The Biden administration has just announced its plans to limit carbon emissions from the electrical grid, and it’s a big deal. The rules will apply to gas- and coal-fired generating plants and will require operators to either capture carbon or replace a large fraction of their fuel with hydrogen. This move will likely accelerate coal’s disappearance from the US grid and push natural gas turbines to a supplemental source of power.
Of course, whether these rules go into effect will depend on legal maneuvering and future elections. But let’s take a closer look at the rules themselves.
Back in 2007, the US Supreme Court ruled that the Clean Air Act applied to greenhouse gas emissions, giving the EPA the power to set state-level standards to limit the release of greenhouse gases. The new plan reflects those rulings, creating compliance rules that need to be met by existing coal and natural gas plants. It also sets targets for any new natural gas plants brought into service but skips rules for new coal plants because, let’s face it, there’s no indication that anyone will ever want to build one.
To meet these targets, the EPA assumes that two nascent technologies will continue to mature: carbon capture and storage, and the production of green hydrogen. Both of these technologies exist at present but have only recently started to move beyond small, demonstration-level projects. The new rules assume that they’ll continue to scale up to the point where they can be applied to almost every fossil fuel plant within the US, starting in the early 2030s.
For combustion turbines that burn natural gas, the rules recognize three categories. The first is for plants that are only activated during periods of high demand, and so only generate 20 percent of the electricity that they could if they ran around the clock. These will simply be subject to a requirement to burn high-quality natural gas that keeps their carbon emissions below set limits. Intermediate load facilities that are active more regularly can meet the standards by replacing 30 percent of their fuel with green hydrogen by 2032.
The tough standards are reserved for plants that are used heavily, providing baseline power. One option they’ll have is capturing 90 percent of their carbon emissions by 2035. Alternatively, they can start by replacing 30 percent of their fuel with green hydrogen in 2032 and transition to 96 percent green hydrogen by 2038.
Coal plants, by contrast, are regulated based on a combination of use and when they plan to go out of service. While regulations will kick in starting in 2030 for these plants, any coal plant that is shutting down by 2032 will be left unregulated. The same is true for plants that shut down by 2035 and will not operate at more than 20 percent of their rated capacity. Those that will shut by 2040 will need to replace 40 percent of their fuel with natural gas to lower their emissions.
Given the typical life span of power plants and the fact that no new coal plants have been built in over a decade, that will likely cover the majority of coal plants in the US. The few that could operate in 2040 and beyond will have to capture 90 percent of their carbon dioxide emissions.
It’s clear that these new rules are a step in the right direction for the environment, but only time will tell if they’ll actually go into effect. Let’s hope they do, for the sake of our planet.
Today, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced historic new regulations intended to combat climate change by phasing out the use of coal and other fossil-based fuels in electricity production.
This move comes as part of EPA’s Clean Power Plan, which seeks to reduce US power sector emissions by 32% of 2005 levels by 2030, and spur significant investments in cleaner, renewable energy sources.
EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy highlighted the importance of the agency’s bold action, noting that the utility sector has the most potential for cutting carbon pollution. “In the face of a changing climate, our action to reduce carbon pollution from power plants is absolutely critical,” McCarthy said.
At the heart of the new rules is the EPA’s Clean Energy Investment Program, through which states must develop plans that leverage renewable energy and energy efficiency to move away from power plants that depend on coal and other polluting fuels, and towards sources that do not emit carbon.
The plan also gives states the opportunity to gain credits for earmarking these investments to developing clean energy sources, such as wind and solar. With these credits, states will be able to reach the ambitious emissions goals set out by the plan.
The EPA’s new regulations will have sweeping impacts all throughout the US energy sector. According to McCarthy, the initiative will create 30,000 jobs by 2020, and $20 billion in investments over the next five years.
These regulations will help the US continue to be a leader in the global fight against climate change, and give states and electric utilities the incentive to move away from expensive and dangerous sources of energy, and towards clean, affordable and reliable options.
