Call coal whatever you want—dirty, old-fashioned, unhealthy, inefficient—just don’t call it cheap. Between 2001 and 2008, the cost to buy and transport coal to Minnesota from other states nearly doubled. Now, some of Minnesota’s older, more inefficient coal plants face an uncertain future. When coming regulations from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) require utilities to install pollution control measures to protect human health and welfare, these plants may become economically unviable. What will America’s utilities do with their coal-fired power plants? The economic reality is that relative to other energy sources, coal is simply too expensive.

There is no limit—yet—on carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants, Minnesota’s largest source of global warming emissions. But in September 2011, the EPA will propose emissions reductions guidelines under its Clean Air Act authority. These guidelines will establish emissions limits for new and existing power plants for the first time. In light of the urgent need to cut emissions that cause climate change, utilities (and regulators) are considering repowering coal-fired plants with cleaner fuels or even retiring them for good.

Here in Minnesota, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) is taking a more decisive role in the future of the state’s oldest coal-fired units. For example, the PUC recently ordered a regulatory proceeding to examine how Minnesota Power can meet power needs at the lowest cost while diversifying its resource mix with an emphasis on sources other than coal. Otter Tail Power is asking the PUC to determine the economic soundness of its plan to add $489 million worth of pollution control equipment to its Big Stone coal plant in Milbank, South Dakota. Some companies, like Xcel Energy, are rehabbing older coal plants to burn natural gas instead of coal. For example, Xcel Energy has applied to the PUC for permission to transition two of its coal-fired generation units at the Black Dog Plant in Burnsville, Minnesota from coal to natural gas. Overall, the PUC is encouraging companies to fully explore cleaner and less expensive energy alternatives, ones that are abundant within Minnesota.

As pollution regulations come into place and coal’s price tag continues to grow, utilities and regulators will have to answer big questions. Does it make sense to extend the life of these dirty, old coal plants? Or does it make more sense to move more quickly to cleaner resources? To stay up to date on decisions about the future of coal, visit beyondcoal.org or contact Fresh Energy science policy director J. Drake Hamilton.

Call coal whatever you want—dirty, old-fashioned, unhealthy, inefficient—just don’t call it cheap.