The Biden administration is reportedly finalizing a proposal that would force fossil fuel-powered power plants to drastically curb emissions or use expensive carbon capture technology.
The proposal – soon to be released by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – is expected to require coal- and natural gas-fired power plants to cut or capture most of their carbon dioxide emissions by 2040, The New York Times reported on Saturday , cited officials as saying in a draft plan. The regulation, if finalized, would represent the first federal action to curb power plant emissions.
“The EPA cannot comment because the proposals are currently under interagency review,” EPA spokeswoman Maria Michalos told Fox News Digital in a statement.
“But we’ve been clear from the beginning that we will use all of our legislative tools, based on decades-old bipartisan legislation, to address dangerous air pollution and protect the air our people breathe. children today and for generations to come,” Michalos said.
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An Office of Management and Budget filing from late last year said the EPA is expected to issue a proposed rule for action, described as a proposal to limit greenhouse gas emissions from existing fossil fuel- fired plants, in spring 2023 and promulgate a final rule by summer 2024. The filing states that there are no EPA regulations on the books that limit emissions from existing electric generating units .
Overall, there are 3,393 fossil fuel-fired power plants nationwide, most of them natural gas plants, according to the most recent federal data. Those plants generate more than 60% of the country’s electricity, compared to about 14% of electricity generated by wind and solar projects.
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However, EPA data show that the electricity sector accounts for about 25% of total US emissions, placing it just behind the transportation sector and slightly ahead of the industrial sector. Because of this, fossil fuel power plants have been targeted by environmentalists and Democratic lawmakers who argue that emissions should be reduced in an effort to prevent major climate change.
Shortly after taking office, President Biden pledged to enable the country to achieve up to a 52% total emissions reduction by 2030 and create a carbon pollution-free electricity sector by 2035.
“Setting effective, affordable power plant carbon standards under the Clean Air Act can now ensure that the power industry delivers the emissions reductions needed to help address the climate crisis ,” argues an issue brief released this month by the Natural Resources Defense Council, an influential environmental group. “Time is of the essence.”
“EPA needs to act quickly, proposing power plant carbon standards as soon as promised and finalizing them early next year,” the brief added. “This will allow states and power companies to work on implementing them, so we can curb this dangerous pollution and protect the climate as soon as possible.”
However, the fossil fuel industry has pushed back, arguing that the US electricity grid relies heavily on coal, natural gas and petroleum.
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“The proposed EPA regulation is just the latest in President Biden’s anti-fossil fuels agenda, which forces the retirement of power sources needed during the grid transition,” Michelle Bloodworth, the president and CEO of America’s Power , a coal power trade group, told Fox News Digital.
“The EPA’s actions are contrary to the concerns of grid operators and other energy experts who have warned about possible power shortages,” he continued.
The The US Supreme Court ruled in June 2022 that an Obama-era rule limiting power plant emissions under the Clean Air Act was unconstitutional, because Congress had never given the EPA express authority to issue such regulations. But the Inflation Reduction Act passed two months after that decision allows the EPA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.