Regulating Greenhouse Gases from Coal Power Plants under the Clean Air Act

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Date

Feb. 18, 2013

Authors

Joshua Linn, Erin Mastrangelo, and Dallas Burtraw

Publication

Working Paper

Reading time

1 minute

The Clean Air Act has assumed the central role in US climate policy, directing the development of regulations governing greenhouse gas emissions from existing coal-fired power plants. This paper examines the operation of coal-fired generating units over 25 years to estimate the marginal costs and potential magnitude of emissions reductions from improving their efficiency. We find that a 10 percent increase in coal prices causes a 0.2 to 0.5 percent heat rate reduction, broadly consistent with engineering assessments. We also find that coal prices have a significant effect on utilization. The results are used to compare cost-effectiveness of alternative policies.

Topics

Electric Power

Authors

Joshua Linn

Senior Fellow

Josh Linn is a senior fellow at RFF. His research centers on the effects of environmental policies and economic incentives for new technologies in the transportation, electricity, and industrial sectors.

Erin Mastrangelo

Dallas Burtraw

Darius Gaskins Senior Fellow

Dallas Burtraw is the Darius Gaskins Senior Fellow at RFF. Burtraw’s research includes analysis of the distributional and regional consequences of climate policy and the evolution of electricity markets, including renewables integration.

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