with the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards.” In other words, the damage to the U.S. coal-generating fleet had already been done, so apparently the legality had no bearing on the regulation’s effects.
While most of the existing coal plants in the United States have already paid off their capital costs, strengthened MATS regulations forced them to pay for additional costly pollution control equipment, even though the United States has a remarkable record of clean air and clean-burning energy. That increase, along with less operating time to recover costs as more wind and solar plants come online, was expected to make more coal plants less profitable, which was consistent with Biden’s promise to end fossil fuels.
China and India Continue with Coal-Powered Generation
Meanwhile, China and India continue to build more coal power plants. China is set to commission as many as 85 coal-fired power generating units this year, out of 104 total global coal projects slated for start-up in 2026 — 82% of the total. Last year, China accounted for 78% of all global coal power capacity that began operating and produced over 50% of its generation from coal.
India also continues its dependence on coal, with 24 gigawatts of coal-fired capacity under construction. Coal generates over 60% of India’s electricity, and the country continues to rely on coal to meet most of its power demand as it looks to avoid blackouts in cases of severe heat waves.
China and India are building and using coal plants to make their power system more reliable, as much of the world pushes to electrify everything from heating to transportation, which will put more strain on the electric grid. China also needs affordable and reliable energy to run its industrial facilities, as it is the largest manufacturer in the world.
Analysis
Regulations like MATS and the Endangerment Finding have the same effect of increasing energy prices. This effect is displayed by the fact that states with higher electricity and gasoline prices also have policies aimed at taxing and regulating energy to a higher degree.
If the anti-reliable energy policies of the Obama and Biden administrations to limit greenhouse gas emissions were to continue, they would result in manufacturers and energy producers moving offshore, with those emissions released elsewhere, and often in countries with less efficient technology. This industrial leakage has been noted in Europe, where climate policies have raised the cost of energy to levels much higher than those in the United States. U.S. energy production currently supports both economic growth and environmental quality more effectively than in other countries, which is documented in IER’s 2026 Environmental Quality Index.
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