Our article on June 28, 2012, discussed a proposed rule by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that would limit, for the first time, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from new fossil fuel-fired power plants.1 The proposal’s standard was based on the emissions of new natural gas-fired combined-cycle power plants. In order to meet the standards, new coal-fired plants would need to employ costly and untested carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology. The proposal was criticized by supporters of the coal industry because the standard would essentially prevent any new coal-fired power plants from receiving Clean Air Act (CAA) construction permits. After reviewing more than 2.5 million public comments on the 2012 proposal, and in consideration of recent trends in the power sector, on Sept. 20, the EPA issued a new proposal for CO2 emission standards for new power plants that, in EPA’s view, should allow new coal-fired power plants to receive construction permits from the states.2
As discussed below, however, this re-proposal, like the first proposal, is receiving significant negative commentary by industry and elected officials in states that depend on coal, whether for mining jobs or to produce electricity, including comments that the re-proposal standards will not permit the construction of a new coal-fired power plant because it is unlikely that new CCS technology will be commercially available in the near future.
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