"The U.S. Is Ditching Coal. The Supreme Court Ruling Won’t Change That."

"When conservative environmental lawyer Jeffrey Holmstead joined the Bracewell firm in late 2006, it represented the whole range of electric power companies, including coal-fired utilities and coal mining firms. Not anymore.

The chief executives of electric utilities, wary of the perils of climate change, are marching away from coal, as well as other fossil fuels.

“Over time it’s clear for reasons largely unrelated to regulations that the U.S. power sector is moving away from coal,” Holmstead said. “In my world it is astonishing.”

That shift in the outlook among top electric utility executives could mute the impact of Thursday’s Supreme Court decision declaring that the Environmental Protection Agency had overstepped the authority Congress gave it to limit carbon dioxide emissions at power plants."

Steven Mufson reports for the Washington Post July 1, 2022.

Source: Washington Post, 07/01/2022