GHG Daily
1/21/2016
The Environmental Protection Agency’s carbon emissions standards for existing coal-fired power plants, the Clean Power Plan, constitute an undoubtedly complex regulation that is difficult to evaluate, but adequately analyzing the rule is not impossible, according to a new report by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). “Although effectively evaluating the impacts of the CPP may present challenges, these challenges can be mitigated by using appropriate modeling tools and techniques,” the report says.
There are four “guiding principles” to effectively evaluating the Clean Power Plan, which requires states to develop action plans to meet federally set, state-specific carbon emissions reduction goals, according to the report. First, transparency and stakeholder engagement should be undertaken in model development, model inputs, and study designs to help identify policy alternatives and effectively evaluate assumptions. Second, changes to current study methodologies should be included in the evaluation to “allow transmission planning entities to more effectively assess the impact of the CPP and associated compliance plans,” the white paper says. Third, study inputs that account for uncertainty and test for sensitivity should be used. Finally, new modeling tools and techniques should be used to help transmission planning entities better assess the overall impact of the CPP and associated compliance plans.
