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One would hope we will start making smart decisions about our energy sources.

Coal Boom to Bust? New Power Plants Face Challenges

When Duke Energy asked North Carolina air quality regulators permission to build a new coal-fired power plant unit west of Charlotte, the company got a green light only after agreeing to limit carbon dioxide emissions.

But to the north, just across the border in the heart of Virginia coal-country, state regulators are moving closer to giving Dominion Virginia Power the go-ahead to build a new coal-facility without limitations on the release of the climate changing gas.

Over the last several years, power companies have pushed to build more than 150 new coal-fired power plants. But with Congress poised to restrict carbon dioxide emissions some analysts say that the boom may be coming to an end.

For now, though, the different tact on carbon at two plants separated by a three hour drive across a state line highlights the country’s patchwork, state-by-state approach to forestalling climate change.

As the likelihood of national carbon regulation has grown, Wall Street and the federal government have suddenly grown skittish about funding new coal plants. And state regulators in many parts of the country have in recent months blocked proposed coal plants on global warming grounds, even in states with no carbon restrictions on the books.

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