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A statement from the South African Department of Environmental Affairs amending an Environmental Authorisation (EA) issued on 31 October 2013. The amendment concerns the realignment of road D255 for the 450 MW Khanyisa Coal Fired Power Station in Emalahleni, Mpumalanga Province.

This audit report, dated 17 February 2016 and compiled by Leroy Construction and Projects for Eskom Komati Power Station, evaluates compliance with the station's Atmospheric Emissions License (AEL) issued under Section 43 of the National Environmental Management Air Quality Act, 2004. The audit found a 91% compliance rate, with 41 of 45 conditions met, though it identified four specific areas of non-compliance.

The report identifies 5,500 hazardous facilities along U.S. coasts at risk of 100-year coastal flooding by 2100 under a high-emissions scenario. It highlights a significant environmental justice gap, finding that poorer and marginalized communities are 15-41% more likely to live near these at-risk sites. The analysis emphasizes the danger of 'NaTech' disasters, where natural events trigger technological failures, leading to toxic contamination of floodwaters.

The document details the prevalence of unlined coal ash ponds in Illinois, identifies specific power plants with groundwater contamination, and critiques the state's regulatory deficiencies regarding ash impoundment safeguards.

Energy Innovation research indicates that natural gas-fired power plants offer only modest climate benefits over a 100-year timeframe and can potentially contribute to climate change if methane leaks are high or if they displace renewable energy. While using existing gas capacity to replace aging coal plants is recommended, the brief argues against investing in new large baseload gas plants. It highlights that methane is significantly more potent than carbon dioxide, with leakage rates in the United States estimated between two and four percent, which diminishes the emissions advantage of gas over coal.

WRI analysis indicates that Pennsylvania can reduce its power plant CO2 emissions by 21 percent below 2011 levels by 2020 using existing policies and infrastructure. This would meet or exceed moderately ambitious EPA standards, which are estimated to require reductions between 22 and 31 percent. Key opportunities include meeting alternative energy and energy efficiency targets, increasing the use of combined heat and power (CHP) and natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) plants, and improving coal plant efficiency.

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 paper explores the use of section 111 of the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from U.S. power plants and industrial facilities, which account for half of the country's total emissions. It highlights the flexibility available to states to implement market-based emissions-trading mechanisms rather than traditional source-specific limitations. However, it notes specific design challenges for cap-and-trade programs under federal guidelines, such as restrictions on offsets and uncertainties regarding trading between different source categories.

The World Resources Institute (WRI) challenges the Edison Electric Institute's (EEI) claim that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is imposing an unworkable 'onslaught' of new requirements on power plants. WRI asserts that the EEI timeline is misleading because it conflates procedural events, existing obligations, and state-level standards with new compliance requirements. WRI argues that the EPA is pursuing a realistic timeline to bring the industry into compliance with the Clean Air Act and other statutes, providing a necessary pathway for investments in a cleaner electric generation fleet.

The report argues that while new federal legislation will eventually be necessary to achieve the 80 percent emissions reductions needed to mitigate severe climate impacts, the U.S. Administration can meet its 2020 commitment of reducing emissions to 17 percent below 2005 levels through 'go-getter' actions. Key opportunities include using the Clean Air Act to target power plants and natural gas systems, and utilizing the Montreal Protocol and the Clean Air Act to eliminate hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). State-level actions in energy efficiency, renewables, and transportation are also identified as essential complements to federal efforts.

The World Resources Institute (WRI) analyzed four economic studies of the Clean Power Plan (CPP), finding that the regulation's projected effects on electricity affordability and the economy vary significantly based on the assumptions used in the modeling.