EPA proposes first carbon standard for future power plants

摘要

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed the first Clean Air Act standard for carbon pollution from new power plants. The proposal, which was released March 27, does not apply to plants currently operating or new permitted plants that begin construction over the next 12 months. The proposed rule, known as the New Source Performance Rule, would require any new power plant to emit no more than 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO_2) per megawatt of electricity produced. The average U.S. natural gas plant, which emits 800 to 850 pounds of CO_2 per megawatt, m eets that standard; coal plants, however, emit an average of 1,768 pounds of CO_2 per megawatt.