Regulations to shut down the bulk of American gas plants were unveiled by the EPA under President Joe Biden, endangering the financial stability of the effort to combat global warming.
The proposed EPA regulation would mandate coal and natural gas power plants to significantly reduce their carbon emissions to nearly negligible levels within the next ten years or face closure.
Feasibility of Hydrogen in Gas Plants
The regulation theoretically provides the option for power plants to employ carbon-capture technology to achieve the emissions target.
Gas plants could potentially increase the use of hydrogen in their fuel mixture. However, the necessary technology for these approaches is currently unavailable and may never be developed on a commercially viable scale.
Furthermore, compliance with the rule would necessitate the construction of additional pipelines to transport the captured carbon, resulting in considerable expenses and legal complexities. The hydrogen that the EPA deems acceptable as an alternative fuel is not cost-effective and would contribute to further environmental pollution.
Read more: Financial Relief: A Guide To Securing A $4,000 Stimulus Check
Political Obstacles to Nuclear Power
Since Congress has not given the EPA permission to classify CO2 as a pollutant, it is very likely that if the rule is put into effect, it will be challenged in court and declared invalid.
Nevertheless, the EPA’s actions will discourage investments in both new and existing carbon-based power plants. Companies are concerned that Democrats may rapidly expand the Supreme Court or that retiring justices may find constitutional grounds to halt the rule entirely.
According to the EPA’s estimates, complying with the rule will cost energy producers over $10 billion. However, this figure is likely underestimated and assumes that the necessary technologies will become available miraculously.
Moreover, it is unrealistic to expect that the nation can generate sufficient electricity from solar and wind sources to compensate for the energy shortfall resulting from the closure of carbon-based plants.
Although it is technically feasible to generate adequate power through nuclear sources, political obstacles make this option impractical. It is unfortunate that these concerns may be perceived as mere empty rhetoric, as they carry tangible consequences.
Unless the nation firmly rejects the mindset of immediately ending carbon emissions while disregarding the significant costs involved, widespread power outages will become a reality across America.
Read more: Explosive Power Unleashed: US-Led Military Ignites Live Fire Drills In Iraq And
