Keywords
EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, Carbon Emissions, Climate Action, Climate Policy, Clean Air Act, Power Plant Emissions, Electricity Sector, Carbon Capture & Storage, Green Hydrogen
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposed regulations of power plant carbon emissions under Section 111 of the Clean Air Act, which were proposed in May of 2023, raise a number of concerns. The proposed regulations target a transition in the U.S. power sector towards clean energy, relying heavily on Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS) and green hydrogen technologies to achieve nearly net zero carbon emissions from existing fossil fuel power plants. These technologies, however, do not seem to satisfy the Section 111 requirement that the Best System of Emissions Reduction (BSER) be adequately demonstrated at the scale and for the purposes envisioned by the EPA. The critique highlights a discrepancy between the EPA's proposed New Source Performance Standards and the statutory requirement that the BSER must be technically feasible and cost-effective. Concerns are raised about the potential for these regulations to unconstitutionally coerce state governments and to neglect the economic implications, including the potential rise in electricity costs and the environmental impact of shifting away from coal and natural gas. Additionally, the critique questions the EPA's interpretation of Section 111 as it may extend the agency's authority to significantly alter the American economy in the pursuit of addressing climate change. The warning is of a "disorderly transition" that might compromise the reliability and affordability of electricity supply, undermining efforts towards a sustainable low-carbon power sector transition.
Recommended Citation
Mario Loyola, Inadequate Demonstration: EPA’s Latest Effort to Force a Clean Energy Transition on the Power Sector Rests on Technologies That Have Not Been Adequately Demonstrated, 18 FIU L. Rev. 451 (2024), https://doi.org/10.25148/lawrev.18.2.12.
