Clean Power Plan

Proposed Pollution Standards for Existing 

Power Plants

Cynthia Greene

Energy and Climate Unit

Air Programs Branch

EPA Region 1

New Hampshire Citizen’s Meeting

July 28, 2014
Overview of Presentation 

 President’s Climate Action Plan

 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions

 Clean Air Act (CAA) Section 111

 Clean Power Plan Proposal

 How to submit comments

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President’s Climate Action Plan

 Reduce Carbon Pollution from Power 

Plants

 Prepare US for Impacts of Climate 

Change

 Lead International Efforts to Address 

Global Climate Change

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GHG Emissions in the U.S.

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Clean Air Act Section 111 and 

the President’s Directive

Develop carbon pollution standards, 

regulations or guidelines, as appropriate, for:

1. New power plants

 Proposed: January 8, 2014

2. Modified and reconstructed power plants

 Proposal: June 2014

 Final: June 2015

3. Existing power plants

 Proposed Guidelines: June 2, 2014

 Final Guidelines: June 1, 2015

 State Plans due: June 2016

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Best System of Emissions 

Reductions

Building 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 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 sourcesRenewable 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

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State performance goals –

lbs/MWh

State

2012 Fossil 

Emission Rate

2012 Fossil, RE, 

Nuclear Rate

Interim Goal 

(2020 - 2029 

average)

Final Goal (2030 

and thereafter)

Connecticut 844 765 597 540

Maine 873 437 393 378

Massachusetts 1,001 925 655 576

New Hampshire 1,119 905 546 486

Rhode Island 918 907 822 782

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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 massbased 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. 

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Costs and Benefits of the 

Proposed Plan

 Estimated Costs of the plan are $7.3 billion to $8.8 billion in 2030. 

 Benefits by 2030 

 CO2 emissions from the power sector reduced by approximately 

30% from 2005 levels.

 Pollutants that contribute to the soot and smog reduced by over 

25%

 Avoid an estimated 2,700 to 6,600 premature deaths 

 Avoid 140,000 to 150,000 asthma attacks

 These reductions will lead to public health and climate benefits 

worth an estimated $55 billion to $93 billion in 2030. 

 Health and climate benefits far outweigh the estimated annual costs 

of meeting the standards.

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22%

12%

-20%

-71%

-93%

-100%

-80%

-60%

-40%

-20%

0%

20%

40%

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

New England Economic Growth and ISO New England 

System Emissions, 1999-2012

New England GDP Total Generation CO2 Emissions NOx Emissions SO2 Emissions

Data Sources: 2012 ISO New England Electric Generator Air Emissions 

Report, US Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis 10
Next Steps

 The proposed rule, as well as information about 

how to comment and supporting technical 

information, are available online at: 

www.epa.gov/cleanpowerplan

 EPA is holding 4 public hearings this week in 

Denver, Atlanta, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.

 There is a 120-day public comment period on the 

proposal, closing October 16, 2014.

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Comments must be received by October 16, 2014. Be sure to reference Docket 

ID: EPA-HQ-OAR-2013-0602

Comments may be submitted by one of the following methods:

 Federal eRulemaking portal: Follow the online instructions for submitting 

comments

http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=EPA-HQ-OAR-2013-0602-0001 

 Email A-and-R-Docket@epa.gov: Include docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2013-

0602 in the subject line of the message

 Fax: Fax your comments to: 202-566-9744.

 Mail: Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), 

Mailcode 28221T, Attention Docket ID No. OAR–2013-0602, 1200 

Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20460.

 Hand Delivery or Courier: Deliver your comments to: EPA Docket Center, Room 

3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC, 20460. Such deliveries are 

only accepted during the Docket’s normal hours of operation, and special 

arrangements should be made for deliveries of boxed information.

How to Comment on the Clean 

Power Plan Proposed Rule

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For more information on how to 

comment:

Clean Power Plan: ww.epa.gov/cleanpowerplan

Click on “Comment” in the Get Involved Box

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