The Countdown to Cleaner Power Plants
If you’re connected to an electric grid, power plants provide your electricity—but they’re also a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. The good news is that proposed EPA regulations could change that. With the potential to help decarbonize the U.S. power sector and hold polluters accountable, the new regulations present a unique opportunity to take action. Stringent, effective regulations aren’t guaranteed without our collective efforts. Whether you’re a seasoned advocate or brand new to advocacy, now is the time to step off the sidelines and get in on the action.
Why the excitement about power plants?
Power plants send electricity to the electric grids that power our homes and businesses. Different power plants generate electricity using different sources of energy. Power plants that use renewable or nuclear energy do not produce greenhouse gas emissions. But most U.S. power plants burn natural gas or coal, which emit planet-warming carbon dioxide when they combust. Moreover, power plants are often located near low-income and BIPOC communities, disproportionately exposing them to hazardous air and water pollution.
Despite the power sector accounting for around 25% of annual U.S. emissions, the U.S. federal government has never successfully regulated power plant CO2 emissions.
Until now.
Why we’re so fired up (and acting urgently):
The Supreme Court's ruling in West Virginia v. EPA (2022) was big news that got a lot of public attention. Contrary to popular belief, the ruling does not strip the EPA’s authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions. The Clean Air Act, a comprehensive law passed in 1970 that regulates all sources of air emissions, authorizes the EPA to set carbon standards for power generation. This authorization was reinforced when Congress used the Inflation Reduction Act to amend the Clean Air Act in 2022, which is a big deal and something that isn’t often talked about.
In short, it’s go-time.
In May, the EPA released draft rules to limit power plant emissions. They require both fossil gas and coal-fired power plants to capture 90% of their CO2 emissions by the mid-2030s. Once these regulations are finalized, companies that operate power plants will be forced to sharply reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power generation. They can choose to transition their fuel source entirely (called “generation shifting”—our favorite option!), capture and store greenhouse gasses before they’re released into the atmosphere, or get out of the power generation business altogether. It’s critical that the EPA finalize the rules before June 2024 or they could be overturned by the next Congress and president.
By improving air quality around power plants, we can reduce health disparities in frontline communities, save an estimated 200,000 human lives every year, create jobs, bring down consumer electricity costs, and encourage continued decarbonization of the U.S. economy. Plus, if stringent enough penalties are imposed for non-compliance, power plants will pay high costs for emitting greenhouse gasses that will better reflect the “social cost” of those emissions. Learn more in our Issue Briefing.
What we can do right now:
The EPA’s proposed regulations are open for public comment. Public comments are open to all climate-concerned citizens, but also to fossil fuel supporters, so it’s critical that climate advocates show up to make their voices heard (blog post on public comments coming soon!).
Our current Climate Advocacy Action Plan outlines the three most productive, high-impact actions we can take as constituents. Each action comes with an easy-to-use, step-by-step playbook and can be accomplished in 60 minutes or less! You can tackle these playbooks anytime on your own or drop into an Hour of Action to complete the playbook alongside fellow changemakers. To learn more about these EPA regulations, dive into our full Issue Briefing.
It’s time for the EPA to set strict, ambitious, science-based carbon standards for both fossil gas and coal-fired plants. We’ll be cheering them on the whole way.
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