WASHINGTON DC (9/15/26) – Yesterday, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the repeal of federal greenhouse gas limits for coal- and natural gas- fired power plants. Administrator Zeldin also proposed rescinding every remaining greenhouse gas standard for the power sector.
The limits required existing coal plants planning to operate past 2039 to meet a standard based on 90% carbon capture and storage (CCS) by 2032 and new baseload natural gas combustion turbines to meet a similar 90% CCS-based standard that would have been phased in by the early 2030s.
Tom Pyle, President of the American Energy Alliance, issued the following statement:
“The 2024 power plant rule was never a standard plants could actually meet. It was a retirement calendar written as an emissions limit. Existing coal plants that wanted to run past 2039, and new baseload gas plants, were told to capture 90% of their CO2 by 2032 with a technology then operating at commercial scale at only one U.S. power plant or shut down by 2039. That is not setting a performance standard. That is deciding which plants get to exist, which is exactly what the Supreme Court said EPA could not do in West Virginia v. EPA.
“The companion proposal is just as important. With the 2009 Endangerment Finding rescinded, there is no longer any legal foundation for EPA to regulate power plant emissions in the name of global climate change. Congress never gave EPA that authority, and the agency is right to say so. We urge EPA to finalize the proposal promptly and give American utilities the certainty they need to build more always-on energy.
“President Trump and EPA Administrator Zeldin stand squarely on the side of the law, American families, and businesses. The Obama/Biden power plant retirement rule is one in a long line of policies that deliberately made energy more expensive and threatened grid reliability. This is a welcome and much-needed course correction.”
AEA Experts Available For Interview On This Topic:
Additional Background Resources From AEA:
- Historic Victory: President Trump Rescinds 2009 GHG Endangerment Finding
- EPA Revokes Endangerment Finding: What You Need to Know
- Trump Ends Biden’s Reckless War on Coal
For media inquiries please contact:
THOMAS.PYLE@ENERGYDC.ORG