President Obama announced the Clean Power Plan yesterday, and naturally our first move was to check whether EPA still treats burning wood and other biomass as a zero-emissions compliance strategy. The answer is yes - but with qualifications. The CPP will require states that want to use bioenergy as compliance to justify their plans, and explain how emissions "reductions" from bioenergy - which emits more CO2 per megawatt-hour than coal - will be "quantifiable, verifiable, non-duplicative, permanent and enforceable" - just what one would hope for if EPA wants a legally defensible plan to control emissions. But can wood-burning power plants ever meet this standard?
Click here to download our first look memo on the CPP.
Image: Biomass clearcut near Moosehead Lake, Maine. Photo credit Jim Wallace, Massachusetts Gun Owners Action League