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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released rules Thursday that will mandate some power plants to capture carbon emissions to fight fictional climate change.
“Coal plants slated to keep running beyond 2039 have CO2 capture requirements that begin in 2032,” Axios reports.
“The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a suite of final rules to reduce pollution from fossil fuel-fired power plants in order to protect all communities from pollution and improve public health without disrupting the delivery of reliable electricity,” the EPA stated in a press release.
“These rules, finalized under separate authorities including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, will significantly reduce climate, air, water, and land pollution from the power sector, delivering on the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to protect public health, advance environmental justice, and confront the climate crisis,” the press release continued.
“Experts say new EPA power plant rules will drive up energy costs and further destabilize U.S. grid,” investigative journalist John Solomon noted.
Experts say new EPA power plant rules will drive up energy costs and further destabilize U.S. grid https://t.co/7LVvDryub4
— John Solomon (@jsolomonReports) April 26, 2024
Per Just the News:
The technology captures carbon dioxide emissions from the plant and then transports them for storage in underground wells. The costs of the EPA’s demands will likely be so high that owners of coal-fired power plants will choose to retire them rather than invest in the changes.
“Aside from the obvious impacts of driving up costs while further destabilizing America’s already rickety electricity grid by eliminating critical baseload power, EPA’s ill-intentioned and legally questionable rules package will seriously impact our state’s people,” Travis Deti, executive director of the Wyoming Mining Association, told Just The News.
“Today, EPA is proud to make good on the Biden-Harris Administration’s vision to tackle climate change and to protect all communities from pollution in our air, water, and in our neighborhoods,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan.
“By developing these standards in a clear, transparent, inclusive manner, EPA is cutting pollution while ensuring that power companies can make smart investments and continue to deliver reliable electricity for all Americans,” he added.
“This year, the United States is projected to build more new electric generation capacity than we have in two decades – and 96 percent of that will be clean,” said Biden’s National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi.
Axios reports:
As they impose new mandates, Biden officials are emphasizing financial carrots (like tax credits in the 2022 climate law) and other complementary policies to ease the deployment of climate-friendly power.
The Energy Department is also completing rules to boost interagency coordination on transmission permitting and paring back reviews needed for projects on existing rights of way.
Activists generally cheered the new climate and environmental rules. However, views differ on the decision to defer CO2 emissions from current gas-fired power plants to a subsequent plan.
The World Wildlife Fund called this “deeply concerning” and said it leaves “significant uncertainty.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said the CO2 rule will “significantly restrict electricity supply” even as more power is needed to meet rising demand from data centers, manufacturing and more.
However, Axios noted the agency’s overreaching power plant CO2 rules could face court challenges.
‘Extreme And Unlawful Overreach’: Biden Admin Unveils Final Plan To Push Climate Agenda On America’s Power Grid https://t.co/RX2Ke7tNit via @dailycaller
dumb EPA will limit so much CO2 that soon plants won’t be able to grow! Shut down these over reaching govt fascists.
— persistantNagatha
(@kmcccomcastnet) April 25, 2024
The EPA rules include:
- A final rule for existing coal-fired and new natural gas-fired power plants that would ensure that all coal-fired plants that plan to run in the long-term and all new baseload gas-fired plants control 90 percent of their carbon pollution.
- A final rule strengthening and updating the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) for coal-fired power plants, tightening the emissions standard for toxic metals by 67 percent and finalizing a 70 percent reduction in the emissions standard for mercury from existing lignite-fired sources.
- A final rule to reduce pollutants discharged through wastewater from coal-fired power plants by more than 660 million pounds per year, ensuring cleaner water for affected communities, including communities with environmental justice concerns that are disproportionately impacted.
- A final rule that will require the safe management of coal ash that is placed in areas that were unregulated at the federal level until now, including at previously used disposal areas that may leak and contaminate groundwater.
In related news, the Biden administration is reportedly considering declaring a ‘national climate emergency.’
Biden Administration Reportedly Considering ‘National Climate Emergency’
