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Supreme Court stays new EPA rules on Hg and CH4
USA Emissions abatement Following a raft of emergency applications from industry groups and Republican-leaning states to block new Environmental Protection Agency anti-pollution rules, the US Supreme Court on 4 October left in place two Biden administration regulations aimed at reducing industry emissions of planet-warming methane and toxic mercury.
The justices did not detail their reasoning in the orders, but they have come while the High Court is still considering challenges to a third Environmental Protection Agency rule aimed at curbing pollution from coal-fired power plants.
The regulations are part of a broader effort by the Biden administration aimed at curbing climate change. They include financial incentives to buy electric vehicles and upgrade infrastructure, and rules tightening exhaust pollution standards for cars and trucks.
The industry groups and states had argued the EPA overstepped its authority and set
unattainable standards with the new regulations. The new standards they said, would be ‘impossible to meet’ and amounted to an attack on the industry.
The EPA argued that the rules are squarely within its legal responsibilities and would protect the public. It believes the rule tightening methane emissions from oil and gas drilling will deliver major climate and health benefits, while the mercury rule will limit hazardous pollution from coal-fired power plants.
The methane rule will build on innovative technologies and solutions that many oil- and gas-producing states and companies are already using or have committed to use, while the mercury and air toxics rules are expected to ensure that the nation’s coal-fired power plants meet up-to-date standards for hazardous air pollutants, said the EPA. The Supreme Court has shot down other environmental regulations in recent years, including a landmark decision that limited the EPA’s authority to regulate carbon dioxide
emissions from power plants in 2022, and another that halted the agency’s air-pollution- fighting “good neighbour” rule.
The methane rule puts new requirements on the oil and gas industry, which is the largest emitter of the gas. Moreover, sharp cuts in methane emissions are a global priority to slow the rate of climate change. The methane rule targets emissions from existing oil and gas wells nationwide, rather than focusing only on new wells. It also regulates smaller wells that will be required to find and contain methane leaks. The mercury rule came after a reversal of a move by the Trump administration. It updates regulations that were more than a decade old for emissions of mercury and other harmful pollutants that can affect the nervous system, kidneys and foetal development. Industry groups and conservative-leaning states argued emissions were already low enough, and the new standards could force the shutting down of coal-fired power plants.
Lightweight modular generator developed
UK Generator technology A new spinout company has developed modular generator technology that its makers believe could reduce the levelised cost of energy for offshore renewables by 10 to 15 %.
CGEN Engineering’s lightweight, stackable generator system can easily be transported to onshore and offshore wind, wave, and tidal installations, where it is assembled into a complete power system for converting mechanical energy into electricity. In contrast with conventional systems, each module can be added, replaced or moved individually, so operators can keep generation systems running without long downtimes. They can also upgrade their system over time without major overhauls. Invented by professor Markus Mueller of the University of Edinburgh’s School of Engineering and developed by CGEN’s managing director, research fellow Dr Joseph Burchell, alongside mechanical and manufacturing engineer Mike Galbraith, the team has demonstrated the generator at scales from 10 kW to 1 MW.
CGEN says it has found, by assessing comparative data, that their technology can increase the operational life of installations by 30 to 40 % when compared to conventional generator systems, while reducing the lifetime operating and
maintenance costs for generator installations by 50 to 70 %.
The UK government has committed to doubling onshore wind and quadrupling offshore wind installations by 2030, which Dr Burchell estimates will require more than 10 000 more turbines.
Dr Burchall comments: “We believe our technology directly addresses the critical gaps in the UK’s offshore renewable energy
supply chain. Firstly, component supply: we offer an assembly line production of modular parts, alleviating supply bottle necks while offering engineering expertise to support large-scale deployment. “Secondly, access, operation, and maintenance: if a fault occurs, it can be bypassed until the module can be replaced, instead of requiring a complex generator system overhaul or replacement. This allows for minimum operational downtimes [and] utilises smaller infrastructure such as cranes, vessels, and transportation, significantly cutting costs and logistics complexity.
Supported by Edinburgh Innovations, the University of Edinburgh’s commercialisation service, CGEN has been working with various companies to design and test its technology, including University of Edinburgh start-up Mocean Energy, which is using CGEN technology in its BlueX wave energy converter.
Cameron McNatt, managing director of Mocean Energy, said: “CGEN was used in our Blue X prototype wave energy converter for all sea trials, including the successful 13 months of sea testing as part of the Renewables for Subsea Power project. It has demonstrated resilience and dependability throughout, and we … look forward to further collaborations moving forward.”
www.modernpowersystems.com | October 2024 | 5
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