The Biden administration is preparing to release a historic rule as soon as next week to curb planet-warming pollution from the nation’s thousands of power plants.

The measure will face extraordinary legal scrutiny while drawing political attacks from fossil fuel proponents, Jean Chemnick, Pamela King and Robin Bravender write. But the rule will face an additional hurdle should it survive long enough to be implemented: utilities.

Across the country, coal plants are retiring and power companies are striving to incorporate increasing amounts of solar, wind and other clean sources into their energy mix during the coming decades.

But the upcoming rules are expected to set even more ambitious clean power targets, testing the limits of how fast the sector can make the transition, Jason Plautz writes.

While the details of the new rule could change, it’s expected to require coal and natural gas power plants to cut or capture almost all their carbon dioxide emissions by 2040. But that’s a decade sooner than most of the nation’s largest power producers are aiming to be net carbon free, according to an analysis by POLITICO’s E&E News.

The EPA rule could mean that fossil fuel plant owners will either shut them down or make major investments in carbon capture technology.

“Anything is achievable, but there are costs to consider and technological improvements are needed to ensure reliability,” Sam Berman, principal analyst for power and renewables for the consulting firm Wood Mackenzie, told Jason.

What we found: Of the United States’ top 10 power producers, six have set deadlines to be net carbon free by 2050, the E&E News review found. Three others have set targets ranging from 2040 to 2045. One has no net-zero carbon goal at all.

Those goals signal the widespread differences in how power companies are approaching the climate crisis across various regions and generation sources, as well as the challenges they may face with an earlier target.

There is general agreement among energy analysts that reaching high levels of clean power by 2040 is technologically feasible. That doesn’t mean it will be easy, or inexpensive.

“The incremental cost to 100% of net zero is where a lot of the uncertainty lies with emerging technologies and how cost effective their solutions are,” Berman told Jason.

Thank goodness it’s Friday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO’s Power Switch. I’m your host, Arianna Skibell. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to [email protected]

Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: Marie French breaks down the impact of New York’s ban on natural gas and other fossil fuels in new buildings.

Debt limit sparring
If a tense Senate Budget Committee hearing on Capitol Hill this week is any indication, Democratic and Republican lawmakers are very far from an agreement on raising the debt ceiling, writes Emma Dumain.

On the Republican side, Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah described the hearing’s proceedings as “really embarrassing.” Democratic Chair Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, who convened the hearing, described the House GOP debt limit plan as one “cobbled together by House extremists in backrooms in the dark of night.”

More green group layoffs
Defenders of Wildlife announced staff layoffs Friday, citing the “economic and social climate,” writes Robin Bravender.

The conservation organization laid off more than a dozen staffers, according to the group. The move comes a week after another major environmental group, the Sierra Club, also announced layoffs and restructuring.

New home for trees
The Forest Service is considering the hotly debated practice of assisted migration, or moving tree species to different forests, in an effort to beat the heat and create more climate-resilient forests, writes Daniel Cusick.

Officials say a proposed pilot program in the Superior National Forest could become a model for migration programs in other forests. But human-assisted tree migration comes with the risk of introducing nonnative species into an area where they could overpopulate and outcompete native species for water and soil nutrients.

In the classroom: The Utah State Board of Education is considering removing “climate change” from the state’s curriculum.

All about the cash: Jigar Shah is using his $400 billion checkbook to rapidly scale up clean tech.

A showcase of some of our best subscriber content.

Federal pipeline regulators are seeking one of their highest-ever fines against the owners of an oil company whose offshore pipeline leaked in 2021, fouling Southern California beaches.

Environmentalists and a key Senate Democrat expressed alarm that one of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees serves on the board of a nonprofit law firm that has sought to sink climate change regulations.

The Biden administration said it will propose requiring natural gas pipeline companies to install leak detection hardware that would eliminate up to 1 million metric tons of methane emissions a year.

That’s it for today, folks. Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!