EPA Drops Regulatory Bomb on Coal State Leaders Slam CO2 Emissions Rule Industry Says Regs Will Undermine Electric Grid
By Geoff Simon
EPA Drops Regulatory Bomb on Coal
State Leaders Slam CO2 Emissions Rule
Industry Says Regs Will Undermine Electric Grid
North Dakota political leaders and electric industry officials say a proposed EPA regulation to reduce carbon dioxide emissions exceeds the agency's authority and threatens reliability of the electric grid.
The proposal would set limits for new gas-fired combustion turbines, existing coal, oil and gas-fired steam generating units, and many existing gas-fired combustion turbines. Almost all coal plants, along with large, frequently used gas-fired plants, would have to cut or capture nearly all their carbon dioxide emissions by 2038. Plants that cannot meet the new standards would be forced to retire. North Dakota Senators John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer said like the Obama administration's Clean Power Plan, the new rules are not authorized under the Clean Air Act.
“Despite being blocked by the Supreme Court, the Biden administration is once again advancing costly and overreaching rules meant to shutter baseload power plants, including coal-fired plants in North Dakota, putting the reliability and affordability of the electric grid at risk,” Hoeven said. “That’s exactly the opposite of what our nation needs, as homes and businesses face increased energy prices across the board and historic levels of inflation."
Cramer said the 681 pages of regulations are an attempt by the EPA and Congressional Democrats to find a backdoor around the EPA's previous CO2 rules that were struck down by the Supreme Court.
Click here to listen to Cramer's comments.
The EPA claims the new "carbon pollution" standards for coal and natural gas-fired power plants will protect public health, reduce harmful pollutants and deliver up to $85 billion in climate and public health benefits over the next two decades. Existing coal-fired units planning to operate after 2039 will be required to install CO2 capture systems with 90% effectiveness by 2030, according to the proposal.
Jason Bohrer, president of the Lignite Energy Council, characterized the EPA rules as "an attack on coal."
"The EPA’s proposed rules are near-sighted, put misguided ideology ahead of common sense, and further undercut the reliability of our electrical grid," Bohrer said. "The LEC will continue to work towards regulatory relief for our industry and advance the real work that our members are engaged in on CO2 capture."
Jim Matheson, CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, said the new regulations will place reliable and affordable electricity at risk and threaten America’s energy security.
“This proposal will further strain America’s electric grid and undermine decades of work to reliably keep the lights on across the nation,” Matheson said. “We’re concerned the proposal could disrupt domestic energy security, force critical, always-available power plants into early retirement and make new natural gas plants exceedingly difficult to permit, site and build."
“Nine states experienced rolling blackouts last December as the demand for electricity exceeded the available supply," Matheson continued. "Those situations will become even more frequent if EPA continues to craft rules without any apparent consideration of impacts on electric grid reliability.”
The National Mining Association issued a statement pointing out the coal industry has been working to develop CO2 capture technology, but it will take a "carbon capture moonshot, with funding, permitting improvements, and decisive, dedicated leadership from the U.S. to make these technologies broadly commercially and economically viable and globally replicable."
"Each one of the rules coming from the Biden administration’s EPA is designed to make it impossible for states and utilities to make decisions based on the merits of what keeps the lights on and electricity inflation low, forcing them to make decisions solely based on the EPA’s desire to end coal-powered generation in the United States," the statement said. "EPA’s indifference to the repercussions of its decisions on our ability to provide reliable, affordable electricity to Americans is simply reckless especially when other federal officials are calling it a 'crisis.'”
Federal Energy Regulatory Commissioners just last week testified at a U.S. Senate hearing that the grid faces major reliability challenges, using the word "reliability" 34 times in prepared testimony.
“The United States is heading for a very catastrophic situation in terms of reliability,” FERC Commissioner Mark Christie said.
Click here to read more about FERC's testimony. Click here for more information about EPA's proposed regulations.