EPA Planning New Rules to Slash Emissions From Power Plants
Proposed regulations would steer natural-gas and coal-fired plant operators toward the use of carbon-capture technology
The Environmental Protection Agency is preparing to issue new rules that would slash the amount of planet-warming greenhouse gases produced by U.S. power plants in the coming decades, according to people familiar with the matter.
For the first time, emissions from both new and existing natural-gas plants, as well as existing coal-fired plants, would be regulated, the people said. Electric utilities would have various options for meeting the tougher standards by installing new carbon-capture systems or switching to cleaner fuels such as hydrogen, according to the people.
Older gas and coal power plants that are set to retire, or plants that are used sparingly, wouldn’t be required to meet the same greenhouse gas standard, according to the people. The White House plans to announce the proposed regulations as soon as the first week of May, according to the people, though that timing could change.
EPA officials wouldn’t comment on the details or timing of the release of the proposed rules because they are currently under review.
“But we have been clear from the start that we will use all of our legally-upheld tools, grounded in decades-old bipartisan laws, to address dangerous air pollution and protect the air our children breathe today and for generations to come,” said EPA spokeswoman Maria Michalos.
EPA officials have developed the rules over the past year. The rules are currently being reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget to determine their projected cost and economic impact, according to a summary of the new rules posted on the OMB website.
New technologies allow utilities to remove the carbon dioxide before it is emitted from the smokestacks of power plants, and the CO2 can then be stored in underground formations. But the use of carbon capture and storage in power plants has had an uneven record, and a 2021 report by the Government Accountability Office found the $1.1 billion in taxpayer funds spent on carbon capture since 2009 only resulted in 3 of 11 projects being built.
In February, the Energy Department announced $2.5 billion to fund large-scale carbon-capture projects, four of which will be designed to work with coal and natural-gas power plants. Private investors are also backing carbon-capture efforts in the electric power and oil industries.
Once issued, the EPA proposal would undergo a public comment period before the agency issues a final rule. “EPA anticipates issuing a proposed rule in spring 2023, and promulgating a final rule by Summer 2024,” the OMB summary states.
Over the past few weeks, EPA officials have been briefing both industry and environmental groups to discuss the proposed rules, according to a list of meetings posted on the OMB website. On April 14, agency officials also briefed representatives of attorneys general in California, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Illinois, Oregon and Hawaii.
The power sector is responsible for 25% of the nation’s carbon-dioxide emissions, second only to emissions from cars, trucks and other vehicles. Earlier this month, the White House introduced new tailpipe emissions restrictions that would be the nation’s toughest-ever restrictions on car pollution—and one of President Biden’s most aggressive moves yet to combat climate change. He had previously called for half of all new vehicle sales to be electric-powered by 2030.
In 2021, Mr. Biden pledged to cut U.S. emissions of greenhouse gases by roughly 50% from 2005 levels by 2030.
In 2022, Mr. Biden signed a climate bill that allocates $374 billion to subsidize clean-power generation, electric vehicles and upgrades to reduce emissions at homes and businesses.
Increasing industrial emissions of greenhouse gases are raising the temperature of the planet’s atmosphere, oceans and land surface. The heat is causing rising sea levels to damage coastal communities, worsening periods of drought, and flooding from storms and periods of intense rainfall, according to the most recent report by the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
The IPCC said there is a “feasible, but narrow pathway” to avoid the worst effects of climate change, however to do so, the world’s nations must together cut greenhouse-gas emissions 60% by 2035 to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius over preindustrial levels.
Global greenhouse-gas emissions reached record levels in 2022 and are projected to continue their upward trajectory, according to the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report, issued in March.