Your current location is:{Current column} >>Text
Biden EPA to issue power plant rules that lean on carbon capture By Reuters
{Current column}92People have watched
IntroductionBy Valerie VolcoviciWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government may soon require natural gas-fired po ...
By Valerie Volcovici
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Where to open an account if you want to trade foreign exchange in ChinaU.S. government may soon require natural gas-fired power plants to install technology to capture carbon emissions, sources said, as President Joe Biden's administration enacts new rules to help decarbonize the power sector in 12 years.
The Environmental Protection Agency as soon as this week is expected to unveil standards for new and existing power plants, which belch roughly a quarter of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, two sources said. The rules will replace former President Donald Trump's American Clean Energy rule and former President Barack Obama's Clean Power Plan, both of which were invalidated by courts.
More than a year in the making, the standards should be based on a plant's potential to reduce emissions through carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, according to clean air law experts and industry representatives in talks with the EPA.
Utility companies may need to decide whether they want to build new baseload gas plants with CCS technology or zero-emission renewable energy. States would develop plans for bringing their plants into compliance.
"These standards could level the playing field between new gas plants and new renewable energy," said Thomas Schuster, head of the Sierra Club's Pennsylvania chapter. Most new gas plants currently do not pay for emitting carbon, so the rules could make it harder for them to compete with solar and wind power.
Biden has pledged that the power business will decarbonize by 2035. According to the Clean Air Act, the standards must be based on “best system of emission reduction,” technologies deemed affordable and technically feasible.
The proposal will reflect two major developments to ensure the rules are legally defensible. One, a Supreme Court decision last July, barred EPA from forcing a system-wide shift in electric generation but allowed it to issue plant-specific rules.
Second, the Inflation Reduction Act created tax credits making carbon capture and hydrogen more affordable and affirmed EPA's authority to regulate power plants. The law offers more than $100 billion in clean electricity tax incentives, including a 70% increase in credits for each ton of carbon captured and sequestered.
"If you're building a new fossil (), it needs to control its emissions, said Lissa Lynch, director of the federal legal group at the Natural Resources Defense Council. Existing technology can capture and store approximately 90% of carbon emissions, Lynch said.
EPA could set varying standards for plants, applying stringent measures for ones that run constantly and easier ones for "peaker" plants which run during high power demand, Lynch said.
CLEANER POWER
U.S. Energy Information Administration figures show fossil fuels accounted for more than 60% of U.S. electricity generation in 2022, with 60% of that coming from gas and 40% from coal. Renewables accounted for 21.5%, with nuclear energy making up the rest.
The EIA projected that this year, 54% of new generation (21GW) will be solar and 14% will be (7.5GW).
Federal utility TVA has the most planned gas capacity at 5GW followed by investor-owned (NYSE:) with 3 GW planned.
TVA's portfolio in the coming decades will include carbon-free sources "and sources like natural gas that complement that diversity without sacrificing rates or reliability", a spokesperson said.
Duke plans for natural gas to be part of its mix but "operated less as baseload generation and as more of a peaking/ramping resource over time to balance out the variability in renewable resources", a spokesperson said.
Some industry representatives signaled in comments to the EPA last year that they do not think power plant standards should be based on carbon capture and storage, with the National Mining Association saying it is not an "adequately tested technology." The group cited failure of a Texas project called Petra Nova that was mothballed in 2020.
Utility Southern Company (NYSE:) , which is phasing out its large fleet of coal generation, said new gas turbines should be favored "to safeguard electric needs of the U.S.".
Southern, which also runs the National Carbon Capture Center with the Department of Energy, said commercial deployment of carbon capture technology "is many years away" despite the cost-reduction potential of the Inflation Reduction Act.
Statement: The content of this article does not represent the views of FTI website. The content is for reference only and does not constitute investment suggestions. Investment is risky, so you should be careful in your choice! If it involves content, copyright and other issues, please contact us and we will make adjustments at the first time!
Tags:
Related articles
U.S. crude stocks down 4M barrels last week, fuel demand mixed
{Current column}-- U.S. crude stockpiles fell again last week while fuel demand was mixed, petroleum industry group ...
Read moreBitcoin falls short of $100,000, market eyes Trump's next move on crypto policy.
{Current column}Recently, Bitcoin has shown strong performance in the market, especially after Trump won the US elec ...
Read moreSouth Korea's turmoil triggers a 3 trillion won foreign outflow, pressuring the economy.
{Current column}Political Instability in South Korea Triggers Massive Withdrawal of Foreign Investments, Economy Fac ...
Read more
Popular Articles
- Russia likely behind U.S. military document leak, U.S. officials say By Reuters
- Japan's service inflation rises, wage
- Trump 2.0: Ten Key Points on Government Restructuring and Deregulation
- Bitcoin falls short of $100,000, market eyes Trump's next move on crypto policy.
- XRP, ADA and MATIC Are Altcoins to Watch This Coming Week By CoinEdition
- Wheat demand rebounds, soybean exports face pressure; policies and competition are key.
Latest articles
-
Why is the US dollar so strong again? By Reuters
-
Fed's hawkish cuts boost the dollar, pressuring currencies and reshaping rates.
-
The US dollar's six
-
Besant, Trump's Treasury pick, pledges tax cuts and dollar reserve status.
-
Broadcom rallies on a new multibillion
-
Oil prices fluctuated as Middle East risks eased, focusing on OPEC+ and China’s imports.