The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said on May 14 that it is proposing a rule to roll back limits that require coal-fired power plants to prevent the release of toxic heavy metals into streams and rivers through polluted groundwater, saying a three-year-old rule is unduly costly for the energy industry at a time when energy demand is spiking.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin cited growing electricity demand from artificial intelligence data centers and manufacturing as key reasons for the move.
“This proposal is critical to advancing the Trump administration’s efforts to make electricity more affordable and reliable for all Americans while powering economic growth,” Zeldin said in a statement. “The AI and data center revolution is creating an electricity and baseload power demand that cannot be met under the overly restrictive policies of past administrations.”…