At Last: A First Step on GHGs

The Clean Air Task Force supports the EPA's proposed new source performance standards (NSPS) for fossil-fueled power plants, which would limit emissions to 1,000 lbs. of CO2 per megawatt-hour. The author asserts that carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology is currently available and cost-effective, enabling new coal plants to meet or exceed these standards. The document highlights existing commercial CCS projects and the potential for the enhanced oil recovery (EOR) industry to create commercial demand for captured anthropogenic CO2, providing a hedge against future emissions if natural gas prices rise.

• The EPA proposed new source performance standards (NSPS) for fossil-fueled power plants that limit emissions from new plants to an annual average rate of 1,000 lbs. of CO2 per megawatt-hour, a level comparable to the existing U.S. natural gas power plant fleet.
• Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology is currently available and cost-effective, with existing infrastructure in the U.S. including 4,000 miles of CO2 pipelines primarily in Texas and a history of injecting over a billion tons of CO2 into oil fields since the mid 1970s.
• Several U.S. coal projects under development are expected to emit CO2 at rates significantly lower than the proposed 1,000 lbs./MWh standard: Southern Company’s Plant Ratcliffe (approx. 550 lbs./MWh), Summit Energy’s Texas Clean Energy Project (228 lbs./MWh), and Tenaska’s Taylorville Energy Center (642 lbs./MWh).
• There is significant commercial demand for CO2 for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) in the U.S., with a 2011 National Energy Technology Laboratory report estimating 20 billion tons of potential demand at existing on-shore oil fields.

APA

Weeks, A. (2012). At Last: A First Step on GHGs. Clean Air Task Force. https://www.catf.us/2012/04/at-last-a-first-step-on-ghgs/

Chicago

Weeks, Ann. At Last: A First Step on GHGs. Clean Air Task Force, 2012. https://www.catf.us/2012/04/at-last-a-first-step-on-ghgs/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Weeks |first1=Ann |title=At Last: A First Step on GHGs |publisher=Clean Air Task Force |date=5 April 2012 |url=https://www.catf.us/2012/04/at-last-a-first-step-on-ghgs/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{weeks2012last, author = {Weeks, Ann}, title = {{At Last: A First Step on GHGs}}, publisher = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2012}, month = apr, url = {https://www.catf.us/2012/04/at-last-a-first-step-on-ghgs/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }