EPA Relinquishes Power Plant GHG Authority, Citing Economic Benefits

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced in September that it will relinquish its authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants under the Clean Air Act, according to OilPrice.com. The move effectively removes federal limits on emissions from coal and natural gas plants.

The EPA expects the decision to result in an additional 123 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere over the next decade, OilPrice.com reported. The agency's analysis estimates the change will save power plant operators $370 million in direct compliance costs, but does not factor in the financial benefits of reduced air pollution.

For North Dakota, a major coal-producing and natural gas-fired power state, the policy shift could impact the operating environment for associated energy infrastructure. The decision follows President Trump's earlier move to overturn the foundational 2009 EPA endangerment finding that greenhouse gases threaten public health and the environment, and a February action scrapping vehicle pollution standards.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the administration made the rule change to end the "war on coal," OilPrice.com reported. “Americans will see a decrease in electricity prices, but this is just the beginning,” Zeldin said during a September G20 meeting in Houston. “We are working to go even further so that American energy can be fully unleashed."

The agency released a statement asserting that greenhouse gas emissions from power plants have "no material impact on global climate change," a position OilPrice.com notes is strongly at odds with mainstream climate science. The report contrasts this with a 2024 U.S. Energy Information Administration statement affirming the scientific consensus that high levels of greenhouse gases warm the planet.

The now-rescinded carbon pollution standards for power plants, introduced under the Biden administration in 2024, were projected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1 billion tonnes by 2027 and provide $370 billion in net benefits, according to the earlier EPA analysis cited by OilPrice.com. Those stricter standards were also expected to prevent 1,200 premature deaths and 360,000 asthma attacks in 2035 alone through improved air quality.

The regulatory rollback underscores a significant shift in federal environmental policy, prioritizing near-term operator cost savings and lower electricity prices over emissions reductions. For Bakken operators, the move may signal a reduced regulatory burden for on-site power generation and a more favorable market for natural gas used in power generation, though the long-term implications for energy and climate policy remain uncertain.