At the G20 Energy Abundance Ministerial on 14 September in Houston, Texas, Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lee Zeldin announced the repeal of the majority of the Biden administration’s greenhouse gas requirements for US power plants, an action the agency projects will save $310 billion in energy costs, and proposed rescinding every remaining greenhouse gas standard for the power sector. If finalised, the new proposal would save an additional $370 m in direct compliance costs, in addition to the billions more American families and businesses can expect to see saved across the economy. It is being claimed that the EPA is ‘delivering reliable and affordable energy in the largest power sector deregulatory action in US history’. And ‘restoring reliable and affordable baseload power for the communities that depend on them’.
The Trump EPA is taking these actions ‘in accordance with the law and based on the best reading of the Clean Air Act’. EPA’s final rule is expected to ‘unleash the full potential of America’s vast energy resources, including coal and natural gas’. Coal production for power sector use is expected to increase by more than 10 times.
“For over 15 years, the Obama and Biden administrations implemented a war on coal to destroy reliable and affordable energy. The Trump Administration has come in to protect American energy and to make sure you can afford to keep the lights on,” said EPA Administrator Zeldin. “Americans will see a decrease in electricity prices, but this is just the beginning. We are working to go even further so that American energy can be fully unleashed. Realizing the full potential of American energy means more jobs, lower prices, and a more prosperous America.”
Prominent figures in the industry have made known their support. “The Trump administration is saving Americans hundreds of millions of dollars through common sense energy solutions that put an end to the Biden administration’s disastrous Green New Scam policies enacted at the cost of our nation’s energy security and future,” said chairman of the National Energy Dominance Council and DOI secretary Burgum.
“During periods of peak electricity demand, coal and natural gas continue to play a critical role in keeping the lights on,” said Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. “Today’s announcement will help ensure reliable electricity generation regardless of whether the wind is blowing or the sun is shining by allowing coal and natural gas plants to keep generating power when Americans need it most.”
Concurrently with of the final rule, EPA is proposing to rescind all remaining GHG emissions requirements for power plants. Following the repeal of the 2009 Endangerment Finding, and the US Supreme Court decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo, EPA’s proposal states that CAA Section 111 does not give the agency the authority to regulate power plant emissions based on climate change.
Conflicting legislation
The final rule strikes most of the 2024 Carbon Pollution Standards, which the EPA has determined exceeded the agency’s authority under the CAA by requiring control technologies that are not adequately demonstrated, effectively forcing plants to retire rather than setting standards they could actually meet. The 2024 rule also failed to account for the US Supreme Court decision in West Virginia v. EPA, which barred EPA from misusing the CAA to manipulate Americans’ energy choices. The manipulation in the 2024 rule created inefficient uses of natural gas, adversely impacted the nation’s energy systems, and drove electricity prices up. The 2024 rule was another example of the Democrats’ war on America’s natural resources and attempted to achieve the same unlawful fuel-shifting goals of the Obama-era Clean Power Plan.
Justification
In justification, apart from the decrease in household and industrial costs, the administration relies heavily on demonstrating that the EPA has exceeded its authority in attempting to manage the causes of pollution, that ‘models continue to show that GHG emissions from power plants have no [significant] material impact on global climate change’ and states that ‘the targeted emissions are global in nature, and any potential public health harms are too uncertain, conjectural, remote, and convoluted to tie specifically to the US power sector.’
EPA will hold a public hearing for the proposal 15 days after publication of the action in the Federal Register as well as a 45-day public comment period.
