Work in aerial perspective
The Biden administration said this week that it will exclude existing natural gas power plants from its proposed carbon regulations – at least for now – in a significant weakening of a key greenhouse gas regulation.
The Environmental Protection Agency said it still plans to finalize standards by April to reduce carbon emissions from existing coal plants and new gas-fired power plants, but will establish a broader new rule that addresses the entire fleet of gas-fired plants operating in the United States
Last May, the EPA proposed a set of standards that would reduce carbon emissions from coal plants and new gas plants by 617 million metric tons from 2028 to 2042, the equivalent of reducing annual emissions of 137 million passenger vehicles.
The standard for existing gas systems was added to the proposed rule at the last minute last year, and utilities warned it would hurt grid reliability.
Comments received by the EPA questioned the legal basis for requiring the installation of technologies such as carbon capture and sequestration since they are not widely used.
Some environmental groups have said they are disappointed that the EPA has delayed regulating existing gas facilities, and the move is seen as risky because the new mandates would likely not be in place by November’s presidential election.
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