Carbon Controls: Coming Soon to a Region Near You

One of the fundamental arguments for the proposed wind power project is that the eventual imposition of carbon emission controls would make electricity from fossil fuels more expensive. Well, as the News Journal reports, eventual may come sooner than we imagined:

Seven Northeast states signed an agreement in 2005 to cap, then reduce, anticipated pollution from all large power plants by 2019. Three others have since signed on to the effort, aimed at cutting carbon dioxide emissions linked to rising global temperatures.
All of the states, including Delaware, plan to require producers to buy pollution rights by the ton starting next year. Companies are expected to add those costs to their prices, although most Delaware plants are "merchant" generators that sell their output into a regional supply grid.

A program that imposes additional costs on carbon emissions would tip the scales in favor of wind power before the wind farm is even built. The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative meets again on January 7, and could forward a proposal to the General Assembly early in the year. Stay tuned.