States, Financial Analysts See Promise in EPA Clean Power Plan

The clean power plan released last June by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency earned skepticism from power utilities but strong positives from states and financial analysts during the International Emissions Trading Association Carbon Forum in New York last week. The plan requires states to set targets that will cumulatively reduce carbon dioxide emissions from U.S. power plants 30% below 2005 levels by 2030, a goal that is “likely to be met chiefly by increasing the use of natural gas and renewables to generate power,” Magill reports. A senior representative of American Electric Power said the EPA plan requires faster change than utilities can accommodate. But Stephen Bird, head of North American energy research at Morgan Stanley, said some states may exceed their targets because of declining renewable energy costs.