New natural gas-fired power plants would face stricter limits on a key smog-forming pollutant under an EPA proposal released Friday.
In the first update since 2006, the agency is seeking to clamp down on releases of nitrogen oxides from the combustion turbines used in those plants, which have enjoyed a building boom as utilities shift away from coal as a fuel source.
While the proposed requirements under the New Source Performance Standards program are tied to turbine size and other factors, they would generally tap the pollution curbing technology known as selective catalytic reduction, as well as using combustion controls, according to an EPA news release.
“These stronger standards are necessary to better protect nearby communities’ health, and the power sector has already shown that the additional pollution controls can affordably and reliably do the job,” agency air chief Joe Goffman said in the release.
