EPA Proposes First Limits on Climate Pollution From Existing Power Plants

The Biden administration announced the first regulations to limit greenhouse pollution from existing power plants. The rule, which was unveiled by the Environmental Protection Agency on May 11, will set caps on pollution rates, and not mandate the use of equipment to capture carbon emissions before they leave the smokestack.

Bracewell’s Jeff Holmstead told The New York Times that the new rules might push the industry to do more than it can achieve under the proposed timeline.

“There is a lot of consternation that those targets are as fast as they can go,” said Holmstead. “They didn’t just come up with those targets on the back of an envelope. If the idea is to go significantly faster than that, then companies are going to have real concerns.”

The proposals are designed to effectively eliminate carbon dioxide emissions from the nation’s electricity sector by 2040.