EPA proposes greenhouse gas emission limits from new coal power plants

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As part of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s efforts to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the US, it has proposed to set the first-ever limits on greenhouse gas emissions from new power plants.

NPR reports that EPA’s proposal was made to address climate change, push for a better economy, and deal with “the most significant public health challenge of our time.”

The proposal would make it hard for companies to build coal-fired plants, which have been the country’s main source of electricity for several years now. In addition, any new coal plant would be allowed to emit only about half as much carbon dioxide as an average coal plant expels.

While EPA’s intentions are noble and legally sound, several electric utility companies think otherwise. They argue that it would be too expensive to meet the proposal’s demands in keeping coal plants clean enough. Moreover, the available technologies for cleaning plants have not yet been commercially approved. It would take more than hundreds of millions of dollars to add to the already very high cost of coal power plants.

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One of the largest utilities, American Electric Power, says that customers won't go for the approval of this proposal. Nick Akins, the company’s president and CEO, says that if this proposal pushes through, companies would have to stop building coal plants and instead go for natural gas plants, which are cheaper. However, they would also be “vulnerable to future spikes in natural gas prices.”

For the meantime, environmental groups are closely checking on the proposal to see how conscientious the government is in implementing strict rules over coal plant clean-up.

Whatever the argument is, power plants must do their fair share in stopping the ill effects of carbon pollution for the good of humanity and the environment.

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