# Mitigating GHG Emissions

An EPA Perspective Georgia Institute of Technology

March 4, 2015 Ken Mitchell, Ph.D. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Atlanta, GA

# • The Clean Air Act: 

# A 40K foot view • Some Key EPA Actions on Climate Change Mitigation
• Mobile Sources • EPA’s Clean Power Plan • Oil and Gas • Voluntary Programs 

# Outline

www.epa.gov/climatechange and www.epa.gov/cleanpowerplan

# The Clean Air Act – A 40K Foot View

• The 1990 Clean Air Act (CAA) Amendments are the most recent version of a law first passed in 1970 to clean up air pollution
• Some CAA Accomplishments since 1970 • Six common air pollutants have decreased by more than 50% • Toxic air pollution from large industrial sources, such as chemical plants, petroleum refineries, and paper mills have been reduced by nearly 70% • New cars are more than 90% cleaner and will be even cleaner in the future, and • Most ozone -depleting chemical production has ceased


### • At the same time... • U.S. gross domestic product has tripled • Energy consumption has increased by 50 percent, and • Vehicle use has increased by almost 200 percent 34 

# Some Key Efforts Under the CAA

• Cleaning Up Outdoor Air 

### • NAAQS pollutants (e.g., Ozone, PM), Regional Haze, air toxics, acid rain
• Cleaner vehicles, engines, and the fuels 

### that power them
• Addressing Climate change
• Protecting the stratospheric 

### ozone layer
• Indoor air is also a focus of OAR efforts, but not explicitly addressed in the CAA Courtesy of Sustaining the Environment and Resources for Canadians

# CAA Chemicals of Focus

5 CAA Six Common Pollutants (Criteria or NAAQS Pollutants) O 3 , PM, CO, SO 2 , NO 2 , Pb Hazardous Air Pollutants from Industry 188 Chemicals and Compounds

Greenhouse Gases CO 2 , CH 4 , N 2O, Fluorinated Gases Emissions from Cars, Trucks, and Nonroad Equipment Diesel Exhaust, Toxic Pollutants, Greenhouse Gases Stratospheric O 3 Depleting Chemicals Indoor Air Pollutants*

*Indoor air pollutants are not formally regulated under the CAA 

### Our Focus for Today

# U.S. GHG Pollution

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# Early Outreach Informed This Proposal The U.S. Energy System – It’s Complicated!

# EPA Actions to Reduce Carbon Pollution

• Building a 21 st 

## century transportation sector • Cutting energy waste in homes, businesses, and factories • Reducing methane and HFCs • Preparing the U.S. for the impacts of climate change • Helping lead international efforts to 

## address global climate change • Reducing carbon pollution from power plants (e.g., EPA’s “Clean Power Plan”)
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# Mobile Sources Increasing fuel efficiency, reducing GHG emissions....


### • EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are taking coordinated steps to enable the production of a new generation of clean vehicles, through reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improved fuel use from on - road vehicles and engines, from the smallest cars to the largest trucks; for example.... • Final rule (issued 8/28/2012) – Extends passenger vehicle program to model year 2017 through 2025 ( average 163 grams CO 2 per mile, 54.5 mpg in model year 2025)


### • Energy Independence and Security Act requires a significant increase in renewable fuels to displace petroleum consumption • 36 billion gallons by 2022 • Requires GHG lifecycle analysis

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http://www.epa.gov/otaq

# Addressing Methane

• January 14, 2015 -- As part of the Obama Administration’s commitment to addressing climate change, EPA outlined a series of steps it plans to take to address methane and smog-forming VOC emissions from the oil and gas industry, in order to ensure continued, safe and responsible growth in U.S. oil and natural gas production
• The agency’s commonsense strategy will: o Reduce methane pollution from new sources in this rapidly growing industry o Reduce ozone-forming pollutants from existing sources in areas that do not meet federal ozone health standards o B uild on work that states and industry are doing to address emissions from existing sources elsewhere



### http://www.epa.gov/airquality/oilandgas/

## Mitigation – Multiple Voluntary/Partnership Programs

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### • Our climate is changing, and we’re feeling the dangerous and costly effects right now o Average temperatures have risen in most states since 1901, with seven of the top 10 warmest years on record occurring since 1998 o Climate and weather disasters in 2012 cost the American economy more than $100 billion


### • Although there are limits at power plants for other pollutants like arsenic and mercury , there are currently no national limits on carbon o Children , the elderly, and the poor are most vulnerable to a range of climate - related health effects, including those related to heat stress, air pollution, extreme weather events, and others 

## GHG NSPS Requirements for Fossil Fuel - Fired Power Plants

http://www.epa.gov/cleanpowerplan
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### EPA is working to develop carbon pollution standards, regulations or guidelines, as appropriate, for: 1. New power plants • Proposed January 8, 2014 • Final Summer 2015 2. Modified and reconstructed power plants • Proposed June 2014 • Final Summer 2015 3. Existing power plants • Proposed Guidelines June 2014 • Final Guidelines Summer 2015 • State Plans due Summer 2016 • Proposed Federal Plan summer 2015 (final ready summer 2016) 

## GHG NSPS Requirements for Fossil Fuel - Fired Power Plants

http://www.epa.gov/cleanpowerplan

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## • EPA conducted a robust pre - proposal stakeholder engagement process o Participated in meetings with over 300 utility, consumer, labor and environmental groups since June 2013 o Held 11 public listening sessions around the country  3,300 people attended  More than 1,600 people offered oral statements


## • Reached out to all 50 states o Some states noted their programs to address carbon evolved because of:  The need to address carbon pollution  Electric system that is dynamic, and in the midst of market changes  Modernizing the power sector is good for the economy 

## • Common themes included reliability, flexibility, affordability, time for plans and implementation 14 

# Early Outreach Informed This Proposal

### This Clean Power Plan (CPP) proposal will:
• Reduce carbon pollution from existing power plants, for which there are currently no national limits
• Maintain an affordable, reliable energy system and will help m ove us toward a cleaner, more stable environment for future generations
• By 2030, reduce nationwide carbon dioxide emissions, from the power sector by approximately 30% from 2005 levels, with significant reductions to begin by 2020
• Cut hundreds of thousands of tons of harmful particle pollution, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides as a co- benefit • Proposal will avoid an estimated 2,700 to 6,600 premature deaths and 140,000 to 150,000 asthma attacks in 2030 • Provide important health protections to the most vulnerable, such as children and older Americans
• Lead to health and climate benefits worth an estimated $55 billion to $93 billion in 2030
• From soot and smog reductions alone, for every dollar invested through the Clean Power Plan - - American families will see up to $7 in health benefits 15 

# Summary - 111(d) Existing Power Plant Proposal

### • Build on actions states, cities and businesses across the country are already 

### taking to address the risks of climate change
• Spur investment in cleaner and more efficient technologies, creating jobs and driving innovation


### • Require a reasonable emission reduction glidepath starting in 2020

• Provide a flexible timeline — up to 15 years from guideline issuance — for all emission reduction measures to be fully implemented in 2030 o Recognizing that investments in infrastructure can take time to put in place and o Avoiding stranded assets 

### • Provide an array of tools states can use to formulate approvable plans 

## . 

## Summary - 111(d) Existing Power Plant Proposal

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http://www.epa.gov/cleanpowerplan

# Other Benefits

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# Electricity bills down 

# 8 % in 2030

$0 $20 $40 $60 $80 $100 $120

1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030

Monthly Residential Electricity Bills (2011$)

Historical - Converted to 2011$ Base Case Clean Power Plan

## After Proposal, Coal & Natural Gas Remain Leading Sources



## of Electricity Generation

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### Each more than 30% of projected generation in 2030 

## Coal 31% Natural Gas 32% Other Fuel 37%

# Background: Clean Air Act Section 111(d) Best System of Emission Reduction

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### • Previous EPA rules under this section of the Clean Air Act have considered “add -on” control technologies – like scrubbers -- that are technically feasible to deploy at virtually any facility
• In contrast, there are a wide variety of ways to reduce carbon pollution that are commercially available, 

### technically feasible, and cost effective
• The opportunities vary from state to state, depending on how electricity is generated , energy infrastructure, and other factors


### • I n this proposal, EPA took an approach that viewed the Clean Air Act factors in determining Best System of Emission Reduction (BSER) in light of the interconnected nature of power generation http://www.epa.gov/cleanpowerplan BSER factors Costs Size of reductions Technology Feasibility

# EPA Establishes a Goal for Every State

• EPA analyzed the practical and affordable strategies that states and utilities are already using to lower carbon pollution from the power sector
• Proposed goals are based on a consistent national formula , calculated with state and regional specific information

• Each state goal is expressed as a rate (pounds of CO 2 

### per MWh ) – a statewide number 

### for the future carbon intensity of covered existing fossil -fuel -fired power plants in a state
• The state rate goal is calculated to account for the mix of power sources in each state and the 

### application of four “building blocks” that make up the best system of emission reduction

• States will need to meet an interim goal and a final goal 20Building Block Strategy EPA Used to Calculate the State Goal Maximum Flexibility: Examples of State Compliance Measures 1. Make fossil fuel -fired power plants more efficient Efficiency Improvements • Efficiency improvements • Co-firing or switching to natural gas • Coal retirements • Retrofit carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) 2. Use lower-emitting power sources more Dispatch changes to existing natural gas combined cycle (CC) • Dispatch changes to existing natural gas CC 3. Build more zero/lowemitting energy sources Renewable Energy Certain Nuclear • New NGCC • Renewables • Nuclear (new and up rate) • New coal with CCS 4. Use electricity more efficiently Demand -side energy efficiency programs • Demand -side energy efficiency programs • Transmission efficiency improvements • Energy storage 21

# Flexibilities Available To States

• Timing o Up to 15 -year window in which to plan for and achieve reductions in carbon pollution o U p to two or three years to submit final plans


### • Form of goal o States can use either a rate - based or mass- based goal 

### • Single or multi -state plans o States can collaborate and develop plans on a multi -state basis 

### • Selection of measures o States will choose how to meet the goal through whatever collection of measures reflects its particular circumstances and policy objectives o State measures may impact and, in fact may be explicitly designed to reduce, CO 2 emissions from utilities on a regional basis o EPA would support building off existing reduction programs

22 http://www.epa.gov/cleanpowerplan

# States Have Flexibility

23 Carbon emissions from affected power

plants in an example state 

### As an example, states could do less in the early years, and more in the later



### years, as long as on average it meets the goal

Timing of Power Plant Emission Reductions

# When States Plan, They Can...

• Look broadly across the power sector for strategies that get reductions
• Choose to rely to varying degrees on measures that EPA used to calculate the goal, or on other measures that were not part of the state goal -setting analysis
• Invest in existing energy efficiency programs or create new ones
• Consider market trends toward improved energy efficiency and a greater reliance on lower carbon energy • Tap into investments already being made to upgrade aging infrastructure
• Expand renewable energy capacity
• Integrate their plans into existing power sector planning processes • Design plans that use innovative, cost -effective regulatory strategies
• Develop a state -only plan or collaborate with each other to develop plans on a multi state basis
• Decide how to treat plants nearing the end of their useful life and how to help plants avoid “stranded investments” 2425 By June 30, 2016 State submits initial multistate plan and request for 2- year extension EPA reviews initial plan and determines if extension is warranted by June 30, 2017 State submits progress report of plan by June 30, 2018 States submits multistate plan State submits Negative Declaration State submits complete implementation Plan by June 30, 2016 State submits initial Plan by June 30, 2016 and request 1 -year extension
State submits initial m ulti -state P lan by June 30, 2016 and request 2 -year extension Emission Guideline Promulgation June 1, 2015 by June 30, 2016

State submits n egative declaration EPA publishes FR notice
by June 30, 2016 State submits plan
by June 30, 2016 State submits initial plan and request for 1-year extension EPA reviews initial plan and determines if extension is warranted by June 30, 2017 State submits complete plan 2015 2019 

# Proposed Implementation Timeline*

Compliance period begins 2020 2020

EPA reviews plan and publishes final decision within 12 months on approval/disapproval EPA reviews plan and publishes final decision within 12 months on approval/disapproval
EPA reviews plan and publishes final decision within 12 months on approval/disapproval 2016 2017 2018

*See Update : http://www2.epa.gov/carbon - pollution -standards/fact-sheet- clean - power- plan - carbon - pollution -standards - key- dates

# Actions since the proposal

• October 28, 2014 - EPA issued a supplemental proposal to its proposed CPP that sets area -specific goals for Indian country and territories

• October 28, 2014 - EPA issued a Notice of Data Availability ( NODA) related to the proposed CPP

• November 6, 2014 – EPA issued a Technical Support Document (TSD) on converting rate -to- mass

• November 19, 2014 – EPA issued second draft of Framework for Assessing Biogenic Carbon Dioxide for Stationary Sources and associated memo from Janet McCabe 26

# During the comment period....
• The proposed rule and supporting technical information, are available online at: http://www.epa.gov/cleanpowerplan

• EPA held 4 public hearings the week of July 28th 

## in Denver , Atlanta , Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C. – over 2,700 people attended

• Comments on the CPP proposed rule and NODA closed December 1, 2014; almost 4 million comments received

• Comments on the proposal are identified by Docket ID Number:

EPA- HQ-OAR-2013-0602
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# Questions? m itchell.ken@epa.gov

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