Implementing EPA’s Clean Power Plan: A Menu of Options
The United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants is grabbing headlines daily as states weigh their options for compliance. In addition to the four “building blocks” set forth by EPA for meeting reduction targets, regulators have a vast array of options available. RAP and the National Association of Clean Air Agencies (NACAA) teamed up to summarize the multitude of choices in one encyclopedic resource with “Implementing EPA’s Clean Power Plan: A Menu of Options.” This 465–page summary identifies the technologies, programs, and policies designed to help regulators craft approvable compliance plans that reduce emissions, control costs, and maintain reliable and safe electric service. In this presentation at the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates (NASUCA), David Farnsworth encourages states to think beyond EPA’s building blocks to leverage least-cost, least-risk options, to consider regional, multi-state options, and to recognize that the compliance plan is not a traditional state implementation plan.