U.S. EPA Proposal Would Force Coal-Fired Power Plants to Capture, Store CO2

摘要

Following a direct order from U.S. President Barack Obama earlier this year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on September 20 issued a proposed rule that would block construction of any new coal-fired power plant lacking carbon-dioxide (CO2) capture and storage (CCS). An even broader-impact proposed rule is due June 1, 2014, when the EPA must unveil a scheme for slashing greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions (mainly CO2 and methane) from existing power plants. Under the just-issued proposed rule, “new, large, natural-gas-fired turbines would need to meet a limit of 1,000 pounds of CO2 per megawatt-hour, while new, small, natural-gas-ired turbines would need to meet a limit of 1,100 pounds of CO2 per megawatt-hour,” according to the EPA.