CEM data and its role in providing price signals for the SO{sub 2} emission allowance market
- RCG/Hagler Bailly, Boulder, CO (United States)
When the federal government enacted the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (CAAA), it established a market-based system for controlling sulfur dioxide (SO{sub 2}) emissions. The CAAA impose a cap on national emissions and allocate portions of this limit to existing utility sources in the form of tradeable SO{sub 2} permits (called allowances). One allowance permits the owner of an affected source to emit one ton of SO{sub 2}. If an affected generating unit emits more tons of SO{sub 2} in a calendar year than the number of allowances that were allocated to the unit, the owner of the affected source must purchase additional allowances to cover the excess emissions. These allowances may be purchased from other sources that have a surplus of allowances. The nation`s largest and highest-emitting power plants came under the control of this market-based regulation as of January 1, 1995 (Phase 1). The program`s second phase puts more stringent limits on virtually all fossil-fired power plants as of January 1, 2000. The key feature of Title IV is the system of tradeable allowances, which in principle encourages utilities to pursue cost-effective SO{sub 2} control at each of their affected sources, including the purchase of allowances if the allowance market price is less than a source`s control costs. Hourly emissions data are currently being collected and filed for every power plant affected by the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. These filings can provide important information for the emerging SO{sub 2} emission allowance market, as well as for a variety of policy issues.
- OSTI ID:
- 271811
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-950196-; TRN: IM9635%%238
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Air & Waste Management Association (AWMA) conference on acid rain & electric utilits: permits, allowances, monitoring & meteorology, Tempe, AZ (United States), 23-25 Jan 1995; Other Information: PBD: 1995; Related Information: Is Part Of Acid rain and electric utilities: Permits, allowances, monitoring and meteorology; Dayal, P. [ed.] [Tucson Electric Power Co., AZ (United States)]; PB: 940 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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