Abstract
President Obama and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently passed new regulations requiring America's electric power plants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These regulations come in the form of the Clean Power Plan (CPP). The purpose of the CPP is to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted from existing and new electric power plants, also referred to as electric generating units (EGUs). In order to achieve the lower CO2 emission goals of the CPP, this nation will need to increase its use of natural gas for electricity generation. CO2 is a greenhouse gas emission produced when fossil fuels are burned. The CPP requires states to develop a plan to reduce the CO2 gas emissions produced by fossil fuel-fired EGUs. Each state must establish standards of performance that limit the degree of emissions to a level that can be achieved by using the “best system of emission reduction.” The EPA identifies three measures or “building blocks” that states should use when developing a plan. One of these building blocks encourages states to switch from coal-fired EGUs to lower-CO2-emitting natural gas-fired EGUs. The effect of this shift in energy production should benefit the natural gas industry and allow states to meet the required CO2 reductions.This article first examines what CO2 and greenhouse gases are, how the type of fossil fuel burned affects CO2 emissions, and why the CPP has targeted them. Next, it takes a closer look at the CPP, including an examination of the three building blocks. Lastly, this article looks at the effect of the CPP on the natural gas industry and why the lower CO2 emitting properties of natural gas drive support for this cleaner fuel.
Published Version
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