TALLAHASSEE — The state agency in charge of protecting Florida’s environment lashed out at a federal proposal aimed at reducing greenhouse-gas emissions from power plants, saying it “places the reliability, affordability and capacity of the nation’s energy supply at risk.”

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection released comments late Tuesday that it sent to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency urging that the proposed rules be dropped. They came amid similar objections from state and national utility-industry groups and the Florida Public Service Commission.

“[It] is clear the EPA has placed an emphasis on transitioning to a ‘net-zero world’ above the electric needs of Americans,” said the document signed by Secretary Shawn Hamilton. “Florida’s superior air quality is a result of ingenuity and smart governance. The proposed rules put states like Florida at greater risk, by attempting to force unproven transitional energy practices ahead of generating the energy capacity necessary to meet the demand of our residents, visitors and businesses.”

Groups such as the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, which works on utility and climate issues in Florida, are backing the proposed rules. The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy website called the proposal “critical.”

“These carbon pollution rules are long overdue,” the website said. “Experts have warned for decades about the risk of power plant carbon pollution, yet fossil fuel CEOs and their allies have caused delay after delay of meaningful regulations while our communities pay the price of inaction.”

The EPA released the wide-ranging proposal in May, saying the changes would dramatically reduce carbon emissions over the next two decades while helping protect public health. Tuesday was the deadline for submission of comments to the EPA about the proposal.

The proposal would set new pollution standards for power plants fueled by natural gas and coal, while taking steps to shift toward cleaner technology such as green hydrogen.

Florida receives relatively little electricity generated with coal, but it relies heavily on natural gas. About 70% of the state’s power generation in 2021 came from gas, according to the Florida Public Service Commission.

Among the groups objecting to the proposal are the Florida Municipal Power Agency, an electricity wholesaler for municipal utilities, and the Florida Reliability Coordinating Council, which works on energy planning.

If a green hydrogen threshold is not met by 2032, the EPA proposal would require scaling back generation at large gas-fired power plants, officials with those groups said.

The Department of Environmental Protection said Florida currently has “no large hydrogen production facilities, hydrogen pipelines or hydrogen storage facilities.”

As it released the proposal in May, the EPA said the measures would “require ambitious reductions in carbon pollution based on proven and cost-effective control technologies that can be applied directly to power plants.”

“By proposing new standards for fossil fuel-fired power plants, EPA is delivering on its mission to reduce harmful pollution that threatens people’s health and well-being,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement.