Biden Campaign to Cut Power Emissions Spares Most Gas Plants
- EPA proposal encourages closure of coal-fired power plants
- Plan to compel some gas units capture carbon, adopt hydrogen
Demonstrators hold up a mock pipeline at a "Stop Fossil Gas" protest outside the World Bank headquarters in Washington, on April 12.
Photographer: Samuel Corum/BloombergThe Biden administration is cracking down on planet-warming pollution from the US electric sector with proposed requirements that would force the nation’s coal plants and largest gas-fired units to stifle nearly all their carbon dioxide emissions.
Still, under the Environmental Protection Agency proposal unveiled Thursday, the limits would apply to less than a fifth of US natural gas-based power generating capacity. And utilities would have more than a decade to comply with many of the greenhouse gas caps, an approach designed to better survive legal scrutiny and ensure grids have enough power when demand rises.