Yeah if we did something like this for real, we should make a more realistic estimate of how much of a return the plant owners are really likely to get, instead

Yeah if we did something like this for real, we should make a more realistic estimate of how much of a return the plant owners are really likely to get, instead of just arbitrarily multiplying their investment by two. But while coal is declining, it's still spewing large amounts of CO2 and probably will for some time yet. It's doing better in areas outside the US, where it doesn't have to compete with such cheap natural gas. We could also apply this plan to natural gas, which is doing better economically, accounts for a lot of CO2, and has a warming impact as bad as coal if you take methane leaks into account. I wonder what the cost per ton CO2e would be for that.