Fact Sheet: EPA Mercury Rules and Power Reliability

The document argues that the U.S. electricity system can maintain reliability while complying with EPA rules to reduce mercury and toxic air emissions. It highlights the availability of flexible enforcement options, the existence of replacement plant capacity, and the availability of proven compliance technologies such as Flue Gas Desulphurization, Dry Sorbent Injection, and Activated Carbon Injection. The text notes that 17 states had already imposed mercury and toxic emission rules as of 2011 without imperiling reliability.

• The U.S. can maintain electricity grid reliability while implementing EPA rules through flexible enforcement options used by state and federal regulators to delay plant closures when necessary.
• State-level implementation of pollution standards has not historically compromised grid stability; by 2011, 17 states, including Montana, had implemented rules on mercury and toxic emissions without affecting reliability.
• There is sufficient new plant capacity planned to replace most of the antiquated power plants affected by the regulations, and most U.S. power companies have already prepared for these environmental rules.
• The MATS rule provides temporal and technological flexibility, with commercially viable technologies like Flue Gas Desulphurization (FGD), Dry Sorbent Injection (DSI), and Activated Carbon Injection (ACI) that can be installed in 10 to 30 months.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Fact Sheet: EPA Mercury Rules and Power Reliability. https://www.wri.org/research/fact-sheet-epa-mercury-rules-and-power-reliability

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Fact Sheet: EPA Mercury Rules and Power Reliability. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/fact-sheet-epa-mercury-rules-and-power-reliability.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Fact Sheet: EPA Mercury Rules and Power Reliability |url=https://www.wri.org/research/fact-sheet-epa-mercury-rules-and-power-reliability |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendfact, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Fact Sheet: EPA Mercury Rules and Power Reliability}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/fact-sheet-epa-mercury-rules-and-power-reliability}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }