Today (May 11), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released new power plant rules. The rules propose Clean Air Act emission limits and guidelines for carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants based on cost-effective and available control technologies. The proposed standards are based on technologies that include carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) and hydrogen combustion. Read the full text of the proposed rules at: https://www.epa.gov/stationary-sources-air-pollution/greenhouse-gas-standards-and-guidelines-fossil-fuel-fired-power.
"Clean Energy Group is deeply concerned about the environmental justice implications of the EPA's proposed power plant rules," said President and Executive Director Seth Mullendore. "While it is vital that we set rigorous decarbonization goals for the power sector, this must be accomplished without increasing localized pollutants that harm neighboring communities. Encouraging power plants to utilize technologies like carbon capture and hydrogen combustion to meet decarbonization goals will result in diminished returns and increased harm to environmental justice communities."
CCS has not been deployed successfully at any power plant in the U.S. (source). Data from the only commercially operating power plant utilizing CCS in the world, the Boundary Dam coal plant in Canada, shows capture rates of up to 90%, although not all those emissions are stored (source). Beyond its limited efficacy in capturing carbon emissions, because of the additional fuel needed to power the CCS equipment itself, electricity generation paired with CCS requires up to 44% more fuel than standalone power generation (source). CCS does not capture any toxic local air pollutants, such as fine particulates (PM2.5) and nitrogen oxides (NOx); the additional fuel burned to power the technology can therefore increase particulates and NOx emissions by anywhere from 5-60% (source 1, source 2).
Burning hydrogen in power plants has similarly troubling consequences for local air pollution. Although hydrogen does not produce CO2 when burned, it does produce six times as much NOx as natural gas (source). There is also a growing body of evidence that hydrogen itself is an indirect greenhouse gas that extends the lifetime of methane in the atmosphere (source).
In addition to encouraging existing and new gas plants to adopt these damaging technologies, the EPA rules have weak standards for inefficient, highly polluting plants that run at times of peak demand. These peaker plants already have higher rates of local emissions, and the public health ramifications of those emissions are seen in the communities that live near them. "Nationwide, the power plants that run during peak demand are disproportionately located right in low-income communities and communities of color. They are even dirtier than baseload plants, and the pollution they emit causes damage throughout the entire body and shortens lifespans," said Clean Energy Group Project Director Shelley Robbins (source). "Given our proven ability to replace most peakers with battery storage and other non-combustion alternatives, there is no reason to use grid reliability as an excuse to perpetuate the use of these locations as sacrifice zones."
"The EPA's new power plant rules are setting up an environmental justice disaster, in which communities will have to contend with decades more of harmful air pollution and vital climate action is once again delayed," said Clean Energy Group Project Director Abbe Ramanan.
Individuals and organizations interested in submitting comments regarding these proposed rules can do so online via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at https://www.regulations.gov/, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2023-0072.
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CONTACT:
Seth Mullendore, seth@cleangroup.org
Shelley Robbins, shelley@cleanegroup.org
Abbe Ramanan, abbe@cleanegroup.org
About Clean Energy Group:
Clean Energy Group (CEG) is a leading national nonprofit advocacy organization focused on accelerating an equitable and inclusive transition to a resilient, sustainable, clean energy future. CEG works at the forefront of energy innovation to address the urgency of the climate crisis while strengthening historically marginalized communities through enabling greater access to and ownership of clean energy technologies. Founded in 1998, CEG has been a thought leader on effective climate and clean energy strategies for more than two decades, filling a critical resource gap by advancing disruptive energy initiatives and serving as a trusted source of technical expertise and independent analysis in support of communities, nonprofit advocates, and government leaders working on the frontlines of climate change. www.cleanegroup.org
