Federal Register - January 13, 2021
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Fuente: Federal Register
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 8 / Wednesday, January 13, 2021 / Rules and Regulations domestic impacts. In this instance, this criteria points towards a finding of significance given that U.S. EGUs make up a sizeable portion 13 percent of the emissions from EGUs worldwide.23
As mentioned earlier in this notice, the EPA is also introducing that one of the secondary criteria is an evaluation of whether a source category is vulnerable to being trade exposed i.e., whether the source category is constrained in its ability to absorb regulatory costs due to actual or potential international competition. Concerns about international competition would not impact the Agencys decision to regulate EGUs because electricity must be transported over power lines and it is not as easy to relocate or shift production locations as it is for other source categories. The ability to locate generation in Mexico and Canada and transmit the power to the U.S. is limited because of constraints on existing transmission lines and the expense to build additional transmission capacity.
The only additional transmission capacity currently being considered is for electricity generated from hydroelectric power in Canada to supply power to New England. Since this electricity has a low carbon intensity, it would not contribute to an overall increase in GHG emissions.
Furthermore, the emission standards in this rule will not increase the costs of electricity from a new coal-fired EGU
such that it might be financially advantageous to locate new production internationally to countries with less stringent regulations. If international competition were a concern, the Agency would compare the forecast GHG
emissions from international sources in this case, EGUs in Canada and Mexico against the forecast GHG emissions from domestic sources in this case domestic EGUs in both the absence of and implementation of the NSPS. In addition, since few, if any, new coalfired EGUs are forecast to be built in the U.S., the standards in this final rule will not impact electricity prices to end users to an extent that other industries would be incentivized to relocate internationally due to increased electricity costs. Therefore, domestic reductions in GHG emissions from regulating EGUs will not be offset by increased international GHG emissions.
23 U.S.
EGU emissions from the Inventory of U.S.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 19902018, Report 430R20002, April 13, 2020, https
www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/inventory-usgreenhouse-gas-emissions-and-sinks-1990-2018.
Worldwide EGU emissions from the International Energy Agency estimates IEA 2020, CO2 Emissions from Fuel Combustion, https www.iea.org/
subscribe-to-data-services/co2-emissions-statistics.
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In contrast, for source categories that supply raw materials to other domestic source categories, the impact of international competition on those source categories and the resultant GHG
impacts could be considered when determining an appropriate NSPS. It is conceivable that an overly stringent NSPS could result in an increase in global GHG emissions, if the increase in international emissions is greater than the reduction in domestic emissions.
V. Summary of Cost, Environmental, and Economic Impacts A. What are the affected facilities?
This rule takes final action affecting fossil fuel-fired EGUs. These EGUs take two forms that are relevant for present purposes: Steam generating units utility boilers and gasification units and stationary combustion turbines. Fossil fuel-fired steam generating units can burn natural gas, oil, or coal. However, coal is the dominant fuel for electric utility steam generating units. Coal-fired steam generating units are primarily either PC or fluidized bed FB steam generating units.24 At a PC steam generating unit, the coal is crushed pulverized into a powder to increase its surface area. The coal powder is then blown into a steam generating unit and burned. In a fossil fuel-fired steam generating unit using FB combustion, the solid fuel is burned in a layer of heated particles suspended in flowing air. Power can also be generated from coal or other fuels using gasification technology. An Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle IGCC unit gasifies coal or petroleum coke to form a synthetic gas or syngas composed of carbon monoxide CO and hydrogen H2, which can be combusted in a combined cycle system to generate power. Stationary combustion turbines include both fossil fuel-fired simple cycle and combined cycle combustion turbine EGUs.
B. What are the air quality impacts?
The EPA does not anticipate that this final rule for fossil-fuel-fired EGUs will result in significant CO2 emission changes.
C. What are the energy impacts?
This final rule for fossil-fuel-fired EGUs is not anticipated to have an effect on the supply, distribution, or use of energy.
24 Fossil fuel-fired utility steam generating units i.e., boilers are most often operated using coal as the primary fuel. However, some utility boilers use natural gas and/or fuel oil as the primary fuel.
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D. What are the cost impacts?
The EPA does not believe that this final rule for fossil-fuel-fired EGUs will have compliance costs associated with it.
E. What are the economic impacts?
The EPA does not anticipate that this final rule for fossil-fuel-fired EGUs will result in economic or employment impacts. Likewise, the EPA believes this rule will not have any impacts on the price of electricity, employment or labor markets, or the U.S. economy.
F. What are the benefits?
The EPA does not anticipate emission changes resulting from the final rule for fossil-fuel-fired EGUs.
VI. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews Additional information about these statutes and Executive Orders can be found at https www.epa.gov/lawsregulations/laws-and-executive-orders.
A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory Planning and Review and Executive Order 13563: Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review This action is a significant regulatory action that was submitted to the Office of Management and Budget OMB for review because it raises novel legal or policy issues. Any changes made in response to OMB recommendations have been documented in the docket.
B. Executive Order 13771: Reducing Regulations and Controlling Regulatory Costs This action is not expected to be an Executive Order 13771 regulatory action. There are no quantified cost estimates for this final rule because the EPA does not anticipate this action to result in costs or cost savings.
C. Paperwork Reduction Act PRA
This action does not impose any new information collection burden under the PRA. OMB has previously approved the information collection activities contained in the existing parts 75 and 98 regulations and has assigned OMB
control numbers 20600626 and 2060
0629, respectively.
D. Regulatory Flexibility Act RFA
I certify that this action will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities under the RFA. In making this determination, the impact of concern is any significant adverse economic impact on small entities. An agency may certify that a rule will not have a significant economic impact on a
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