The cost of keeping unprofitabe coal/nuclear plants open
Leaked document shows Trump officials planning to force Americans to spend $311m-$11.8b/year to keep unprofitable coal and nuclear energy plants from shutting down.
Officials in Trump's Department of Energy prepared a plan to use unprecedented "emergency powers" to force the US grid to rely on expensive, unprofitable coal and nuclear power, rather than paying market rates for cheaper sources of energy: renewables and natural gas.
The plan will cost Americans an additional $311,000,000 - $11,800,000,000/year according to estimates from researchers at Energy Innovation and the Climate Policy Initiative.
The plan poses the "premature retirements" of these unprofitable power-plants as a national security matter, that would leave the country vulnerable to cyberattacks and extreme weather events.
The plan proposes action under the Cold War-era Section 202 Federal Power Act, and the Defense Production Act, invoked by Harry Truman 68 years ago to subsidize US steel production.
https://boingboing.net/2018/06/02/defense-production-act.html