Biden Administration Announces Plan to Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Power Plants

The Biden administration on Thursday proposed new regulations, if enacted, that would aggressively limit greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, the second most harmful source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. struggle.

The Environmental Protection Agency said the new standards will allow the sector to avoid up to 617 million tons of carbon dioxide by 2042.

The EPA also estimates that the new rule could significantly improve air quality and public health, avoiding more than 300,000 cases of asthma and 1,300 premature deaths each year by 2030.

“The public health and environmental benefits of this proposed rule are immense, and there is good reason to be optimistic about what the future holds for our country,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. . Regan said by phone Wednesday.

Power plants are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States Electricity production account Twenty-five percent of greenhouse gases come just behind the country’s main source, the transportation industry.

of many of US power plants are powered by fossil fuels.Last year, the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas reduced about 60% of all US electricityabout 22% comes from renewable sources (wind, hydro, solar) and 18% from nuclear energy.

President Joe Biden vowed early in his administration Decarbonize the power sector by 2035 and make the entire economy carbon neutral by 2050.

But these new standards require fundamental changes in power plant operations. Carbon dioxide capture and storage technologyby removing carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels from the air and returning it to the earth, or by abandoning fossil fuels for renewable energy sources.

The EPA says these proposed changes will have a “negligible” impact on consumers’ electricity bills.

According to the International Energy Agency, the current 18 direct air recovery plants in operation worldwide.Because the technology is so new, carbon dioxide capture is ExpensiveBy 2021, the first and only commercial power plant in the United States to utilize carbon capture technology shut down Outside Houston rear Suffered from mechanical failures and failed to meet emissions targets.

The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in its latest annual report, said: Admitted Carbon capture is key to unlocking a greener future, but improvements in technology are needed to make it cost-effective and energy efficient.

According to their calculations, tax incentives provided by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 should offset the cost of installing carbon capture and storage technologies, senior government officials said on a conference call Tuesday. . they again, Closed Texas plant that used carbon capture reopenedin part thanks to these incentives.

Both of Biden’s predecessors have overruled power industry regulations in court.

A proposal put forward by former President Donald Trump to slightly reduce emissions from factories Rejected by the Federal Court of Appeals in 2021 and by the Supreme Court in 2016. allowed to stay About Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan.

The new proposed rule has already faced some fierce opposition. In anticipation of Thursday’s announcement, West Virginia Democratic Senator Joe Manchin opposed Wednesday’s Biden ad, saying the Biden administration would “do everything in its power to regulate coal- and gas-fired power plants.” He said he would not. Support the candidates for EPA Congress until they “stop government excesses.”

Over the next 60 days, the EPA will receive comments from stakeholders on these proposals and hold virtual hearings before proceeding with potential legislation.