Advanced Energy Perspectives

This blog post is the second in a two-part series on states’ progress towards compliance under EPA's Clean Power Plan, and a follow-up to an earlier two-part series on states’ initial reactions. Check out Part 1 here, and the earlier series here and here.

The publication of the final Clean Power Plan (CPP) in the Federal Register on Oct. 23 prompted a suite of suits from states, both in opposition and in support of the rule. However, the vast majority of states have started some part of the process of convening stakeholders, soliciting public input, and talking with EPA - even if those states that are suing. “Officials in practically every state have been doing some amount of work,” Kyle Danish, partner at Van Ness Feldman, told InsideClimate News. Today’s post looks at the significant progress being made even in states that are suing EPA.

This blog post is the first in a two-part series on states’ progress towards compliance under EPA's Clean Power Plan, and a follow-up to an earlier two-part series on states’ initial reactions. Check out Part 2 here. Check out the earlier series here and here.

The publication of the final Clean Power Plan (CPP) in the Federal Register on Oct. 23 prompted a suite of suits from states, both in opposition and in support of the rule. This post provides a scorecard on the states currently involved in the legal action — 45 in all — and tracks the progress being made in states that support the CPP or are simply quietly moving ahead on compliance. Tomorrow’s post will look at the progress being made in states that are suing EPA, which is significant.

While states ponder their role in compliance with the now-final Clean Power Plan, the ultimate action will be in the electric power sector itself. Utilities and other generators are making early moves to prepare for, if not get ahead of, EPA requirements. Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs) and Independent System Operators (ISOs) are also starting to weigh in on solutions. For RTOs and ISOs, that means advocating for regional compliance rather than state-by-state plans. For utilities – well, it means continuing to move away from the power sources of the past and toward advanced energy.

This blog post is the second in a two-part series on states' reactions to the EPA's Clean Power Plan. Check out Part 1 here.

To comply or not to comply with EPA’s Clean Power Plan? For states, that is the question. In yesterday’s post, we looked at states that are getting ready to develop compliance plans, even those that are planning to fight the CPP in court. Today, we take a look at the states that are showing no sign of preparing to submit a plan, whether they don’t have to, they haven’t decided how to respond, or they just refuse to — in which case EPA will impose a federal plan.

Photo of the Colorado State Capitol courtesy of Ryan Tolene and used under a Creative Commons License. 

Ever since the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the final version of the Clean Power Plan (CPP) on August 3, the rule’s 1,560 pages of dense text (and an equally daunting pile of Technical Support Documents) have kept legal analysts and policy wonks busy and bleary-eyed. Perhaps the most important group of readers, however, are state regulators, the officials tasked with producing a state plan for implementation.

Across the country — including in states whose attorneys general are pursuing legal action — regulators are checking where their states stand (see below), asking questions, convening stakeholders, and making plans to comply — or not. In this post, we look at states that are getting ready to develop compliance plans, whether they like the CPP or not. Tomorrow, we will post a look at the states that are showing no sign of preparing to submit a plan, whether they don’t have to, they haven’t decided how to respond, or they just refuse to — in which case EPA will impose a federal plan.

(BAU stands for Business As Usual case, or the reference case.)