Energy & Environment

Inside the Biden administration’s new power plant rule

by Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk 05/12/23 06:14 PM CDT

Welcome to The Hill’s Energy & Environment newsletter

{beacon}

Energy & Environment

The Big Story

What you need to know about Biden’s proposed power plant rules

On Thursday, the Biden administration unveiled new proposed rules for power plant emission reductions.

The new rule would not apply to all gas plants, only covering those with at least 300 megawatts of capacity that run 50 percent of the time or more. The EPA projects this would cover just under a quarter of power produced by gas in 2035, or about 37 gigawatts of current natural gas power.

The proposal assumes wider adoption of carbon capture and hydrogen power technology in the years ahead — the only major U.S. plant making use of carbon-capture tech closed its doors three years ago.

It’s already drawing widespread opposition from a number of frequent opponents of the Biden administration’s energy policies, including congressional Republicans, the fossil fuel industry and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).

Read more in a full report at TheHill.com.

Welcome to The Hill’s Energy & Environment newsletter, we’re Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains.

Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.

Essential Reads

How policy will affect the energy and environment sectors now and in the future:

Here are the top four areas of debt ceiling compromise the GOP is eyeing

With negotiations in the White House underway this week, House Republicans are getting more candid about what compromises they consider most feasible in a debt ceiling deal. Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.), a deputy to Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) who was central to outlining the House GOP debt limit bill, told reporters in a lengthy pen-and-pad discussion Thursday that the lowest-hanging fruits for …

Full Story

Biden administration allocating $830 million for energy efficiency in low-income housing

The Biden administration announced it is providing more than $830 million to help make low-income housing energy efficient using funds from the Inflation Reduction Act that passed last year. The White House said in a release on Thursday that the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is making the money available through a funding notice for the Inflation Reduction Act’s Green and Resilient Retrofit Program, which …

Full Story

California may need to invest up to $50B in readying grid for electrification influx: report

California may need to invest up to $50 billion in updating its electricity grid over the next 12 years in order to fulfill its climate goals, a new report has found. The landmark SB 100 bill, passed in 2018, set a target of powering statewide electricity needs with 100 percent clean energy by 2045. But achieving this ambition will be an expensive task, warned the report, conducted by data analytics firm Kevala for the California Public Utilities Commission.

Full Story

In Other News

Branch out with a different read on The Hill:

‘Building blocks of language’ found across animal kingdom

Some of the building blocks of human language appear to be present in a wide range of social animals. Previously thought to belong only to human language — a position some in linguistics still hotly …

Full Story

What We’re Reading

News we’ve flagged from other outlets touching on energy issues, the environment and other topics:

Environmentalists aim to block gold mine near Yellowstone — by buying it (The Washington Post)
A Swaggering Clean-Energy Pioneer, With $400 Billion to Hand Out (The New York Times)
Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon falls 68% in April, first major drop under Lula (Reuters)
Biden is scrambling for minerals. This U.S. cobalt mine just closed. (E&E News)

On Tap

Upcoming news themes and events we’re watching:

On Tuesday: Veteran’s Affairs officials will testify before the House Veteran’s Affairs committee in a hearing on the implementation of the PACT Act on veteran toxic exposure. FWS director Martha Williams will testify before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on the Fish and Wildlife Service budget.
On Wednesday: Officials including CEQ chair Brenda Mallory and OMB deputy director Jason Miller will testify before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in a hearing about improving project reviews.

What Others are Reading

Two key stories on The Hill right now:

Former Trump prosecutor slams GOP ‘political theater,’ takes the Fifth at deposition

Former Trump prosecutor Mark Pomerantz invoked his Fifth Amendment rights during his deposition before the House Judiciary Committee on Friday, slamming the GOP-led panel’s investigation as “political theater” in his opening statement. Read more

Frustration at CNN boils over with Trump town hall

CNN won big ratings for its controversial town hall with former President Trump — but also outraged some of its own talent for essentially handing over its platform to the GOP presidential frontrunner and his supporters for an hour. Read more

Opinions in The Hill

Op-eds related to energy & environment submitted to The Hill:

You’re all caught up. See you next week!

The latest in politics and policy. Direct to your inbox. Sign up for the Energy and Environment newsletter

Energy & Environment

Energy & Environment

What you need to know about Biden’s proposed power plant rules

Energy & Environment