Faster nuclear, coal power plant retirements would affect emissions

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Accelerated retirements of coal-fired power plants would reduce future carbon dioxide emissions, while faster-than-expected shutdowns of nuclear facilities would boost them, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Monday.

In either case, the EIA attributed much of the accelerated retirements to higher-than-anticipated operations and management costs in the future. In the case of coal retirements, increased transportation costs and declining mining productivity also played a role. Natural gas-fired generation and renewable electricity would replace lost capacity in both scenarios.

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