Opponents of EPA’s climate rule for the power sector want the Supreme Court to know how few plants the agency expects to install the technology at the heart of the regulation.
The justices are currently weighing whether to grant requests from Republican-led states and industry groups through the court’s emergency, or “shadow,” docket to immediately block the rule from taking effect.
Carbon capture and storage, or CCS, is the main mechanism for the power sector to comply with the agency’s rule to slash greenhouse gas emissions from existing coal- and new gas-fired power plants. The Louisiana Public Service Commission said in a brief last week that the court should also consider EPA’s own regulatory analysis and modeling suggesting a very limited adoption of the technology.
“The LPSC believes it is essential that the Court understand that EPA’s conclusions, particularly with regard to achievability and cost, were drawn based on projections that no significant generation will ever be added with carbon capture, transportation, and sequestration infrastructure,” Louisiana utility regulators told the court in a brief Thursday.
