EPA plans to tighten regulations on coal and gas plant emissions.

The EPA Proposes New Regulations to Cut Carbon Emissions from Power Plants

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is set to propose new regulations on Thursday aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions from coal and natural gas-fired power plants. This move comes after the Supreme Court placed new constraints on the EPA’s authority to regulate carbon emissions from power plants last year. It represents one of the highest-profile regulatory developments yet under President Joe Biden, who has committed the US to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

Skepticism from Both Sides for Expected Power Plan Rule Mechanism

The proposed rules come at a time when grid regulators are warning about the increasing fragility of the nation’s bulk power system, which is becoming more vulnerable to blackouts due to large-scale retirements of traditional power plants. Power generators burn fossil fuels to generate a majority of the nation’s electricity. Biden has set a target of achieving a carbon-free power sector by 2035.

The EPA’s proposals, developed under Section 111 of the Clean Air Act, would set emissions limits for new gas plants, as well as existing coal, oil, and gas-fired steam generating units. The limits will begin in 2030 and become increasingly more stringent in the following years. “The proposed limits and guidelines would require ambitious reductions in carbon pollution based on proven and cost-effective control technologies that can be applied directly to power plants,” said EPA Administrator Michael Regan.

The EPA estimated that the health benefits associated with its proposals for new gas and existing coal would include approximately 1,300 avoided premature deaths in 2030 alone.

The Clean Air Act and Section 111

The Clean Air Act instructs the EPA to find the “best source of emissions reduction” for new and existing sources and to develop a standard based on that system that plants must meet. The EPA based its new standards on technologies such as carbon capture and sequestration, low-greenhouse-gas hydrogen co-firing, and natural gas co-firing. Co-firing involves the combustion of one fuel in conjunction with another to generate power.

The proposals allow plants different pathways to comply with the standards, which vary by source. For long-lived coal plants, the EPA determined carbon capture to be the best system of emissions reduction.

Criticism and Controversy

Coal interests and some lawmakers, including Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and many Republicans, have criticized the direction the EPA is taking its carbon emissions rules and argued it will drive further retirements of coal plants and further threaten grid reliability. Some criticisms have centered on the agency’s reliance on carbon capture to develop the standards, with critics saying the technology has yet to be adequately demonstrated.

Regan said the EPA expects retirements to occur as a result of its proposed rules but passed the buck to stakeholders to decide whether they want to pay for facility improvements. According to Regan, whether a generating unit retires is “really a decision that will be made company by company and state by state.”

Conclusion

The EPA’s proposed regulations are a significant step towards reducing carbon emissions from power plants. While there is criticism and controversy surrounding the proposals, the EPA is confident that they will stand up in court. The nation’s coal fleet has been retiring steadily for years, and the EPA’s proposals are likely to accelerate this trend. However, the decision to retire generating units will ultimately be made by individual companies and states.