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New EPA power plant rules: Here's everything you need to know

Published Sept. 20, 2013
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Davide Savenije Editor-in-Chief
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They're finally here.

On Friday morning, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced new regulations to limit carbon emissions for new power plants. 

From a rundown and analysis of what's in the rules to primary source materials and best reactions from around the web, here's everything you need to know about the carbon emission standards:


What's in the regulations:  

An EPA press release gives a basic overview of what's in the new rules:

"Under today’s proposal, new large natural gas-fired turbines would need to meet a limit of 1,000 pounds of CO2 per megawatt-hour, while new small natural gas-fired turbines would need to meet a limit of 1,100 pounds of CO2 per megawatt-hour. New coal-fired units would need to meet a limit of 1,100 pounds of CO2 per megawatt-hour, and would have the option to meet a somewhat tighter limit if they choose to average emissions over multiple years, giving those units additional operational flexibility."

The new rules will effectively mandate the use of carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology for new power plants.


Context and analysis: 

Three notable things about the new regulations. 

First, McCarthy framed the rules, first and foremost, as a solution to the greatest public heath crisis of today—carbon emissions. Complying with the new standards may be an economic struggle for utilities, but McCarthy sees the rules as a moral and necessary act. This is why she and President Obama deemed the new rules as a necessary step to push utilities out of their comfort zones.   

Second, the regulations maintain "flexibility" for implementation of the rules. While the EPA will push all utilities to comply with the new standards, McCarthy emphasized in her announcement that the push will not necessarily be standardized. Utility power plants could receive case-specific treatment. The EPA expects growing pains out of the gate, but is looking to work closely with utilities on implementation. 

Third, McCarthy starkly emphasized the new rules for new plants, which effectively mandate CCS, do not mean that rules for existing plants (to be proposed in June 2014) will include CCS. She said the rules would certainly be different and take into account the fact that existing plants were not designed around CCS. McCarthy emphasized that the EPA will go on a listening tour this year to understand industry's obstacles to implementing the new power plant rules and their concerns for next year's existing plant rules. 


Further reading: 

In an effort to provide you with comprehensive information on the new rules, we've gathered the best resources from across the internet:


Reactions to new rules:

From big-name politicians and utilities to energy reporters and policy analysts, here's a look at some of the most interesting reactions to the new rules on Twitter:

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