How will future carbon dioxide regulation affect Big Stone II?
While a number of bills regulating carbon dioxide have been introduced in Congress, only two have made any headway. The Lieberman-Warner bill, introduced in 2007, was voted out of committee in early 2008, but did not advance any further due to the economic downturn. However, The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, otherwise known as the Waxman-Markey Climate Change bill, was passed out of the House Energy & Commerce Committee on May 21, 2009. The bill addresses renewable energy standards, building energy efficiency standards, electric plug-in vehicles, appliance efficiency standards, and tax credits in addition to climate change mitigation. If this bill were to pass, plants like Big Stone II would be preferred generators in contrast to older, less efficient plants.
