By Mark Drajem / Bloomberg News
THE Obama administration plans to offer new incentives for solar and wind energy in its plan to cut power-plant emission as a way to counter delaying the initial deadline by two years, a person familiar with the rule said.
The renewable incentives will allow deeper cuts in carbon emissions in the long term while giving more flexibility to states that must implement the rule, said the official, who sought anonymity before an official announcement.
As the White House prepares to announce the final rules meant to combat climate change within the next few days, it’s preparing arguments to show it will both boost the economy and end up leaving consumers paying lower energy bills.
“There really is no overstating how big this year is for climate change,” White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough said on Wednesday at a Washington forum on the issue hosted by the New Republic. “We will finalize a stronger rule.”
McDonough, who didn’t answer questions, spoke a day after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) posted a slide on its web site showing milestones to implement the standard.
The one-page document, first disclosed by EnergyWire, showed the rule taking effect in 2022, two years later than proposed last year. Utilities and power producers have pushed for a longer phase in, saying the 2020 initial deadline was unworkable.
‘Design mockup’
The document, which has been removed from the EPA site, said the rule would be released on August 3. That document doesn’t mention the incentive discussed by the person familiar with the plan, who asked not to be identified because the rule is under review at the White House.
An EPA spokesman, Melissa Harrison, said the document was a “Web design mockup” but declined to comment on the pending release of the plan.
The first US rules on carbon emissions from power plants are among the most sweeping and complex in the EPA’s history, and promise to upend a century of electricity generation and distribution. They are the centerpiece of Obama’s fight to combat climate change, the issue he’s made a top priority of his final two years in the White House.
McDonough said the power-plant rule would help promote an international agreement to cut greenhouse-gas emissions later this year. He said that deal should include measures to deliver more stringent reductions over time.
Industry foes
The EPA’s standards for fossil-fuel power plants, the top source of the emissions blamed for global warming, has drawn fire from coal producers, manufacturers, state officials and Republicans, led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. He has urged governors to refuse to submit plans to meet the goals set out by the EPA.
The EPA has said it would back off the initial deadline to give utilities more time to shut aging coal plants and adjust the power-distribution network to handle more natural gas or renewable resources. A specific extension to 2022 hadn’t been announced.
Even with more time, however, the final rule also could change in a way that would reward states for accelerating their pursuit of solar or wind projects.
Environmentalists said the agency undercounted the likely rate of expansion of renewables and the pace of steps to be energy efficient. New estimates of solar costs, which show a drop as production costs fall, could also prompt a bigger share of renewable growth, they say.
The EPA also is considering a plan to give credit to renewable projects that start before the rule kicks in. Under the proposal issued last year, states would have an incentive to wait until 2020 to begin new solar or wind projects. Advanced Energy Economy, which represents companies such as Alstom S.A. and FirstSolar Inc., said states should be allowed to bank the credits for those early reductions for use later.
Image credits: AP/Evan Vucci