The federal Environmental Protection Agency proposed tough new rules to clamp down on climate-damaging pollution from power plants using fossil fuels, a step that will bolster New Jersey’s efforts to reduce those emissions.
Power plants are one of the largest sources of greenhouse-gas emissions, and this proposal goes much further than a state rule adopted in New Jersey earlier this year to limit emissions from existing gas-fired power plants. New Jersey has no coal-fired power plants although gas units supply more than 40% of its electricity.
If adopted, the rule announced Thursday would prevent up to 617 million metric tons of total carbon dioxide from being released into the air through 2042. That would be the equivalent of reducing annual emissions of 137 million passenger vehicles, roughly half of the cars in the United States, according to the agency.
“By proposing new standards for fossil-fired power plants, EPA is delivering on its mission to reduce harmful pollution that threatens people’s health and wellbeing,’’ said Michael Regan, the EPA’s administrator.
Spend or shut down
But the proposal likely will force power plants to invest billions of dollars to reduce carbon pollution and some will likely shut down, a prospect some industry officials predict could increase retirement of units and boost concerns about reliability of the grid.
“Once again, aspirational policy is getting ahead of operational reality,’’ said Todd Snitchler, president and CEO of the Electric Policy Supply Association. “If finalized, these aggressive rules will undoubtedly drive up energy costs and lead to a substantial number of power plant retirements when experts have warned we are already facing a reliability crisis.’’
New Jersey projects demand for electricity will double by midcentury as the state aims to phase out fossil fuels by transitioning to electric vehicles and trucks and electrifying the building sector, two of the primary provisions of the state’s Energy Master Plan.
The EPA projects its proposal will increase electricity prices by 2% by 2030 and will remain flat after that. The regulation is sure to be challenged in court by some segments of the industry, which blocked an Obama administration rule to limit emissions from power plants.
Options for meeting mandate
The rule affords the sector flexibility in how it goes about achieving the mandated reductions. But it will lead some plants to install expensive carbon capture systems to limit carbon emissions or switch to hydrogen as a mixture in its fuel, a provision opposed by many environmentalists. The Inflation Reduction Act approved last year by Congress provides billions of dollars in tax credits and incentives to invest in those systems.
The announcement is the latest initiative by the Biden administration, which wants to cut in half greenhouse-gas emissions by 2030 across the nation. New Jersey has a state law that mandates emissions be cut by 80% below 2006 levels by 2050.
“This is the action the Biden administration needed to take to reach its goals and the scientific consensus to reduce pollutants,’’ said Doug O’Malley, director of Environment New Jersey.
Under the New Jersey rule on power plant emissions adopted in February, most of the existing gas-fired power plants met the new standard without having to install new technology, according to Jeff Tittel, a longtime environmental activist. “This is the rule New Jersey should have adopted,’’ he said.
Beyond reducing carbon emissions, the new EPA proposal also could cut tens of thousands of tons of particulate matter, nitrogen oxide and other pollutants harmful to human health that impair air quality in communities already overburdened with pollution, the agency said.
In 2030 alone, the proposed standards would prevent approximately 1,300 deaths and 300,000 cases of asthma attacks, according to the EPA.
“This is one of the most important steps we can take to confront the climate crisis,’’ said Lissa Lynch, federal climate director at the Natural Resources Defense Council. It’s long past time to rein it in.’’
Once the rule is published in the Federal Register, the EPA will take public comment on the proposal for 60 days. It also plans a virtual public hearing and will make additional public information available on its web site. The Biden administration hopes to adopt the rule in a year, given the upcoming presidential election in 2024.
