War on coal? Alabama Power’s coal reductions are reaction to mercury, not global warming

Alabama.com’s Brendan Kirby reports that Alabama Power’s decision to close some coal plants came more from earlier EPA rules than from the carbon emissions proposal.

“Public Service Commission Chairwoman Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh said she worries that regulations have reached a point of ‘diminishing returns’ that cost more than the environmental benefits justify,” Kirby writes. “She said the timing also is particularly bad given the weak state of the economy.”