Megawatt Daily reported that Canadian government has said it plans to phase out coal-fired electricity by 2015 in a bid to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The draft regulation, which is expected to be finalized by 2012, calls for all new coal fired power plants to meet emission performance standards. The government said this is part of a slow phase out process, in order to avoid an electricity price shock.

Environment minister Mr Peter Kent said that “These proposed regulations take into account the fact that many electricity facilities across Canada are old and need to be replaced soon.”

He added that “We're acting now to ensure that power companies understand today, the rules that will affect the new investments they have to make tomorrow. It allows for an orderly process the bedrock of certainty. We want to encourage the shift to cleaner alternatives and to ensure money is spent on clean technology and innovation like carbon capture and storage.”

(Sourced from coalportal.com)