An environmental review board has shot down the EPA approval of a new coal plant, stating that the Environment Protection Agency needs to come up with nationwide standards for dealing with carbon dioxide. The decision will cause lengthy and stricter rules, making the investment in expensive coal plants substantially riskier.

Therefore, the money will go into alternative energy, like solar or wind energy. The Environmental Appeals Boards’ decision to send the coal plans back to EPA with instructions to come up with standards was not a legal victory exactly, but the result is practically the same. Basically, the agency’s regional office has to at least consider whether to regulate carbon dioxide emissions, before it gives a green light to build the plant located in Utah.

Furthermore, the Board’s decision will delay the building of coal-fired power plants across the country, long enough for the Obama administration to determine its policy on coal, according to David Bookbinder, chief climate counsel for the Sierra Club, the one which made the petition to the Board in the first place.

This is the latest setback for coal plants, which emit far more carbon dioxide than any other natural gases or other power plants. Last year, Kansas state regulators denied a permit to a coal plant on the grounds of its carbon dioxide emissions. However, there are some voices that say the Clean Air Act is not well structured to regulate greenhouse gases. Anyway, it could still be used to regulate greenhouse gases while the new climate legislation appears.