GHG Daily
1/20/2016
The federally, set state-specific targets in the Environmental Protection Agency’s carbon emissions standards for existing coal-fired power plants are based on faulty assumptions, according to a report issued Tuesday by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. According to the report, while EPA claimed the targets are source-specific emissions performance rates, they are not actually based on performance at an emitting source but rather on “the presumption that power plant owners should replace coal- and gas-fired generation with massive amounts of new renewable energy.”
The report also says the targets are based on data that might be less than illustrative of the potential growth of the renewable sector. “Simply basing wind energy generation projections on the 2nd highest wind deployment year in recent history … would increase EPA’s coal and gas “performance rates” by 135 pounds per megawatt hour (lbs/MWh) and 25 lbs/MWh, respectively,” according to the report.