POWER July 2014 - 28

ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS
Biomass Exemption Sails into
the Sunset
Source: National Renewable Energy Laboratory
With quickly approaching deadlines for achieving renewable portfolio standard
goals, the likely lapse of a critical exemption this month may increase the
challenges for meeting those mandates.
Brandon Bell, PE
A
pproximately four years ago the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) took the first step in regulating
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from electric
generating units (EGUs) by promulgating
the Greenhouse Gas Tailoring Rule on June 10,
2010. The rule was implemented over a twoand-a-half-year
period with three major steps
covering new and existing emission sources.
This rule will significantly affect new and existing
sources, as GHG emissions are now regulated
pollutants. Facilities that generate more
than 100,000 tons a year of equivalent carbon
dioxide are now classified as major sources.
Carbon dioxide equivalent is defined as the
combined emissions from carbon dioxide,
methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons,
perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride.
For the majority of fossil fuel-fired sourc28
es,
this rule is just another regulatory speed
bump requiring EGUs to address GHGs.
For smaller renewable power generators and
utilities adding biomass power plants to their
fleet, this regulation is a serious roadblock
that will push small biomass facilities from
less-regulated area emission sources to fullblown
major emission sources.
With deadlines for meeting renewable
portfolio standards quickly approaching, additional
regulatory hurdles would decrease
the likelihood of reaching those mandated
levels of renewable generation. It is with this
in mind that shortly after promulgation of
the GHG Tailoring Rule, several members of
the U.S. Congress filed complaints with the
then-administrator of the EPA, Lisa Jackson,
requesting a deferral of the rule's applicability
to biomass sources.
www.powermag.com
Enough pressure had been placed on the
EPA that action was taken to temporarily
exempt renewable EGUs from the Tailoring
Rule's impact. On July 1, 2011, the Federal
Register published an update to include a
three-year deferral for the " application of
Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD)
and Title V permitting requirements to carbon
dioxide emissions from bioenergy and other
biogenic stationary sources. " The purpose of
this three-year deferment was to allow the
EPA to conduct a detailed analysis of the science
associated with biogenic carbon dioxide
emissions from stationary sources.
For clarity, not all biomass power generators
were granted the deferment. As part of
the three-step implementation process of the
GHG Tailoring Rule, the first step included facilities
that currently were covered under Title
POWER | July 2014

http://www.powermag.com

POWER July 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of POWER July 2014

Contents
POWER July 2014 - Cover1
POWER July 2014 - Cover2
POWER July 2014 - Contents
POWER July 2014 - 2
POWER July 2014 - 3
POWER July 2014 - 4
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