EPA gives biomass industry three-year exemption from new greenhouse-gas regulations

In September we reported concerns from the biomass industry about possible greenhouse-gas regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency. On Wednesday EPA announced a three-year reprieve for the industry during which it would be exempt from the regulations, Gabriel Nelson of Environment & Energy News reports.

The industry "has claimed that the energy source is not contributing to climate change because it is part of a natural, carbon-neutral cycle," Nelson writes. "When new plants are grown, the argument goes, they absorb the same amount of carbon dioxide that the other plants had released when they were burned."

EPA administrator Lisa Jackson said, "We are working to find a way forward that is scientifically sound and manageable for both producers and consumers of biomass energy. In the coming years we will develop a common-sense approach that protects our environment and encourages the use of clean energy. Renewable, homegrown power sources are essential to our energy future, and an important step to cutting the pollution responsible for climate change." The decision means the agency will need to make changes to its 'tailoring' rule, which lays out which types of new facilities will need to get greenhouse gas permits under the Clean Air Act," Nelson writes. (Read more, subscription required)