Supreme Court will allow EPA power plant rule to move forward for now

The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected requests by two dozen states and electric grid operators to block the EPA’s power plant rule while legal challenges work through the courts. 

Conservative justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch said in a brief order, according to the Associated Press, that the courts may side with some of the challengers’ objections, but since compliance wouldn’t begin until June 2025, there’s no need to block the rule. Justice Clarance Thomas publicly dissented. 

The rule requires carbon capture on existing and new coal-fired power plants, as well as new natural gas-fired power plants. The EPA’s own modeling shows the technology won’t be widely implemented on new plants, and critics have argued the rules will lead to widespread blackouts as the grid becomes more dependent on intermittent wind and solar.