The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed the first carbon pollution standard for new power plants. This comes shortly after the EPA promulgated the Mercury and Air Toxics Standard (MATS) in December of last year.
The United States as no binding emissions goals like the EU does, and has not been able to agree on a carbon tax, cap and trade or a clean energy standard, though yet another attempt has recently been introduced in the Senate. About 36 states have a mandatory or voluntary renewable portfolio standards (RPS) or renewable energy standard (RES).
EPA is proposing that new fossil‐fuel‐fired power plants meet an output‐based standard of 1,000 pounds of CO2 per megawatt‐hour (lb CO2/MWh gross). It says that new natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) power plant units should be able to meet the proposed standard without add‐on controls. New power plants that are designed to use coal or petroleum coke would be able to incorporate technology to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to meet the standard, such as carbon capture and storage (CCS).
The EPA is proposing a limit of 1 lb or 453 g of CO2 per kWh for new power plants. The EPA Administrator said that new gas turbine power plants should be able to meet this standard. A coal-fired plant could not meet this standard without technology such as carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), which is not yet a proven production technology.
Industry estimates suggest the CO2 emissions for coal and gas-fired plants are
Coal fired plants = 800 to 1050 g per kWh
Natural gas (combined cycle) = 430 g (average) per kWh
The EPA’s new proposed rule does not apply to existing units already operating or units that will start construction over the next 12 months.
The EPA has had an open public consultation process to gather information in developing the carbon pollution standard for new power plants. The EPA’s comment period will be open for 60 days following publication in the Federal Register.
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