Although the new power plant rules published Monday by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) position natural gas as a transition fuel, the drive for greenhouse gas reductions is more complicated than just substituting gas plants for coal. Wald traces several factors that complicate the picture, including methane releases from natural gas fracking, as well as gas flaring at fracking wells that would drive emissions up by 16.5 million tons, about 15% of the carbon pollution the U.S. would save by replacing coal plants with natural gas. (h/t to Politico Morning Energy for spotting this story)
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