Abby L. Harvey
GHG Monitor
12/19/2014
With a Jan. 8 deadline for finalization of the Environmental Protection Agency’s New Source Performance Standards for new-build coal-fired power plants fast approaching, the agency is still going through the more than one million comments received during the comment period, EPA spokeswoman Liz Purchia told GHG Monitor this week. The regulations, which largely mandate the use of carbon capture and storage on all new build coal fired power plants, have been the source of much controversy through their development due to charges that CCS is not a proven technology and cannot or should not be considered a best source of emissions reduction. Before finalization, the White House Office of Management and Budget will have to review the rule. That process has no set minimum period, but on average takes roughly 53 days, according to OMB’s website, suggesting that it is unlikely that the rule, even if delivered to OMB immediately, would be cleared for finalization by the Jan. 8 deadline.
The comments received by the EPA vary greatly. Several state energy departments in states with strong coal industries wrote that the EPA is in effect banning future coal growth as the rule makes building new plants uneconomical. “The proposed rule acts as a de facto mandate from EPA that forces utilities to switch from coal-fired generation to natural gas in the future. The proposal can be construed as an attempt by EPA to pick ‘winners and losers’ in the market place,” the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection wrote. A number of comments also debated the affect the rule would have on the development of CCS technology. Some argued that because the rule would disincentive building new coal plants where CCS would be deployed, it would hinder the development of the technology itself. Others argued, however, that the rule would drive innovation. “Requiring CCS for new coal plants would send a clear regulatory signal to power companies, their investors, and utility regulators that power companies will need to invest in CCS technology in order to utilize the energy value of coal well into the future,” the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) wrote in its comments.
