[ad_1]
The Biden administration is punting on finalizing the majority of proposed environmental rules concentrating on present fossil fuel-fired power vegetation until after the upcoming election.
In an surprising announcement Thursday night, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unveiled its “new” strategy to regulating emissions from fossil gasoline vegetation, which generate greater than 60% of the nation’s electrical energy. Under the plan, EPA will transfer ahead with elements of its power plant proposal unveiled in May 2023, however delay any rules impacting present pure gasoline vegetation until late this yr or subsequent yr.
“As EPA works towards final standards to cut climate pollution from existing coal and new gas-fired power plants later this spring, the Agency is taking a new, comprehensive approach to cover the entire fleet of natural gas-fired turbines, as well as cover more pollutants including climate, toxic and criteria air pollution,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan stated in a press release.
“This stronger, more durable approach will achieve greater emissions reductions than the current proposal,” he continued.
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION RIGGED INTERNAL ANALYSIS, SOFTENING BLOW OF POWER PLANT REGULATIONS: REPORT
The upcoming EPA rules will exempt present pure gasoline power vegetation, which offer roughly 40% of the nation’s electrical energy. (Getty Images)
EPA’s sudden shift, first reported by The New York Times, comes amid intense stress from a variety of enterprise teams, vitality associations, producers, grid operators and lawmakers who’ve blasted the company’s unique proposal as too burdensome.
Critics warned that cracking down on gasoline vegetation — the one largest supply of electrical energy within the U.S., offering power to tens of tens of millions of houses yearly — would have extreme penalties for Americans.
US GRID OPERATORS WARN BIDEN’S POWER PLANT CRACKDOWN COULD TRIGGER ‘SIGNIFICANT POWER SHORTAGES’
On May 11, 2023, EPA unveiled the unique proposal which it stated would cut back carbon dioxide emissions by about 617 million metric tons by way of 2042. The proposal depends closely on carbon seize, a nascent and expensive expertise that removes emissions from the air, basically forcing vegetation to undertake such expertise or shut down.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan stated the brand new plan might be a “stronger, more durable approach will achieve greater emissions reductions than the current proposal.” (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
While that proposal would have impacted present and future pure gasoline and coal power vegetation, underneath the brand new plan introduced Thursday, it’ll exempt present pure gasoline vegetation. All coal-fired vegetation and future pure gasoline vegetation will nonetheless be impacted when EPA finalizes the rules within the coming weeks.
But the company will now concern a wholly separate proposal protecting present pure gasoline vegetation months from now.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“Sierra Club supports the Biden administration’s new strategy to address a broad range of pollutants emitted by gas-fired power plants,” Ben Jealous, the manager director of environmental group Sierra Club, stated Thursday. “Strong protections against gas plant emissions will help the United States meet its international climate commitments while protecting the most vulnerable communities from the pollution contaminating their air.”
“We look forward to working closely with the Biden EPA to quickly implement the building blocks of its new multi-pollutant approach for gas plants to ensure the strongest possible protections for our environment and public health,” he added.
[ad_2]
Source hyperlink