The White House announced final Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations requiring existing electricity generating utilities to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 32 percent in the next 15 years, and effectively mandate that new coal-burning power plants use unviable carbon capture and storage technology.
The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) expressed strong concerns about the regulations, saying they will raise electricity costs for domestic steel companies and threaten the industry’s ability to remain internationally competitive.
Thomas J. Gibson, president and chief executive officer of AISI, pointed out that the steel industry competes with producers in countries where energy costs are often subsidized. He said, therefore, “Limitations on CO2 emissions instituted in the U.S. must also apply at the same level of stringency to other major steel producing nations, such as China. Otherwise, steel production and manufacturing jobs will shift to other nations with higher rates of greenhouse gas emissions.”
Published in the September 2015 Edition of American Recycler News
