American Electric Power Co, are among the few that may be affected by the regulations announced last week by the Environmental Protection Agency to curb smog and acid rain and will form part of the NGU US committee along with Cyrus Wadia the senior policy analyst for renewables at the Whitehouse. The rules are set to take effect in 2012.
As of yet it is unsure if the new regulations will result in the shutting down of plants but those who do not meet with standards will have to work hard to resolve the situation. An emergency meeting has been called at the NGU US Summit to discuss regulations and the renewable solutions for a greener future.
The EPA also proposed two alternative approaches to emission caps, one that would permit emissions trading only within a state and another that would enable a company to trade pollution rights among its own power plants.
The NGU US Committee consisting of representatives from AEP (American Electric Power) - Nick Atkins, EVP Generation, Austin Energy - John Baker, Chief Strategy Officer, EDF - Christian Chapus, Senior Manager, National Grid - Edward White, Jr., VP Energy Policy, and Cyrus Wadia the senior policy analyst for renewables at the Whitehouse want to develop low-cost, high-efficiency technologies to spark a wave of adoption, create companies and jobs. Innovation is America's natural advantage; the committee believes that with the resources available in the US innovative expertise can be exported worldwide as other countries seek to adopt cost-effective technologies.
There is no denying that well-designed legislation to reduce carbon emissions in electricity and petroleum could enable the development of sustainability. Tom McDonnell the NGU Project Director commented that "the better the alternative technologies we propose the more we can influence electricity providers to use a minimum percentage of energy from renewable sources. If we open the doors we can increase competition and drive prices down".
It has been proposed that better alternative technologies will require electricity providers to use a minimum percentage of energy from renewable sources. If this standard were modified to allow low-carbon electricity from any source, not just renewable, with carbon emissions that are 80 percent lower than coal, it could get support from nuclear, natural gas and even coal advocates. Will opening the playing field like this increase competition and drive down prices or draw focus from the emissions goal?
Editor's note: This article was kindly provided by Daniel Reinhold at MeetTheBoss.tv and was written by Emma Naylor from Next Generation Online.
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Next Generation Utilities Summit 2010
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