LONG BEACH, CA - OCTOBER 1: The AES Corporation 495-megawatt Alamitos natural gas-fired power station stands on October 1, 2009 in Long Beach, California. The Obama administration has announced that rather than wait for Congress to act, it has authorized the Environmental Protection Agency to move forward on enacting new regulations on greenhouse gas emissions emitted from hundreds of power plants and large industrial facilities. The move could both force lawmakers to try to reach an agreement on regulating greenhouse gases and bolster US credibility as negotiators prepare for United Nations talks in Copenhagen to produce an international agreement to combat manmade climate change in December. The proposed regulations would take effect as early as 2011.