The Trump administration is rolling back Biden-era regulations that would have tightened emissions restrictions on coal and gas power plants and forced hundreds of existing coal plants to shut down in the coming years. [emphasis, links added]
In an announcement Wednesday afternoon, EPA administrator Lee Zeldin said his agency will repeal both greenhouse gas emissions standards targeting the power sector and so-called Mercury and Air Toxics Standards that apply to coal-fired power plants.
According to the EPA, the regulations raise the cost of living for Americans, threaten grid reliability, and limit “American energy prosperity.”
The agency projected that its actions would save the American power sector more than $1.2 billion a year in regulatory compliance costs over the next two decades.
It also said the actions will ensure that existing gas and coal power plants—dozens of which are scheduled to be retired this year alone—will remain in operation.
The EPA’s actions are the latest—and perhaps most significant—rejection of the Biden-era climate agenda.
The previous administration sought to crack down on the fossil fuel power sector to achieve its goal of having a completely carbon-free U.S. power grid by 2035.
The actions also represent a fulfillment of one of President Donald Trump’s central energy-related campaign promises.
The president accused the Biden administration last year of pursuing “a regulatory jihad to shut down power plants all across America.”
The Biden EPA originally proposed its power plant rules in May 2023 and crafted them to include all coal and natural gas power plants, both new and existing.
But in April 2024, the agency finalized regulations impacting only coal plants and new natural gas plants, punting on the more impactful rules targeting existing natural gas plants.
Overall, the Biden administration said its power plant rules would reduce carbon emissions by about 617 million metric tons through 2042.
The rules would force power plant operators to adopt costly carbon capture technology or shut down. Such technology hasn’t been deployed at scale and has faced criticism from the power industry.
The previously finalized rules incorporated compliance timelines. Under the rules, existing coal power plants would have been forced to capture 90 percent of their emissions by 2032 if they intend to operate beyond 2039. On the other hand, coal plants that intend to cease operations before 2039 would have no or scaled-down restrictions.
Read rest at Free Beacon
People need Jobs not Excuses from a President who cow tows to the UN/CFR/Globalists