By DINA CAPPIELLO
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is pressing ahead with the first-ever limits on heat-trapping pollution from new power plants.
Administration officials told The Associated Press that the long-delayed proposal will be released Tuesday.
The regulation is likely to draw fire from Republicans, who have claimed it will increase electricity prices and clamp down on domestic energy resources.
But it also will fall short of environmentalists' hopes because it goes easier than it could have on coal-fired power generation. Coal-burning plants are already struggling to compete with cheap natural gas.
The proposed rule will not apply to existing power plants or new ones built in the next year. It will also give future coal-fired power plants years to meet the standard, which will eventually require carbon pollution to be captured and stored underground. (Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)