Three big banks will ask companies seeking financing for new U.S. coal-fired power plants to:
• Look at energy-efficiency options
• Look at renewable-energy options
• Determine whether plant design and local geology would allow carbon dioxide emissions to be captured underground.
• Use conservative assumptions about how many emission allowances the plant would get from the government under a greenhouse-gas cap.
• Ensure that the plant will be allowed to charge electricity rates high enough to cover the cost of buying emission allowances.
