IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/rff/dpaper/dp-18-20.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Carbon Standards Examined: A Comparison of At-the-Source and Beyond-the-Source Power Plant Carbon Standards

Author

Listed:
  • Keyes, Amelia

    (Resources for the Future)

  • Lambert, Kathleen
  • Burtraw, Dallas

    (Resources for the Future)

  • Buonocore, Jonathan
  • Levy, Jonathan
  • Driscoll, Charles

Abstract

The proposed replacement rule for the US Clean Power Plan, named the Affordable Clean Energy Rule, employs a narrow “at-the-source” approach that targets heat rate improvements at individual coal plants. The emissions rebound and state-level implications of this type of policy are not well understood. We analyze the potential effects of a similar at-the-source policy scenario on national and state emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOX) in 2030 using 2014 results from the Integrated Planning Model (IPM). Compared to a no-policy scenario, we find that an at-the-source scenario that provides an average fleet wide heat rate improvement of 4 percent for coal-fired power plants could result in only a modest decrease (-2.6 percent) in national power sector CO2 emissions, with potential increases in CO2 emissions in eight states totaling three million additional tons of CO2 emissions per year in those states. We decompose the CO2 emissions changes and find evidence of a rebound effect, in which coal plants that become more efficient operate more often. The scenario also results in a modest estimated increase (2.7 percent) in national SO2 emissions and a minor estimated reduction (-2.3 percent) in national NOX emissions, with increases in one or both pollutants in 12 states. Estimated emissions in 2030 are substantially higher under an at-the-source scenario for CO2 (63 percent), SO2 (88 percent), and NOx (56 percent) compared to a more flexible “beyond-the-source” scenario that resembles the Clean Power Plan. Our analysis suggests that a strong possibility of emissions rebound exists for at-the-source power plant standards, leading to increased CO2 and co-pollutant emissions at multiple scales that could degrade air quality and cause adverse health effects. The results reinforce the importance of analyzing both changes in power plant utilization as well as CO2 and co-pollutant emissions at the plant, state, regional and national scale when proposing to weaken emission standards.

Suggested Citation

  • Keyes, Amelia & Lambert, Kathleen & Burtraw, Dallas & Buonocore, Jonathan & Levy, Jonathan & Driscoll, Charles, 2018. "Carbon Standards Examined: A Comparison of At-the-Source and Beyond-the-Source Power Plant Carbon Standards," RFF Working Paper Series 18-20, Resources for the Future.
  • Handle: RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-18-20
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.rff.org/documents/1822/RFF20WP2018-20.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ang, B.W., 2015. "LMDI decomposition approach: A guide for implementation," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 233-238.
    2. Burtraw, Dallas & Woerman, Matt & Paul, Anthony, 2012. "Retail electricity price savings from compliance flexibility in GHG standards for stationary sources," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 67-77.
    3. Palmer, Karen & Paul, Anthony & Keyes, Amelia, 2018. "Changing baselines, shifting margins: How predicted impacts of pricing carbon in the electricity sector have evolved over time," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 371-379.
    4. Joshua Linn & Erin Mastrangelo & Dallas Burtraw, 2014. "Regulating Greenhouse Gases from Coal Power Plants under the Clean Air Act," Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, University of Chicago Press, vol. 1(1), pages 97-134.
    5. Charles T. Driscoll & Jonathan J. Buonocore & Jonathan I. Levy & Kathleen F. Lambert & Dallas Burtraw & Stephen B. Reid & Habibollah Fakhraei & Joel Schwartz, 2015. "US power plant carbon standards and clean air and health co-benefits," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 5(6), pages 535-540, June.
    6. Jonathan J Buonocore & Kathleen F Lambert & Dallas Burtraw & Samantha Sekar & Charles T Driscoll, 2016. "An Analysis of Costs and Health Co-Benefits for a U.S. Power Plant Carbon Standard," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(6), pages 1-11, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ang, B.W. & Goh, Tian, 2019. "Index decomposition analysis for comparing emission scenarios: Applications and challenges," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 74-87.
    2. Apergis, Nicholas & Mustafa, Ghulam & Dastidar, Sayantan Ghosh, 2021. "An analysis of the impact of unconventional oil and gas activities on public health: New evidence across Oklahoma counties," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    3. Alexander R. Barron & Allen A. Fawcett & Marc A. C. Hafstead & James R. Mcfarland & Adele C. Morris, 2018. "Policy Insights From The Emf 32 Study On U.S. Carbon Tax Scenarios," Climate Change Economics (CCE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 9(01), pages 1-47, February.
    4. Burtraw, Dallas & Woerman, Matt, 2013. "Technology Flexibility and Stringency for Greenhouse Gas Regulations," RFF Working Paper Series dp-13-24, Resources for the Future.
    5. Paul, Anthony & Palmer, Karen & Woerman, Matt, 2014. "Designing by Degrees: Flexibility and Cost-Effectiveness in Climate PolicyAbstract: Substantially reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from electricity production will require a transformation of t," RFF Working Paper Series dp-14-05, Resources for the Future.
    6. Ibanez, Marcela & Blackman, Allen, 2015. "Environmental and Economic Impacts of Growing Certified Organic Coffee in Colombia," RFF Working Paper Series dp-15-02, Resources for the Future.
    7. Anthony Paul & Karen Palmer & Matthew Woerman, 2015. "Incentives, Margins, And Cost Effectiveness In Comprehensive Climate Policy For The Power Sector," Climate Change Economics (CCE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 6(04), pages 1-27, November.
    8. Burtraw, Dallas & Fraas, Arthur G. & Richardson, Nathan, 2012. "Tradable Standards for Clean Air Act Carbon Policy," RFF Working Paper Series dp-12-05, Resources for the Future.
    9. LaPlue, Lawrence D., 2022. "Environmental consequences of natural gas wellhead pricing deregulation," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    10. Chia-Pin Chio & Wei-Cheng Lo & Ben-Jei Tsuang & Chieh-Chun Hu & Kai-Chen Ku & Yi-Sheng Wang & Yung-Jen Chen & Hsien-Ho Lin & Chang-Chuan Chan, 2022. "County-Wide Mortality Assessments Attributable to PM 2.5 Emissions from Coal Consumption in Taiwan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-16, January.
    11. Doyle, Matthew & Fell, Harrison, 2018. "Fuel prices, restructuring, and natural gas plant operations," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 153-172.
    12. Zhu, Bangzhu & Su, Bin & Li, Yingzhu & Ng, Tsan Sheng, 2020. "Embodied energy and intensity in China’s (normal and processing) exports and their driving forces, 2005-2015," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    13. Chuan-Hsin Chang & Yue-Cune Chang, 2022. "Comparing the Therapeutic Efficacies of Lung Cancer: Network Meta-Analysis Approaches," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-20, November.
    14. Trotta, Gianluca, 2020. "Assessing energy efficiency improvements and related energy security and climate benefits in Finland: An ex post multi-sectoral decomposition analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    15. Juan Luo & Chong Xu & Boyu Yang & Xiaoyu Chen & Yinyin Wu, 2022. "Quantitative Analysis of China’s Carbon Emissions Trading Policies: Perspectives of Policy Content Validity and Carbon Emissions Reduction Effect," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-20, July.
    16. Bryan K. Mignone & Thomas Alfstad & Aaron Bergman & Kenneth Dubin & Richard Duke & Paul Friley & Andrew Martinez & Matthew Mowers & Karen Palmer & Anthony Paul & Sharon Showalter & Daniel Steinberg & , 2012. "Cost-effectiveness and Economic Incidence of a Clean Energy Standard," Economics of Energy & Environmental Policy, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 3).
    17. Olimpia Neagu, 2019. "The Link between Economic Complexity and Carbon Emissions in the European Union Countries: A Model Based on the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(17), pages 1-27, August.
    18. Harrison Fell & Daniel T. Kaffine, 2014. "A one-two punch: Joint effects of natural gas abundance and renewables on coal-fired power plants," Working Papers 2014-10, Colorado School of Mines, Division of Economics and Business.
    19. Román-Collado, Rocío & Colinet, María José, 2018. "Are labour productivity and residential living standards drivers of the energy consumption changes?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 746-756.
    20. Jiandong Chen & Ping Wang & Jixian Zhou & Malin Song & Xinyue Zhang, 2022. "Influencing factors and efficiency of funds in humanitarian supply chains: the case of Chinese rural minimum living security funds," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 319(1), pages 413-438, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:rff:dpaper:dp-18-20. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Resources for the Future (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/rffffus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.