What is the role for carbon cycle science in the proposed EPA power plant rule?

Abstract

On June 2, 2014, the United States Environmental Protection Agency proposed goals and guidelines aimed at lowering carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions from existing power plants in the United States. Should it be successfully implemented, US power plant CO 2 emissions would be reduced approximately 30 percent below 2005 levels by the year 2030. Rather than a single national reduction goal, the proposed rule specifies reduction targets unique to each US state but leaves the means by which states meet those targets, flexible to individual state conditions. Regardless of the policy mixture adopted in each US state, quantification of CO 2 emissions at the level of individual power plants will be a critical need. Recent research examining power plant CO 2 emissions has noted potentially large uncertainties at the individual facility level, uncertainty that remains poorly understood. At the same time, carbon scientists working on aspects of monitoring, reporting and verification of anthropogenic CO 2 emissions have developed a mixture of measurement and modeling capabilities as part of the development of a "carbon monitoring system", that could assist in assessing how well independent emissions quantification is performing currently and identify a path towards improved monitoring. Equally important is an assessment of uncertainty at the various space and time scales the EPA proposed rule implies. Application of these recent scientific capabilities to the needs of the EPA's proposed rule could offer a cogent, near-term example of how scientific research can directly enable better decision-making. This paper provides a review of the proposed rule and what role scientific research could play in the evolution of the rulemaking and its application in the future.

Bias present in US federal agency power plant CO 2 emissions data and implications for the US clean power plan

“…Recently, the United States Environmental Protection Agency announced the implementation of the Clean Power Plan (CPP) for existing power plants [12,21]. The rule establishes state-specific targets for lowering the average emission rate (lbs CO 2 /MWhr) from a state's EGUs.…”