Buckeye Reporter

The Buckeye Institute has called on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to repeal its current emission standards for new and existing power plants, citing concerns over energy reliability and costs. In comments submitted Thursday, the organization described the EPA’s standards as “impractical” and argued that their repeal is a “necessary correction and prudent policy response” to address rising energy demand and expenses.

The group’s filing asserts that the EPA’s approach threatens access to affordable and reliable electricity by moving utilities away from traditional power sources toward renewables. According to The Buckeye Institute, this shift is driven by regulations favoring renewables, which are subject to fewer rules and benefit from significant government subsidies.

The comments further challenge the EPA’s Regulatory Impact Analysis, particularly its estimate that compliance with emission standards will cost $19 billion. The group notes that these costs result from mandates requiring power plants to “install and operate 90 percent CCS systems,” a measure they say the EPA has found “technically infeasible and economically unjustified.” The analysis also contends that the agency does not fully account for broader economic impacts on consumers.

“A more accurate regulatory impact analysis—which The Buckeye Institute outlines—based on ‘feasibility, verifiable results, and transparent accounting,’ demonstrates that repeal of the current emission standards would provide a ‘positive net benefit’ and avoid ‘unjustifiable compliance costs,’” according to the organization.

The public comments were authored by Aswin Prabhakar and Sai C. Martha, both economic research analysts at The Buckeye Institute.