The federal government on Thursday announced new environmental rules for fossil fuel-fired power plants intended to reduce pollution that is harmful to human health and contributes to global warming.
Environmental advocates say the rules could effectively spell the end of coal as a source of electricity generation in America over the next 15 years. Electricity production accounts for about a quarter of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Codi Norred, executive director of Georgia Interfaith Power and Light, celebrated the new regulations, particularly for Georgia, which has at least 30 open and closed plants that could be affected, including two coal-fired plants that are still operating.
“I think it’s a pretty big deal,” Norred said. “As (state regulators) fail to bring on the amount of clean energy that’s necessary for the state in favor of coal and natural gas resources, these regulations at least help to curb the impacts that those would have on communities.”
The sweeping new rules affect air, land and water pollution, including requirements for the management of toxic coal ash, which has become an issue in Georgia, where Georgia Power and state regulators were already under scrutiny by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for a plan to dispose of tons of coal ash in unlined ponds. Coal ash, a byproduct of decades of burning coal for power, contains metals like lead, mercury, cadmium and arsenic, which have been linked to cancers and other serious illnesses.
Georgia Power, the state’s largest utility, produces about 15% of its electricity from coal and about half from gas- and oil-fired units.
The regulations, which are likely to be challenged in court, were quickly condemned by former President Donald Trump, who vowed to end them if he returns to the White House.
‘Force the closure’
The rules require existing coal-fired plants that plan to stay open past 2039 and new natural gas-fired plants to control 90% of their carbon pollution by 2032. Rules for existing gas-fired plants are still being developed.
Just last week, Georgia Power received approval from state regulators to add more fossil fuel to its portfolio, which the utility says it needs to keep up with unprecedented demand, especially from energy-sucking data centers. That expansion plan also includes new battery storage.
It was not immediately clear whether the new gas-fired units Georgia Power plans to install at Plant Yates would be subject to the stricter regulation.
Credit: hshin@ajc.com
Credit: hshin@ajc.com
In a statement, Georgia Power’s parent, Southern Company, did not address specific assets that could be impacted, but said the company was evaluating the new rules and is dedicated to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 “while prioritizing the delivery of reliable and affordable energy amidst unprecedented load growth.”
A spokesperson for the Georgia Chapter of the Sierra Club said they believe the new units would be covered by the new rule.
“However, because we don’t yet know enough about Georgia Power’s plans for them (i.e. how often they plan to run the units), we can’t say what the actual standard of performance would be,” they wrote in an email.
Oglethorpe Power, the nonprofit wholesale electricity provider to 38 electric cooperatives in Georgia, came out against the changes in a statement, saying the technology needed to meet the new standards is not ready and the cost burden will fall to rural energy customers.
“Oglethorpe Power and our members have made tremendous strides in decreasing our CO2 emissions without government mandates,” it said.
EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said releasing the suite of rules all at the same time allows the power sector to plan for the future with confidence.
“Not only are we protecting public health and the environment, by our analyses, (we) project the stronger carbon pollution standards will spur up to $370 billion — that’s billion with a B — in climate and public health net benefits over the next two decades,” Regan told reporters on a call Tuesday.
Coal has fallen out of favor given the boom in cheaper natural gas and amid the rise of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind.
The new rules were welcomed by climate and health advocates who saw it as an important step forward — one that is almost sure to be challenged in court by conservative groups. The EPA’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions was curtailed by the Supreme Court in 2022. Coal interests and some utilities slammed the rules as unrealistic and said it would have a negative impact on grid reliability.
“For the last three years, the administration has methodically developed and executed a comprehensive strategy to force the closure of well-operating coal plants,” Rich Nolan, president of the National Mining Association, said in a statement. “We’ve seen this unlawful regulatory playbook before, challenged it and the Supreme Court agreed with our take; we will do so again and expect the same outcome.”
But Frank Sturges, an attorney at at the Clean Air Task Force, expressed confidence in the rule’s durability.
“The Supreme Court told EPA to look at traditional, at-the-source pollution control measures for carbon emissions, and that’s exactly what the agency did,” Sturges said in a statement, vowing to defend the rule against court challenges. “Today’s final rule is built on a strong legal foundation and a robust technical record.”
‘A huge win’
A Georgia environmental group said the new regulations will have a significant impact on the handling of coal ash and how it’s stored.
Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
G. Webber, director of the Georgia Chapter of the Sierra Club, which joined with other groups to sue the EPA over its previous rule that exempted legacy and retired coal ash ponds from regulation, applauded the changes.
“This is a huge win for Georgia communities who have been dealing with coal ash pollution for decades,” Webber said in a statement. “Closing this loophole is common sense: It doesn’t matter when this toxic material was dumped, it remains dangerous and should be treated as such.”
A note of disclosure
This coverage is supported by a partnership with Green South Foundation and Journalism Funding Partners. You can learn more and support our climate reporting by donating at ajc.com/donate/climate/
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