Brattle compiles its research to examine effect of carbon pollution standard
June 5, 2014 | By
Barbara Vergetis Lundin
With the release of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposed guidelines under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act, the Brattle Group has released a compendium of its studies examining the effects of a potential carbon pollution standard. These studies cover a range of possible rulemaking options pertaining to carbon emissions in a wide variety of power markets across the United States, including cap-and-trade programs, renewable energy programs, and carbon control measures. "We are releasing this compendium to lend objective perspective to the debate," said Frank Graves, head of Brattle's Utility Practice. "Brattle's experts have spent years assessing the effects of carbon emissions rulemakings and, as a result, are well-equipped to examine the regulations put forth by the EPA and to model any unique provisions contained within." For example, Brattle economists recently assisted Great River Energy with the development of a compliance option for Section 111(d) involving an ISO-administered carbon price with carbon revenue refunding to load serving entities. The approach leverages the ability of ISOs and RTOs to minimize cost while maintaining reliable electric supply, and has the potential to achieve required emissions reductions at lower total cost, while taking into account the need to maintain reliable electric supply. For the Texas Clean Energy Coalition, Brattle simulated the entire future Texas power market under two alternative carbon rules designed to be simplified examples of EPA's rule. The study found that the Texas grid could adjust to a simplified carbon rule by building more wind, solar, and efficient gas-fired capacity with a small effect on retail electric prices. In examining the CO2 emission impacts of possible nuclear retirements that occur as a result of low wholesale electricity prices in many regions, the Brattle Group found that premature economic retirement of vulnerable nuclear plants would substantially increase CO2 emissions as fossil fuel generation would increase, and the cost of retaining such plants through various policy mechanisms would be quite modest. For more:
© 2014 FierceMarkets, a division of Questex Media Group LLC. All rights reserved. |