Washington, DC – Today, America’s Power (ACCCE) spoke in support of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed revisions to the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for carbon dioxide emissions from new coal-fired power plants.
“Since the U.S will continue to rely on coal, it makes sense to invest in new high efficiency, low emissions coal-fired power plants to replace at least some of the plants that are retiring. EPA’s NSPS proposal can help achieve that goal by removing an unnecessary regulatory barrier,” said Michelle Bloodworth, ACCCE President and CEO. “While EPA’s mission does not include energy policy, we are pleased that new EPA policies, including the one proposed today, are consistent with sound energy policy,” she added.
If adopted, the proposed NSPS — established under Section 111(b) of the Clean Air Act — would replace the current NSPS that were adopted in 2015. The current NSPS are based on the use of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, which is a promising but not economically viable technology for coal-fired power plants. Requiring the use of CCS technology effectively banned new coal plants by making them prohibitively expensive.
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America’s Power (ACCCE) is a partnership of industries involved in the production of electricity from coal. Coal is an affordable, reliable, and fuel-secure electricity source that provides almost one-third of our nation’s electricity.