EPA Opts for Pollution Trading Over Emissions Controls in Texas

Eight Texas coal-fired power plants can join an air pollution trading program instead of installing expensive new sulfur dioxide controls, the EPA said as part of a rule aimed to improve visibility in the state.

Joining the trading program could prove to be a boon for utilities such as Luminant Generation Co. LLC that said installing the required pollution controls would have been cost-prohibitive and would have forced some of the power plants to close. The companies that own the eight affected coal-powered power plants include Luminant, Xcel Energy, and Dynegy.

Instead, the plants may participate in ...