The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced it's repealing rules that limit greenhouse gas emissions power plants.
The agency has finalized plans to remove much of a 2024 rule aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions from plants that burn coal and natural gas. Scientists say carbon dioxide traps heat in the atmosphere and contributes to climate change.
Some requirements remain, including efficiency standards for new natural gas turbines; however, the EPA is proposing to remove those remaining greenhouse gas standards.
The Trump administration said the changes will lower utility costs and help meet growing electricity demand.
Pam Mackey-Taylor, director of the Iowa chapter of the Sierra Club, called the decision “terribly disappointing.”
“Climate change is real,” Mackey-Taylor said. “We need the ability to solve climate change, and the best way to do that is to reduce coal plant emissions, and the EPA is going the wrong direction.”
Growing demand for electricity
Mackey-Taylor worries that demand for electricity, including from data centers, could give utilities another reason to keep burning coal.
“They’re searching for any kind of power they can get, so that's a real risk to Iowans,” Mackey-Taylor said.
She also worries about the effects of coal plant pollution.
“In the long term, there are health issues related to asthma and respiratory and cardiopulmonary issues that are certainly exacerbated by coal plant emissions,” Mackey-Taylor said.
The Sierra Club is pushing to close coal plants through its Beyond Coal campaign.
Iowa researchers are also calling for more wind and solar power to meet the state’s growing energy needs. The 2026 Iowa Climate Statement, released this month, says expanding renewable energy and storage could reduce pollution and help protect customers from swings in coal and natural gas prices.
MidAmerican expects no immediate impact
MidAmerican Energy is reviewing the EPA rule changes, according to a statement from spokesperson Geoff Greenwood.
“The repealed requirements were not part of MidAmerican’s near-term compliance planning and are not expected to have an immediate effect on our operations or customer costs. However, they would have been an important consideration in future resource planning and could have affected customer costs over the longer term,” Greenwood told IPR News.
The company’s current plans call for ending all coal operations by 2049 while continuing to expand wind and solar resources.
Greenwood said MidAmerican has reduced its carbon dioxide emission rate by 64% since 2005 and built the nation’s largest wind energy fleet among rate-regulated utilities.
More EPA changes could follow
The EPA is also proposing a change that could make it harder for future administrations to restore greenhouse gas limits for power plants.
The agency argues that the section of the Clean Air Act used to set those limits does not give it the authority to regulate emissions that contribute to climate change. That position is not final, and whether it would hold up in court remains uncertain.
Meanwhile, environmental and public health groups have sued to stop the repeal the EPA has already finalized. That rollback is scheduled to take effect Nov. 16.
The separate proposal to remove the remaining standards is still open for public input. The EPA will hold a virtual hearing Oct. 1, with public comments due Nov. 2.
