The Environmental Protection Agency's decision to require new coal-fired power plants to install carbon capture systems as part of its carbon dioxide new source performance standards threw a spotlight on Southern Co.'s Kemper power plant project.

The EPA highlighted the plant as one of four new coal-fired facilities being built with carbon capture to support its contention that carbon capture is commercially available and economically viable. EPA's proposed rule would set a carbon dioxide performance standard of 1,000 pounds per megawatt-hour for new gas units and 1,100 pounds per megawatt-hour for smaller gas plants and new coal plants. New coal plants would have the option of averaging their emissions over a seven-year period if they agreed to meet a more stringent standard in a range between 1,000 pounds per megawatt-hour and 1,050 pounds per megawatt-hour. The coal standard would require new coal-fired units to install carbon capture systems.

Of the four plants being built with carbon capture systems cited by the EPA, only the 582 megawatt Kemper plant in Mississippi is under construction. It is expected to capture approximately 65 percent of its carbon dioxide emissions when it begins operation in early 2014.

Just how much to read into that fact is one of the most contested aspects of the EPA's proposal, with even Southern Co. cautioning its experience may not be typical.

"Because the unique characteristics that make the project the right choice for Mississippi cannot be consistently replicated on a national level, the Kemper County Energy Facility should not serve as a primary basis for new emissions standards impacting all new coal-fired power plants," the company said in a Sept. 20 statement.

Though the EPA touted Kemper's success in its proposal, agency Administrator Gina McCarthy cautioned against putting too much emphasis on that one particular plant's experience. Announcing the power plant rule at the National Press Club Sept. 20, McCarthy conceded that proprietary turbine technology used at the Kemper plant means it may "not be a good model if you're wondering if CCS is going to be cost effective and available."

Section 111(a)(1) of the Clean Air Act stipulates that the emissions controls required by the EPA's performance standards be "adequately demonstrated." Even with four power plants with carbon captures systems in the planning or construction stages, the power industry argues that carbon capture doesn't yet meet that requirement.

While industry representatives may dispute the EPA's assertion that Kemper helps demonstrate carbon capture is nearing viability, McCarthy argues all of the pieces of the technology have already been shown to be feasible.

"The technology pieces that go into carbon capture and sequestration-the capture, the transportation and storage have all been adequately demonstrated. They've been used for decades," she said during a Sept. 23 breakfast sponsored by Christian Science Monitor.

McCarthy argued the marketplace agrees with her.

"What we're seeing is that investors are investing in coal with CCS, she said. "There is very little if any investment in coal without CCS. It's technologically feasible, it's available and it seems to be the path forward."