CLEAN POWER PLAN

Reducing Carbon Pollution From 

Existing Power Plants

Proposal
President’s Climate Action Plan

•On June 25, 2013, the President introduced a Climate 

Action Plan. 

• The Plan:

• Reduces carbon pollution 

• Builds 21st century transportation sector

• Cuts energy waste

• Reduces methane and HFCs

• Prepares the U.S. for climate change

• Puts U.S. in lead internationally

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The Power Sector is the Largest 

Source of GHG Emissions in the U.S.

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Reducing Carbon Pollution From Power Plants

The EPA’s Role:

Develop carbon pollution standards for:

1. New power plants

• Proposed: January 8, 2014

• Comment Period Closed: March 10, 2014

• Final: January 2015

2. Modified and reconstructed power plants

• Proposal: June 2, 2014 

• Comment Period Closes: October 16, 2014

• Final: June 2015

3. Existing power plants (Clean Power Plan)

• Proposed Guidelines: June 2, 2014 

• Comment Period Closes: December 1, 2014

• Final Guidelines: June 2015

• State Plans due: June 2016

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Clean Power Plan Proposed Rule 

• Early Outreach 

• Summary of Proposal

• Best System of Emission Reduction 

• EPA Establishes a Goal for Every State

• States Develop Plans to Meet Goals

• How to provide input

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Engaging Stakeholders 

• Participated in meetings with over 300 utility, 

consumer, labor and environmental groups since 

June 2013.

• 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.

• 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; and

• Modernizing the power sector is good for the 

economy.

• Common themes included reliability, flexibility, 

affordability, time for plans and implementation. 6

Early Outreach
The Clean Power Plan proposal will: 

• Reduce carbon pollution from existing power plants for first time ever.

• Maintain an affordable, reliable energy system.

• By 2030, reduce nationwide carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from power 

plants by approximately 30% from 2005 levels.

• Significant reductions begin by 2020. 

• Cut hundreds of thousands of tons of harmful particle pollution, sulfur 

dioxide and nitrogen oxides as a co-benefit. 

• 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. 

• Lead to health and climate benefits worth an estimated $55 billion to $93 

billion in 2030.

• A supplemental focusing on existing power plants located in U.S. territories 

and in areas of Indian Country is scheduled to be released this fall (2014).

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Summary of Proposal
Best System of Emission Reduction

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• Reducing carbon pollution is commercially available, technically 

feasible, and cost effective. 

• Varies from state to state, depending on how electricity is generated, 

energy infrastructure, and other factors. 

• In this proposal, EPA used “Best System of Emission Reduction,” 

which recognizes the interconnected nature of power generation.

• BSER factors

• Costs

• Size of reductions 

• Technology

• Feasibility
EPA Establishes a Goal for Every State

• Practical and affordable strategies that states and utilities are already using. 

• The goals are based on a consistent national formula, calculated with state 

and regional specific information. 

• Each state goal is a rate – a statewide number for the future carbon intensity 

of covered existing fossil-fuel-fired power plants in a state.

• Encompasses the dynamic variables that ultimately determine how much carbon 

pollution is emitted by fossil fuel power plants.

• Accommodates the fact that CO2 emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants are 

influenced by how efficiently they operate and by how much they operate. 

• Goals account for the mix of power sources in each state and the application 

of the “building blocks” that make up the best system of emission reduction.

• States will need to meet an interim goal (beginning in 2020) and a final goal 

(2030).

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Best System of Emission Reduction 

Building Blocks

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Building Block Strategy EPA Used to 

Calculate the State Goal

Maximum Flexibility:

Examples of State 

Compliance Measures

1. Make fossil fuelfired power plants 

more efficient

Efficiency Improvements Efficiency improvements

Co-firing or switching to 

natural gas

Coal retirements

Retrofit carbon capture and 

storage (CCS)

2. Use lower-emitting 

power sources 

more

Dispatch changes to 

existing natural gas 

combined cycle (NGCC)

Dispatch changes to existing 

NGCC

3. Build more 

zero/lowemitting energy 

sources

Renewable Energy

Certain Nuclear

New NGCC

Renewables

Nuclear (new and up-rates)

New coal with CCS

4. Use electricity more 

efficiently

Demand-side energy 

efficiency programs

Demand-side energy 

efficiency programs

Transmission efficiency 

improvements

Energy storage
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. 

• 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.”

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Flexibilities Available To States

• Timing: 

• Up to 15-year window in which 

to plan for and achieve 

reductions in carbon pollution. 

• Up to two or three years to 

submit final plans. 

• Form of goal: States can use either 

a rate-based or mass-based goal.

• Single or multi-state plans: States 

can collaborate and develop plans 

on a multi-state basis.

• Selection of measures: 

• States will choose how to meet 

the goal through whatever 

collection of measures reflects 

its particular circumstances and 

policy objectives. 

• State measures may impact and, 

in fact may be explicitly 

designed to reduce, CO2

emissions from utilities on a 

regional basis.

• EPA would support building off 

existing reduction programs

such as the Regional 

Greenhouse Gas Initiative 

(RGGI).

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States Choose How to Meet the Goals

• Demand-side energy efficiency 

programs.*

• Generating electricity from 

low/zero-emitting facilities.* 

• Expanding use of existing NGCC 

units.*

• Transmission efficiency 

improvements.

• Energy storage technology.

• Working with utilities to consider 

retiring units that are high emitting. 

• Energy conservation programs.

• Retrofitting units to capture carbon.

• Use of certain biomass.

• Efficiency improvements at higheremitting plants.*

• Market-based trading programs.

• Building new renewables.

• Dispatch changes.

• Co-firing or switching to natural gas.

• Building new natural gas combined 

cycle units.

* Measures EPA used in calculating the state 

goals

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State Plans

• EPA will provide a list of components that will need to be 

included in an approvable plan.

• Measures to meet the state’s interim goal and final goal.

• Interim goal -- meet on average over a 10-year period from 

2020-2029;

• Final goal -- meet in 2030 and thereafter.

• Individual and multi-state plans due June 30, 2016. 

• Proposed timing of extensions to submit a complete plan, if 

justified and supported:

• Submit initial plan by June 30, 2016;

• Individual state plans: a one-year extension (June 30, 2017); 

and

• Multi-state plans: a two-year extension (June 30, 2018).

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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%
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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 multi-state Plan by June 30, 2016 and request 2-year extension

Emission 

Guideline 

Promulgation

June 1, 2015

by June 30, 2016

State submits negative 

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 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
Providing Input

• The proposed rule, as well as information about how to comment and 

supporting technical information, are available online at: 

http://www.epa.gov/cleanpowerplan

• The comment period for the proposal ends December 1, 2014.

• Comments on the proposal should be identified by Docket ID No. 

EPA-HQ-OAR-2013-0602. 

• States will be required to have a public hearing on their respective state 

plans. 

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