EPA Mercury Rules and Power Reliability

The document argues that EPA mercury rules will not undermine U.S. electricity system reliability due to regulatory flexibility, available compliance technologies, and sufficient new plant capacity to offset retirements.

• The implementation of Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) and other EPA rules is feasible without compromising grid reliability because regulators possess flexible enforcement options to delay plant closures if necessary. Additionally, 17 states had already imposed rules on mercury and toxic emissions as of 2011 without imperiling reliability.
• Compliance with MATS is supported by a variety of commercially viable technologies, such as Flue Gas Desulphurization (FGD), Dry Sorbent Injection (DSI), and Activated Carbon Injection (ACI), which can be installed within 10 to 30 months.
• Approved new electricity capacity is expected to exceed projected retirements caused by environmental regulations. Between 2012 and 2015, 27 GW of new capacity had already received regulatory approval, which exceeds the North American Electric Reliability Corporation's (NERC) estimate of 7.5 to 18 GW of retirements by 2015 by at least 50%.
• The shift away from coal-fired generation is driven by multiple factors beyond EPA regulations, including old equipment and low natural gas prices. The Edison Electric Institute reported that member companies planned to close 231 coal-fired units (48 GW) between 2010 and 2022.

APA

World Resources Institute (2011). EPA Mercury Rules and Power Reliability. https://pdf.wri.org/factsheets/factsheet_epa_mercury_rules_power_reliability.pdf

Chicago

World Resources Institute. EPA Mercury Rules and Power Reliability. 2011. https://pdf.wri.org/factsheets/factsheet_epa_mercury_rules_power_reliability.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=EPA Mercury Rules and Power Reliability |date=December 2011 |url=https://pdf.wri.org/factsheets/factsheet_epa_mercury_rules_power_reliability.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitute2011epa, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{EPA Mercury Rules and Power Reliability}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2011}, month = dec, url = {https://pdf.wri.org/factsheets/factsheet_epa_mercury_rules_power_reliability.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }