Joe Biden’s government announced a plan to reduce CO2 emissions on Thursday2 for power plants, particularly gas and coal, from 2030, highly anticipated measures as part of the United States’ climate commitments.
These new regulations include, among other things, the obligation for certain coal-fired power stations to capture their CO emissions.2instead of releasing them into the atmosphere.
If they go into effect, it will be the first time the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has imposed restrictions on CO emissions.2 existing plants. Electricity generation accounts for about a quarter of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Like a previous attempt under President Obama, these regulations are likely to be fought in court.
They have the potential to prevent the emission of “more than 600 million tons of carbon by 2042”, which is equivalent to the emissions of “half of American cars in one year”, says the chief of the EPA, Michael Regan.
He warned that they would lead to closures of coal-fired power stations, but assured that they would have “a negligible impact on electricity prices”.
In concrete terms, the proposed rules vary according to the type of power plant, their level of use, or even their possible planned closing date.
The agency relies in particular on CO capture and storage techniques2which are still uncommon and expensive.
The government is betting on their development, after passing a law (Inflation Reduction Act, IRA) last year, which included increased tax credits for power stations using these techniques.
A first category concerns thermal power stations using steam turbines, ie mainly coal-fired power stations. Under the new rules, those planning to continue beyond 2040 will have to install technologies that capture 90% of CO2 issued from 2030.
On the other hand, no restrictions are imposed for coal-fired power plants retired by 2032, or even 2035 for those operating at less than 20% of their capacity.
The EPA argues that installing these technologies will take time, and will be especially cost-effective for plants operating longer.
“Series of Actions”
For gas-fired power plants using combustion turbines, two routes are proposed: on the one hand, CO capture2on the other hand low carbon hydrogen.
New gas-fired power plants used at high capacity will have to capture 90% of their CO2 by 2035, or use low-carbon hydrogen at 30% by 2032, and 96% by 2038. The same rules will apply for the largest existing gas-fired power plants.
Michael Regan assured that these proposals were “100% in line” with the commitments of Joe Biden, who promised carbon-neutral electricity production from 2035. They are part “of a series of actions”, a- he argues.
In 2015, Barack Obama had already announced a plan to reduce CO emissions2 power plants, which was finally blocked before entering into force. Seized on this case, the Supreme Court had limited the EPA’s ability to act last year.
According to its decision, general rules, which would have the consequence of forcing a transition from coal to other energy sources, exceed the authority of the agency.
The measures put forward on Thursday follow the EPA’s “traditional approach” to acting under the Clean Air Act, Regan said. “We are confident that we are within those limits,” he said.
Before being finalized, the new rules must be subject to a period of public debate.
Techniques still confidential
These measures “signal that the era of unlimited pollution from power plants is over,” said Dan Lashof, of the World Resources Institute, to AFP. However, he regretted that the proposal did not go further with regard to gas-fired power stations.
Some environmental groups are also very critical of carbon capture and storage (CCS) techniques, which they fear will allow polluting power plants to continue, instead of switching directly to renewable energies.
There are currently only around 35 CO capture and storage sites in the world.2 for industrial processes or power generation, according to the International Energy Agency.
Their total annual capture capacity is approximately 45 million tonnes of CO2when total emissions amount to 37 billion tons per year worldwide.
In 2022, approximately 60% of US electricity generation came from gas-fired (40%) or coal-fired (20%), according to the US Energy Information Agency, followed by nuclear (18 %) and renewable energies (21.5%).