In August, President Obama announced the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) finalized rules for the new Clean Power Plan (CPP). The plan’s overarching goal is to focus on reducing CO2 emissions by 32 percent from the levels measured in 2005 by 2030, with meaningful reductions expected by 2020.  

The overall plan touches on a variety of clean power initiatives, with the core of the plan focusing on improving electricity production and transportation. These two areas were strategic decisions, as they account for 58 percent of all the carbon dioxide pollution in the United States. Changes in these two areas are expected to drive the development and adoption of newer and greener methods of energy creation.

The Plan’s Benefits

The plan strives to ensure that air quality stays healthy and to reverse problems in locations where it is getting worse. One need only to look at China’s urban areas to see how bad things can get – the sky is very rarely visible, usually only when an event is taking place and after several weeks of factory shutdowns. This has contributed to many health issues for the residents of the larger cities. In the United States, California has created many programs to help fight smog and ensure cleaner air for the welfare of its citizens. Even though the state’s population has tripled in the past 50 years, levels of emissions and particulates have dropped. The goals set out by the CPP will help the entire country enjoy better air and health in the future.

Online ‘Toolbox’

One of the benefits to the CPP is individual state control and authority to determine how to enact and meet the new goals. Building on the work already in progress by states, there is even an online “toolbox” of information – available at http://www2.epa.gov/cleanpowerplantoolbox – that includes a goal visualizer available for states to start working on their plans to meet the CPP.

Additionally, the CPP will save Americans money and improve their overall health. By 2030, the public health and climate-related benefits are estimated to be $45 billion every year, and the act is projected to cut the average monthly electricity bill by 7 percent in 2030. According to the EPA blog, in 2030, we’ll avoid up to 3,600 fewer premature deaths, 90,000 fewer asthma attacks and 1,700 fewer hospital admissions. 

How CPP Impacts You

Among industry groups, the American Institute of Architects and Architecture 2030 think tank is committed to the adoption of carbon-neutral buildings by 2030, in many ways sharing the goals of the EPA’s CPP. While the AIA and Architecture 2030 initiative focuses on reducing its businesses’ needs for energy, the CPP is focused on the reduction of greenhouse gases and development of alternative energy sources, such as solar and wind. 

With building owners pushing for more efficient buildings, and architects and engineers creating better-performing designs, together they can reduce our energy consumption.

Another aspect of the CPP that will impact the architecture, engineering and construction industry in particular concerns upgrades to existing infrastructure, as well as new power plants that will need to be designed and constructed, providing a boon to those areas of development and industries. Industries such as solar are already growing, and in places that we might not have expected. 

For example, California has been dealing with an unprecedented drought, one that is likely to change the shape of its agriculture permanently. Some farmers have been searching for alternative opportunities for their properties to stay afloat, and some have turned to “solar farming.” 

The drive to develop and implement successful and efficient alternative energy sources is a pressing issue that many nations are undertaking, and the CPP serves as a step forward for the United States. 

The option of keeping inefficient or polluting power plants and infrastructure intact – simply because that’s what is already there – is not a long-term solution. The CPP and the growth and benefits that the plan is striving to achieve will bring improvements to many Americans. 

Peter Marchese is senior technical evangelist for Microdesk Inc.