ISSUE BRIEFING:

Regulating Power Plant Emissions

Regulating greenhouse gas emissions from power plants is an essential step toward 100% clean electricity.

Clear Policy Ask

The EPA must finalize the strongest possible greenhouse gas emissions standards for power plants by June of 2024. The final rule must require 90% capture of current CO2 emissions for gas and coal plants, including gas plants with a capacity below 300 MW.

Why advocate for regulating power plant emissions?

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent agency of the federal government that regulates pollution. After a failed attempt by the Obama administration to set carbon standards for power plants, the EPA is finally gearing up to finalize two regulations. In the Inflation Reduction Act, Congress explicitly directs the EPA to regulate carbon emissions from new and existing power plants, clarifying ambiguity about its legal authority to do so.

In May of 2023, the EPA released draft regulations aimed at capping power plant emissions. The proposed rules must be finalized by June of 2024, or they risk being undone by the next presidential administration. The current draft regulation requires coal-fired plants to capture 90% of existing CO2 emissions by 2030 or else plan to shut down by 2040. If they take the “shut down” route, they must co-fire with fossil gas starting in 2030 for the remainder of the plant’s lifetime. Meanwhile, new and existing fossil gas plants must capture 90% of their CO2 emissions by 2035 or switch to hydrogen electricity generation by 2038. But the rule only applies to gas plants over 300 MW that operate frequently, which only covers about 14% of existing U.S. plants.

But why power plants? About a quarter of U.S. annual emissions comes from the power sector. By 2030, current law is projected to bring power-sector emissions down to 66% below the 2005 baseline. That’s great progress, but it falls short of the administration’s target of 80% reduction by 2030. If the EPA sets ambitious carbon standards for gas and coal plants, we can raise that emissions reduction number from 66% to 77%. Low-income and communities of color are also more likely to live in close proximity to fossil-burning power plants. By improving air quality around power plants, the EPA can help reduce disparities in health outcomes. The EPA also estimates that their proposed regulations will avoid $85 billion in climate and health-related costs over an 18-year period.

Quick Frames

We (and the decision-makers we want to persuade) are each approaching the climate crisis through different lenses. Facts are facts, but it can be helpful to frame them differently to match those individual lenses. Here are some common frames that speak to different perspectives:

  • 💡RAPID DECARBONIZATION: We’re not yet on track to fully decarbonize the power sector by 2035. Regulating power plants gives that effort a major boost.

  • ♥️ HUMAN HEALTH: Proximity to power plants can lead to serious illness, and the emissions from U.S. coal plants alone may cost us the equivalent of 200,000 human lives every year. The proposed regulations would avoid 1,300 premature deaths in 2030 alone.

  • 🌲 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION: Power plant emissions pollute the environment beyond trapping carbon in the atmosphere—coal ash, soot, mercury, and other fine particulate matter are some of the worst offenders.

  • ✊ EQUITY AND JUSTICE: Low-income Black Americans have the highest risk of death from power plant emissions, and health risks associated with burning fossil fuels are exacerbated by comorbidities that affect underserved communities.

  • 💰 ECONOMIC PROSPERITY AND JOB CREATION: Carbon standards will encourage a faster shift to renewable power generation, which creates energy transition jobs in the short-term and brings down electricity costs for consumers in the long-term.

  • ⚖️ HOLDING POLLUTERS ACCOUNTABLE: With stringent enough penalties for non-compliance, the EPA can raise the cost of emitting greenhouse gases to match the “social cost” of those emissions.

STOP! You now know enough about power plant carbon standards to take action.

Want more information? Keep reading below. ⬇️

Building a Case for Regulating Power Plants

  • About 60% of U.S. electricity is still generated by fossil fuels. Even if we electrify everything that currently runs directly on fossil fuels, we can’t reach economy-wide decarbonization if the electric grid is still powered by dirty generation.

    Modeling from Evergreen Action and NRDC shows that EPA could boost the power-sector decarbonization effects of the Inflation Reduction Act. Both power plant regulations combined could get us to 77% below baseline emissions for the power sector.

  • Before the Inflation Reduction Act, business-as-usual modeling projected an almost 30% increase in U.S. electricity demand by 2050. While we expect improvements in energy efficiency, new incentives for residential and commercial electrification are expected to generate much higher demand for electricity.

    The anticipated increase in electricity generation makes power plant carbon standards even more important. New carbon standards, combined with tax incentives and the increasingly low cost of renewable power, would bring emissions down despite higher electricity usage overall.

  • There are roughly 200 proposed fossil gas plants in the U.S. If the plants come online before carbon standards are in place, we set ourselves back on emissions reduction progress. According to Evergreen Action, new technology would allow emissions reductions of up to 90% for new power plants if the EPA sets robust carbon standards before those plants are constructed.

  • These polluting facilities create hazardous air and water pollution without having included local communities in any stage of the decision-making process.

    • One report identified that 70% of Superfund sites, the most polluted sites in the country, are within one mile of public housing.

    • At least half of U.S. residents within three miles of a Superfund site are people of color.

    • In 2000, the average income of residents within three miles of a coal plant was more than $3,000 below the national average.

  • The Clean Air Act’s Sections 111(b) and 111(d) authorize the EPA to set carbon standards for power generation. This authority was reinforced when Congress used the Inflation Reduction Act to amend the Clean Air Act.

    The Supreme Court’s decision in West Virginia v. EPA (2022) doesn’t strip that authority from the EPA. The Court’s ruling was that the EPA cannot require power plants to “generation shift” in order to reduce emissions. That means power plants can’t be forced to transition from generating electricity from fossil fuels to using renewable energy. But there are other ways for power plants to meet those standards that don’t requiring generation shifting, such as deploying carbon capture technology.

Sample Social Post

We've waited too long for proper regulation of carbon pollution. The power sector is responsible for 1/4 of total U.S. emissions. It's time @EPA imposes strict limits on CO2 for our power plants. Our health & our planet depend on it.

Additional Policy Resources