Karen Frantz
GHG Monitor
2/28/2014
The United States can achieve significant and affordable reductions in its greenhouse gas emissions by displacing power from high-emitting coal-fired power plants with power from under-used natural gas plants, the Clean Air Task Force said in a report released this week. The report, which is being presented to the Environmental Protection Agency, lays out a number of policy recommendations as the EPA crafts its anticipated rule setting greenhouse gas emission standards for existing power plants. Conrad Schneider, Advocacy Director for CATF, said that the analysis, prepared by the NorthBridge Group, showed that the policy recommendation could cut carbon emissions from power plants by 27 percent from 2005 levels by 2020, with increases in electric rates limited to 2 percent.
“What we’ve learned from this analysis is that the U.S. can achieve significant CO2 emissions reductions from the fleet of existing fossil-fueled power plants at minimal cost simply by taking greater advantage of currently underutilized natural gas plants to displace power from the highest-emitting coal plants,” Schneider said in a statement. “We recommend that EPA tap this potential by issuing carbon pollution standards and offer states a model emission credit trading rule to facilitate implementation. … We see this plan as providing a feasible, legally-defensible pathway to reduce emissions from existing plants as part of a strategy to help the Administration to its overall greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of 17% from 2005 levels by 2020.”
The report also recommended that the Agency “set separate emission rate standards for fossil-fuel utility boilers at 1,450 lbs CO2/MWh and natural gas combustion turbines at 1,100 lbs CO2/MWh” and “facilitate least-cost implementation for states by issuing a model interstate emission credit trading rule with the opportunity to use the free allocation of allowances to protect electric retail ratepayers of all classes.”