Making fossil assets flexible again

Following the outcome of the November 8, 2016 election, ICF is reviewing potential changes to existing EPA regulations and new regulations or initiatives under the Trump Administration that may have large market impacts. While most attention has focused on the most prominent new regulations like the EPA’s Clean Power Plan—currently subject to a Supreme Court stay and pending before the DC Circuit—we believe that some focus on other less well-known regulations and long-existent policies and guidance is warranted. An often-unnoticed guidance may be vital in changing the practices around mothballing for energy assets such as coal.

With increasing pressure on coal’s ability to be an economic investment, a change in the regulatory environment could mean new options to achieve profitability. It may even be possible that to save coal assets the best choice may be to take them offline. Read ICF’s report on how small changes in regulation may allow fossil assets to become more flexible operations.