The new regulations include, among other things, the obligation for certain coal-fired power plants to capture carbon dioxide emissions, rather than rejecting them into the atmosphere.
If implemented, the measures would be the first time the EPA has imposed restrictions on carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants.
Electricity generation accounts for about a quarter of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.
However, it is possible that these rules will be challenged in court, as happened in a previous attempt in the same context under President Barack Obama.
These rules include the ability to prevent the emission of “more than 600 million tons of carbon by 2042”, equivalent to the emissions of “half of all American cars in one year”, according to the chief of the EPA, Michael Reagan.
He warned that this would lead to the closure of coal-fired power plants, stressing at the same time that it would have a “minor impact on electricity prices”.
But the proposed rules differ significantly, depending on the type of plant, its level of use, or even the date of a possible scheduled shutdown.
The agency relies in particular on carbon dioxide capture and storage technologies, which are still rare and costly.
However, the government is betting on its development, after having voted last year the law of reduction of inflation, which envisaged in particular to increase the tax exemptions for the power stations using these technologies.
The first category concerns thermal power stations using steam turbines, that is to say mainly coal-fired power stations.
Under the new regulations, any plant that plans to continue operating after 2040 must install technologies to capture 90% of the carbon dioxide emitted, starting in 2030.
By contrast, there are no restrictions on carbon-based power plants that will stop operating by 2032, or even those that will operate until 2035 at less than 20% capacity.
However, the EPA points out that adopting these technologies will take time and be cost-effective, especially for plants that operate longer.
series of actions
For gas-fired power plants using combustion turbines, two paths have been proposed: on the one hand, carbon dioxide capture and, on the other hand, low-carbon hydrogen.
New large-capacity gas-fired power plants will need to capture 90% carbon dioxide by 2035, or use 30% low-carbon hydrogen by 2032 and 96% by 2038.
The same rules apply to larger gas-fired power plants.
Michael Reagan has confirmed that his proposals are “100% in line” with the commitments of Joe Biden, who has promised to produce carbon-free electricity from 2035.
These proposals are also “part of a series of measures”, as he said.
In 2015, Barack Obama announced a plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, but that plan was blocked before it could take effect. While the case went to the Supreme Court last year, the court restricted the EPA’s ability to act.
According to its decision, the general rules that would lead to a forced transition from coal to other energy sources fall outside the agency’s jurisdiction.
Reagan said the measures introduced Thursday follow the EPA’s “traditional approach” to operating under the Clean Air Act.
“We are confident that we are within those limits,” he said.
But the new rules must undergo a period of public discussion, before being finalized.
Dan Lashov of the World Resources Institute told AFP that the measures “signal the end of the era of unlimited pollution from power plants”.
However, he regretted that the proposal did not go further with regard to gas-fired power stations.
Some environmental organizations are also critical of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies, which they fear will allow dirty power plants to endure, rather than convert directly to renewables.
According to the International Energy Agency, there are currently only about 35 capture and storage sites for carbon dioxide emitted by industrial processes or electricity generation worldwide.
The absorption capacity of these sites is about 45 million tons of carbon dioxide per year, while the total emissions are 37 billion tons per year worldwide.
In 2022, about 60% of electricity generation in the United States came from gas (40%) or coal (20%), according to the US Energy Information Administration, followed by nuclear (18%) and renewable energy (21.5%).
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