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Biden Administration Proposes First Cap on Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Power Plants

2023-05-11T12:26:29.130Z

Highlights: The law, yet to be approved, is the first to restrict carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. Power plants generate about 25% of U.S. greenhouse gas pollution. The rule also applies to future power plants and would avoid up to 617 million metric tons of carbon dioxide through 2042. Nearly all coal plants — along with large, frequently used gas plants — would have to reduce or capture nearly all of their carbon dioxide emission by 2038. Plants that cannot comply with the new rules will be forced to withdraw.


The law, yet to be approved, is the first to restrict carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, which generate 25% of the country's greenhouse gas pollution.


By Matthew Daly - The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The Biden Administration is proposing new limits on greenhouse gas emissions from coal and gas power plants, its most ambitious effort yet to reduce planet-warming pollution from the nation's second-largest contributor to the climate crisis.

A rule to be released Thursday by the Environmental Protection Agency may force power plants to capture smokestack emissions using technology long promised but not widely used in the United States.

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If passed, it will be the first time the federal government has capped carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants, which generate about 25% of U.S. greenhouse gas pollution, second only to the transportation sector. The rule also applies to future power plants and would avoid up to 617 million metric tons of carbon dioxide through 2042, which would equate to the annual emissions of 137 million passenger cars, according to the EPA.

Nearly all coal plants — along with large, frequently used gas plants — would have to reduce or capture nearly all of their carbon dioxide emissions by 2038, according to the EPA. Plants that cannot comply with the new rules will be forced to withdraw.

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The plan is likely to be challenged by industry groups and Republican-leaning states, which have accused the Democratic administration of environmental overreach and warned of a pending reliability crisis for the power grid. The power plant rule is part of at least a half-dozen EPA rules that limit emissions from plants and wastewater treatment.

Rich Nolan, president and CEO of the National Mining Association, said in an interview before the rule was announced that it is "a real onslaught" of government regulations "designed to prematurely shut down the coal fleet."

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In a call with reporters Wednesday, EPA Administrator Michael Regan denied that the power plant rule — or any other regulation — was intended to shut down the coal fleet, though he acknowledged, "We'll see some coal recalls."

Coal supplies about 20% of U.S. electricity, up from 45% in 2010. Natural gas provides about 40% of American electricity. The rest comes from nuclear and renewable energy such as wind, solar and hydroelectric.

"EPA is fulfilling its mission to reduce harmful pollution that threatens people's health and well-being," Regan said, adding that the proposal "builds on proven and readily available technologies to limit carbon pollution" and builds on industry practices already underway to move toward clean energy.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan testifies on Capitol Hill, March 22, 2023, in Washington.Jose Luis Magana/AP

Tom Kuhn, president of the Edison Electric Institute, which represents investor-owned U.S. utilities, said the group will evaluate whether the EPA's proposal aligns with its commitment to providing reliable, clean energy.

According to Kuhn, carbon emissions from the U.S. power sector are at the same level as in 1984, while electricity consumption has increased 73% since then.

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The EPA rule would not mandate the use of carbon capture and storage equipment — an expensive technology still under development — but would set limits for carbon dioxide pollution that plant operators would have to meet. Some natural gas plants could start mixing gas with another fuel source, such as hydrogen, which does not emit carbon, although the concrete measures would be left to the sector.

Still, the regulations are expected to encourage greater use of carbon capture equipment, a technology the EPA says has been "adequately demonstrated" to control pollution.

Jay Duffy, an attorney with the Boston-based Clean Air Task Force, said the EPA rule is likely to "push the deployment of carbon capture technology" well above its current use. "It's a way for (fossil fuel) plants to operate in a decarbonized world," he said before the rule was announced.

"The industry innovates and overdelivers," Duffy explained, citing an EPA rule from the '70s that required power plants to use sulfur dioxide scrubbers. At that time, there were only three commercial scrubber units in operation at U.S. power plants and a single supplier. Within a few years, there were 119 sulfur scrubbers installed and 13 suppliers, Duffy explains in an essay posted on the group's website.

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More recently, the U.S. energy sector exceeded the emissions targets set by the Obama administration in its Clean Power Plan, even though the plan was blocked by the courts and never implemented.

Still, the scope of the power plant rule is immense. About 60 percent of the electricity generated in the United States last year came from burning fossil fuels at the nation's 3,400 coal and gas plants, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

"These standards are very important," said David Doniger, strategic director of climate and clean energy at the Natural Resources Defense Council. Power plant standards are crucial to meeting President Joe Biden's goals of halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and removing carbon emissions from the power grid by 2035, he and other activists said.

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"We have to do it to address the climate emergency," Doniger said.

The proposal comes weeks after the Biden administration announced strict new limits on tailpipe pollution that would require up to two-thirds of new vehicles sold in the U.S. to be electric by 2032, and months after Biden announced rules to curb methane leaks from oil and gas wells.

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The rules follow the climate measures of the 2021 infrastructure law and the billions of dollars in tax credits and other incentives of the Inflation Reduction Act, passed last year.

While Biden has made fighting global warming one of his top priorities, he has faced harsh criticism from environmentalists — particularly young climate activists — for a recent decision to approve the controversial Willow oil project in Alaska.

Oil giant ConocoPhillips' massive drilling plan could produce up to 180,000 barrels of oil a day on Alaska's oil-rich North Slope. Environmental groups call Willow a "carbon bomb" and have organized a #StopWillow campaign on social media.

The new plan comes 14 years after the EPA declared carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to endanger public health. Former President Barack Obama tried to set limits on carbon pollution from U.S. power plants, but his 2015 Clean Power Plan was blocked by the Supreme Court and later overturned by former President Donald Trump.

Last year, the Supreme Court limited how the Clean Air Act can be used to reduce emissions from climate-altering power plants. The 6-3 ruling upheld the EPA's authority to regulate carbon emissions from power plants, but said it could not force a nationwide transition away from using coal to generate electricity.

The EPA clarified that its new rule will give plant operators flexibility to comply with the new standards with the method they choose. Instead of setting a single limit that all power plants must meet, the agency will set a series of targets based on the size of the plant, the frequency of its use and whether it is already planned to be retired.

Source: telemundo

All news articles on 2023-05-11

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