EPA FACT SHEET: Proposed Carbon Pollution Standard for New Power Plants pot

1  EPAFACTSHEET:ProposedCarbonPollutionStandardfor NewPowerPlants  OnMarch27,2012,theEnvironmentalProtectionAgency(EPA)proposedaCarbonPollution StandardforNewPowerPlants.Thiscommon‐sensestepundertheCleanAirActwould,forthe firsttime,setnationallimitsontheamountofcarbonpollutionpowerplants,builtinthe future,canemit.  EPA’sproposedstandardreflectstheongoingtrendinthepowersectortobuildcleanerplants thattakeadvantageofAmerican‐madetechnologies. Theagency’sproposal,whichdoesnot applytoplantscurrentlyoperatingornewpermittedplantsthatbeginconstructionoverthe next12months,isflexibleandwouldhelpminimizecarbonpollutionthroughthedeployment ofthesametypesofmoderntechnologiesandstepsthatpowercompaniesarealreadytaking tobuild thenextgenerationofpowerplants.EPA’sproposalwouldensurethatthisprogress towardacleaner,saferandmoremodernpowersectorcontinues.  PowerplantsarethelargestindividualsourcesofcarbonpollutionintheUnitedStatesand currentlytherearenouniformnationallimitsontheamountofcarbonpollutionthatfuture powerplantswillbeabletoemit.ConsistentwiththeUSSupremeCourt’sdecision,in2009, EPAdeterminedthatgreenhousegaspollutionthreatensAmericans'healthandwelfareby leadingtolonglastingchangesinourclimatethatcanhavearangeofnegativeeffectson humanhealthandtheenvironment.  FUTUREPOWERPLANTS  • Thenation’selectricitycomesfromdiverseandlargelydomesticenergysources, includingfossilfuels,nuclear,hydroand,increasingly,renewableenergysources.The proposedstandardwouldnotchangethisfact,andEPAputafocusonensuringthis standardprovidesapathwayforwardforarangeofimportantdomesticresources, includingcoalwithtechnologiesthatreducecarbonemissions.  • Theproposedrulewouldapplyonlytonew fossil‐fuel‐firedelectricutilitygenerating units(EGUs).Forpurposesofthisrule,fossil‐fuel‐firedEGUsincludefossil‐fuel‐fired boilers,integratedgasificationcombinedcycle(IGCC)unitsandstationarycombined cycleturbineunitsthatgenerateelectricityforsaleandarelargerthan25megawatts (MW).  • EPA’sproposalreflects theongoingtrendinthepowersector—ashifttowardcleaner powerplantsthattakeadvantageofmoderntechnologiesthatwillbecomethenext generationofpowerplants.EPA’sproposedrulewouldensurethisprogresscontinues.  • Newplantscanchoosetoburnanyfossilfueltogenerateelectricity,includingnatural  2 gasaswellascoalwiththehelpoftechnologiesthatreducecarbonemissions   • Theproposalwouldnotapplyto:  o Existingunitsincludingmodificationssuchaschangesneededtomeetotherair pollutionstandards  o Newpowerplantunitsthathavepermitsandstartconstructionwithin12 monthsofthisproposal;orunitslookingtorenewpermitsthatarepartofa DepartmentofEnergydemonstrationproject,providedthattheseunitsstart constructionwithin12monthsofthisproposal.Theseunitsarecalled “transitional”units.  o Newunitslocatedinnon‐continentalareas,whichinclude Hawaiiandthe territories.  o Newunitsthatdonotburnfossilfuels(e.g.,burnbiomassonly).  PRACTICAL,FLEXIBLE,ACHIEVABLE  • EPA’sproposedstandardreflectstheongoingtrendinthepowersectortobuildcleaner plants,includingnew,clean‐burning,efficientnaturalgasgeneration,whichisalready thetechnology ofchoicefornewandplannedpowerplants.  • Atthesametime,therulecreatesapathforwardfornewtechnologiestobedeployed atfuturefacilitiesthatwouldallowcompaniestoburncoal,whileemittinglesscarbon pollution.  • EPAisproposingthatnewfossil‐fuel‐firedpowerplantsmeetanoutput‐basedstandard of1,000poundsofCO 2 permegawatt‐hour(lbCO 2 /MWhgross).  • Newnaturalgascombinedcycle(NGCC)powerplantunitsshouldbeabletomeetthe proposedstandardwithoutadd‐oncontrols.Infact,basedonavailabledata,EPA believesthatnearlyall(95%)oftheNGCCunitsbuiltrecently(since2005)wouldmeet thestandard.   • Newpowerplantsthataredesignedtousecoalorpetroleumcokewouldbeableto incorporatetechnologytoreducecarbondioxideemissionstomeetthestandard,such ascarboncaptureandstorage(CCS).  • Somestates,includingWashington,OregonandCalifornia,currentlylimitGHG pollution.Otherstates,including MontanaandIllinois,currentlyrequireCCSfornew coalgeneration. 3  • Aspartofourfocusonensuringcontinueduseofadiverserangeofdomestically producedfuelsources,theproposedstandardprovidesflexibilitiesfornewpower plantstophaseintechnologytoreducecarbonpollution.Newpowerplantsthatuse CCSwouldhavetheoptiontousea30‐yearaverageofCO 2 emissionstomeetthe proposedstandard,ratherthanmeetingtheannualstandardeachyear.  o PlantsthatinstallandoperateCCSrightawaywouldhavetheflexibilitytoemit moreCO 2 intheearlyyearsastheylearnhowtobestoptimizethecontrols. o Acompanycouldbuildacoal‐firedplantandaddCCSlater.Forexample,anew powerplantcouldemitmoreCO 2 forthefirst10yearsandthenemitlessforthe next20years,aslongastheaverageofthoseemissionsmetthestandard. o CCSisexpectedtobecomemorewidelyavailable,whichshouldleadtolower costsandimprovedperformanceovertime.  • EPA,DOE,andindustryprojectionsindicatethat,duetotheeconomicsofcoaland naturalgasamongotherfactors,newpowerplantsthatarebuiltinoverthenext decadeormorewouldbeexpectedtomeetthisproposedstandardevenintheabsence oftherule.  • Becausethisstandardisinlinewithcurrentindustryinvestmentpatterns,thisproposed standardisnotexpectedtohavenotablecostsandisnotprojectedtoimpactelectricity pricesorreliability.  POWERPLANTCARBONPOLLUTIONIMPACTSPUBLICHEALTHANDTHEENVIRONMENT  • Thisstandardensuresthatpowercompaniesinvestinginlong‐livednewfossilfuelfired powerplantswillusecleantechnologiesthatlimitharmfulcarbonpollution.  • Carbonpollutionstaysintheatmosphereandcontributestoclimatechange,whichisa threattopublichealthandtheenvironmentforcurrentandfuturegenerations.  • EPAistakingcommon‐sensestepstolimittheseemissions,by addressingemissions fromfossil‐firedpowerplants,whicharethelargestnewsourcesofcarbonpollution.  • UncheckedgreenhousegaspollutionthreatensAmericans'healthandwelfareby leadingtolong‐lastingchangesinourclimate,withimpactsthatcouldinclude:  o Increasedgroundlevelozonepollution,otherwiseknownas smog.Exposureto groundlevelozoneislinkedtoasthmaandprematuredeath. o Longer,moreintenseandmorefrequentheatwaves. o Moreintenseprecipitationeventsandstormsurges. o LessprecipitationandmoreprolongeddroughtintheWestandSouthwest. 4 o MorefiresandinsectpestoutbreaksinAmericanforests,especiallyintheWest.  • Thehealthrisksfromclimatechangeareespeciallyseriousforchildren,theelderly,and thosewithheartandrespiratoryproblems.   OPEN,TRANSPARENTPROCESS  • Inearly2011,EPAheldseverallisteningsessionstogainimportantinformationand feedbackfromkeystakeholdersandthepublicbeforeinitiatingtherulemakingprocess tosetCarbonPollutionStandardfornewpowerplants.Eachlisteningsessionincludeda roundtablediscussionandpubliccomments.EPAalsosolicitedwrittencomments.EPA consideredthesecommentswhendraftingthisproposal.  • TheEPAwillacceptcommentonthisproposedrulefor60daysfollowingpublicationin theFederalRegister.  • EPAwillholdpublichearingsonthisproposal.Thedates,times,andlocationsofthe publichearingswillbeavailablesoon.TheywillbepublishedintheFederalRegisterand alsolistedonwww.epa.gov/carbonpollutionstandard  BACKGROUND  • OnApril2,2007,inalandmarkdecisioninMassachusettsv.EPA,theSupremeCourt determinedthatgreenhousegases,includingcarbondioxide,areairpollutantsunder theCleanAirActandEPAmustdetermineiftheythreatenpublichealthandwelfare.  • OnDecember15,2009,theEPAAdministratorfoundthatthecurrentandprojected concentrationsofgreenhousegasesendangerthepublichealthandwelfareofcurrent andfuturegenerations.  • OnDecember23,2010,EPAannouncedaproposedsettlementagreementtoissuerules thatwouldaddressGHGpollutionfromcertainfossilfuel‐firedEGUs.Thisagreement addressed,inpart,EPA’sSeptember2007remandofitsFebruary2006finaldecisionnot tosetstandardsforboilers.  HOWTOCOMMENT  • EPAwillacceptcommentontheproposalfor60daysafterpublicationintheFederal Register.CommentsontheproposedstandardshouldbeidentifiedbyDocketIDNo.EPA‐ HQ‐OAR‐2011‐0660.Allcommentsmaybesubmittedbyoneof thefollowingmethods: • www.regulations.gov:Followtheon‐lineinstructionsforsubmittingcomments. 5 • E‐mail:Commentsmaybesentbyelectronicmail(e‐mail)toa‐and‐r‐ Docket@epa.gov. • Fax:Faxyourcommentsto:202‐566‐1741. • Mail:Sendyourcommentsto:AirandRadiationDocketandInformationCenter, EnvironmentalProtectionAgency,MailCode:2822T,1200PennsylvaniaAve., NW, Washington,DC,20460. • HandDeliveryorCourier:Deliveryourcommentsto:EPADocketCenter,Room 3334,1301ConstitutionAve.,NW,Washington,DC,20460.Suchdeliveriesareonly acceptedduringtheDocket’snormalhoursofoperation,andspecialarrangements shouldbemadefordeliveriesofboxedinformation. • EPAwill holdpublichearingsonthisproposal.Thedates,times,andlocationsofthepublic hearingswillbeavailablesoon.TheywillbepublishedintheFederalRegisterandalso listedonwww.epa.gov/carbonpollutionstandard  FORMOREINFORMATION  • Theproposedrulecalled“StandardsofPerformanceforGreenhouseGasEmissionsfor NewStationarySources:ElectricUtilityGeneratingUnits”ispostedat: www.epa.gov/carbonpollutionstandard.