Two new regulations handed down by the Environmental Protection Agency will have a significant impact on the energy industry in 2012 – and beyond.

The Clean Air Act is already one of the most successful public health programs in American history, with a return of more than $30 in benefits for every dollar invested in pollution reductions. In 2010 alone the program prevented an esti¬mated 160,000 cases of premature mortality, 130,000 heart attacks, 86,000 hospital visits, 13 million lost work days, and approximately 1.7 million asthma attacks.

These numbers will be bolstered by the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule and the Mercury Air Toxics Standards, designed to limit emissions from the nation’s coal and oil-fired power plants. Combined, the rules will cut toxic mercury emissions from power plants by 90 percent, smog-forming nitrogen oxide pollution by half, and soot-forming sulfur dioxide by more than 70 percent.

Equally important is the impact on our clean energy economy. By forcing utilities to install modern pollution controls, more than 32 coal-fired power plants will be forced to shut down. Combined, the rules could do away with more than 8 percent of the coal-fired generation nationwide.

This is big news for clean energy advocates everywhere, as any opportunity to reduce costly coal imports opens the door to in-state investment in our clean energy future.

This change will be most evident in states like Missouri. To pay for the coal that generates 82 percent of electricity statewide, Missouri sends over $1.13 billion out of state. Wisconsin is the fifth most dependent state on net energy imports, sending $853 million out of state each year. Nebraska is sixth most, purchasing over $198 million of coal from Wyoming annually.

Instead of importing our energy, that money should be bolstering efficiency programs and investing in wind generation, including the transmission infrastructure necessary to make wind a viable option.

An investment in wind is an investment in our future, one where rural communities stand to benefit most. Clean energy investments create three times the jobs as fossil fuel investments. Each $1 billion of wind investment will create approximately 12,500 full-time equivalent years of employment; 13,000 full-time equivalent years of employment are created for every $1 billion invested into transmission.

The community benefits of increased investment in wind and transmission are similar. Like wind, each transmission line brings increased property tax revenue to the area. Each line creates business for local motels, shops, restaurants and entertainment establishments. Property owners benefit too.

Each state is facing a difficult decision: will this money be spent on costly upgrades to comply with new EPA rules, or will it be spent developing a dependable energy economy right here at home? It’s time to realize coal-fired generators are a thing of the past. Investing in coal will tie ratepayers to decades of costly imports, costly upgrades, and the cost of missed opportunity.

Comments? Questions? Contact me, Johnathan Hladik, johnathanh@cfra.org or 402.687.2100.