EPA
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Legal & Regulatory
FERC Commissioners, Other Experts Testify on Carbon Rule Reliability and Financial Impacts
The past week saw a flurry of Congressional hearings probing how the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) proposed carbon pollution rules will affect grid reliability and the economy. On Reliability The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee on Tuesday summoned the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC’s) four sitting commissioners and future chair Norman Bay to testify on […]
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Legal & Regulatory
EPA Public Hearing on Carbon Pollution Standards Draws More “Public” than Power Industry Speakers
Interest in the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) carbon pollution standards for existing power plants—the “Clean Power Plan,” proposed under the authority of the Clean Air Act Section 111(d)—was so high that the agency had to add double the days and double the rooms at all four locations this week. At all locations, power industry speakers […]
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Coal
EPA Rule Will Result in Closure of 750-MW Coal-Fired Unit
In an effort to reduce air pollution from the Navajo Generating Station (NGS)—a coal-fired power plant located near Page, Ariz.—the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a rule on July 28 that will result in the permanent shutdown of one of NGS’s three units. The EPA had issued an initial proposal in February 2013 but invited […]
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Coal
Preview of Denver’s Public Hearing on the EPA’s Proposed Clean Power Plan
Of the four public hearings scheduled this week on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Clean Power Plan—aka, carbon pollution standards proposed under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act—all but one are scheduled for states (and the District of Columbia) bordering the East Coast. A preview of the Denver hearing suggests that substantive comments from […]
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Legal & Regulatory
McCarthy Fields Carbon Rule Concerns on Coal, Costs, Climate Change
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) June 2–proposed carbon rule for existing power plants favors nuclear, renewable, and natural gas combined cycle sources, but it also grants coal-heavy states wide flexibility to meet carbon goals with continued coal use, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy told lawmakers at a Senate oversight hearing on Wednesday. Six Democrats and six […]
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Infographics
The EPA’s Clean Power Rule in Three Infographics
Under rules proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on June 2, 2014, existing fossil fuel–fired U.S. power plants must comply with state-specific goals to lower carbon pollution from the power sector by 2030, while modified and reconstructed power plants will be subject to technology-based performance standards. The EPA’s “Clean Power Plan” rule affecting existing […]
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Coal
Supreme Court Chips EPA GHG Authority, Says Agency Has No Power to “Tailor” Laws to Policy Goals
A divided Supreme Court on Monday partly reversed a 2012 federal court decision, ruling that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) exceeded its authority under the Clean Air Act when it required permitting for stationary sources based on their greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions. In a 5–4 ruling, the court’s right-leaning majority concluded that the agency may not […]
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Renewables
Carbon Rules Proposed for Existing Power Plants
Existing fossil fuel–fired U.S. power plants must comply with state-specific goals to lower carbon pollution by 2030 under rules proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today. The so-called “Clean Power Plan,” which applies to existing power plants, seeks to cut carbon emissions from the power sector by 30% from 2005 levels by 2030. It […]
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Commentary
Who’s Talking About Climate Change?
Everyone, it seems. From Bloomberg Businessweek to Rolling Stone, from ELECTRIC POWER (EP) to Platts Global Power Markets conferences, this spring everyone was talking about climate change. The topic is no
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O&M
Site-Specific Factors Are Critical for Compliance with Final 316(b) Existing Facilities Rule
On May 16, 2014, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is scheduled to release its long-delayed final 316(b) rule for existing facilities. The rule—which was supposed to have been issued Apr. 17 after
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