Power Sector Transformation through CO_2 Emission Rate Regulation in U.S.

摘要

This paper reviews America's carbon emissions standards from existing power plants, known as the Clean Power Plan (CPP). The CPP is by far the largest and most important climate change mitigation policy in the United States, loaded with new mechanisms to limit carbon emissions and promote low-carbon power sources at the same time by setting standards in the form of an adjusted emission factor. The adjusted emission factor allows the CPP to integrate different power sources such as coal, gas and renewable, and even energy saving into a single indicator for carbon efficiency, which guides the U.S. power pool into a more carbon efficient fleet as a whole. This approach integrates all power sources under a single indicator of an adjusted emission factor and creates a picture of the future of the power generation mix as a whole while addressing challenges such as power price and reliability.