The Biden administration has made an effective move to end the use of coal to light lights in the US. On Thursday, the Environmental Protection Agency issued four major regulations designed to cut many forms of toxic and planet-warming pollution from coal-burning power plants, the nation's dirtiest source of electricity.
The biggest consequence of the new regulations is that they aim to virtually eliminate carbon dioxide emissions from coal plants. The remaining three rules would cut emissions of mercury, a neurotoxin linked to developmental damage in children; limit toxic ash leakage from coal plants into water sources; and reduce wastewater from factories. Once implemented, these regulations are expected to result in the closure of nearly all of the nation's remaining coal plants by 2040.
Here's what to know about President Biden's new move to clean up coal energy.
Are the new rules a big deal?
In a word, yes.
Electric utilities have had to comply with other environmental regulations for decades. They have forced coal plant operators to install technology like “scrubbers” to remove toxins, like mercury, or invest in safer ways to dispose of coal ash and wastewater from facilities. their department.
But the new standards are by far the most far-reaching and the industry says they are unlikely to be met. There is currently no widely used technology to significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plant smokestacks. There is a very expensive technique, called carbon capture and sequestration, in which emissions are captured before they enter the atmosphere and stored underground. But that process has never been implemented at any coal plant in the United States. The cheapest way to comply may be to close the nation's roughly 200 remaining coal plants.
When do the new rules come into effect?
Under the plan, existing coal plants scheduled to operate in or after 2039 must reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2032. Plants scheduled to close by 2039 will have to reduce their emissions by 90% by 2032. emissions 16% by 2030. Plants that shut down before 2032 will not be subject to the rules.
But the aging nature of the country's existing coal plants means many facilities could shut down before having to meet the most stringent limits. More than 200 coal plants has closed in the past decade, leaving the average age of the surviving trees near 50. Longevity According to the US Energy Information Administration, the operating life of a coal plant in the US is about 60 years, and about a quarter of the 200 existing plants will be shut down within the next five years.
Where are these coal-burning power plants?
There is a coal factory across the countrywith the largest numbers in Pennsylvania, Texas, Indiana, Wyoming, Kentucky, West Virginia and Iowa.
How much electricity comes from coal?
Coal use in the United States has plummeted in the decades since 1990, when the country produced half the nation's electricity. Last year, coal accounted for 16.2% of electricity generation, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Renewable energy – wind, solar, hydropower, biomass and geothermal combined – has overtaken coal to account for 21.4% of electricity generation by 2023. Natural gas provides 43.1% of electricity of the country.
Can the new rules be overturned?
Yes, in two important ways.
Republican-led states and the coal industry are certain to challenge the rules in court. The Supreme Court has limited the way the EPA can regulate power plants, and a conservative-leaning court could further limit the administration's efforts.
A second Trump administration could also cause regulatory trouble. Former President Donald J. Trump has vowed to promote fossil fuels and roll back Biden's regulations if he is elected in November.
