This month, US President Obama and the EPA unveiled the Clean Power Plan, which regulates emissions from new, modified and reconstructed power plants. The Plan, when fully implemented, calls for carbon, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides emissions from power plants to be reduced nationally to 32%, 90% and 72% below 2005 levels, respectively. States must individually or with other states develop plans to reach EPA-established interim and final carbon dioxide reduction goals based on rate (pounds per megawatt hour) or mass (either total short tons of carbon dioxide or “a new source complement measured in total short tons of carbon dioxide”). The interim rates for states must be met between 2022 and 2029, and the final emission performance rates must be met by 2030. States may choose either an emissions standards plan, in which all power plants falling under the regulations must “meet their required emissions performance rates or state-specific rate-based or mass-based goal” or a state measures plan, which allows a combination of measures to meet their goals, including emissions trading and renewable energy standards. States must submit their final plans by September 6, 2016.

Source: EPA