Clean Energy Standard

In Real Clear Energy, Bracewell attorney Jeff Holmstead, a former assistant administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Air and Radiation Office from 2001 to 2005, and EIRP CEO Samuel Thernstrom argue that “the Clean Air Act’s authority over power plant greenhouse gas emissions is weak, contested, and highly inefficient” and that a legislated federal clean energy standard would be more lasting and effective in reducing greenhouse gas emissions than continuing efforts at regulation. And, they suggest, if a new law allowed states to choose between a CES or existing policies, it could win political support.

Inside EPA, a leading trade publication monitoring environmental policy and the Environmental Protection Agency, published an extensive report on EIRP CEO Samuel Thernstrom’s paper, “Clean Energy Standards: Securing the Future of the Electric Power Sector.” Inside EPA is available at https://insideepa.com/; full text reprinted with permission.

EIRP CEO Samuel Thernstrom argues that the Biden administration’s new EPA power plant rules share fundamental characteristics with Obama administration rules struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court and will likely lose in court as well. In his op-ed, “If EPA’s latest power plant rules seem familiar, don’t get fooled again!,” Thernstrom argues that the Inflation Reduction Act’s tax credits will be insufficient to decarbonize America’s power sector without a clear regulatory (and deregulatory) framework. He concludes that a well-designed clean energy standard would provide an essential complement to the IRA.