Stalling the Future: U.S. Power Companies Resisting a Carbon-Free Revolution

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Despite the Biden administration making tax credits and subsidies available to incentivize CCS deployment, the country’s ten largest utilities companies have not yet planned to introduce this technology within the timeframe set by the EPA.

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The EPA champions CCS technology as an efficient method to reduce power plant carbon emissions by 90% by 2038.

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In a bid to promote CCS as part of the transition to a zero-carbon grid, the administration has increased tax credits for companies that store carbon dioxide.

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Despite these efforts, the International Energy Agency reports that utilities have not yet committed to installing the technology.

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A March 2023 report from the Institute for Energy Economics & Financial Analysis notes that the electricity produced by power plants retrofitted with CCS technology can cost up to twice as much as the current alternatives.

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Emily Sanford Fisher of the Edison Electric Institute noted, This industry is not generally incentivized to work with emerging technologies.

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Scott Blake, from the Ohio-based utility company American Electric Power, stated, One of the challenges with CCS is to make it economically viable on a large scale.

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According to the EPA, coal-fired power plants would have until 2040 to either implement the technology or shut down under the rule.

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