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Last winter, we spent a lot of time discussing Utility MACT (.pdf)—a measure that could increase energy prices, destroy jobs, and threaten electric reliability.
Months have passed, but Utility MACT is still dangerous for coal-fueled electricity generation. Aside from being expensive—the rule is the most expensive ever written for coal-fueled power plants—Utility MACT ignores current investment in emissions reduction from the coal-fueled power industry. It threatens jobs, affordable pricing and reliability.
Very soon, members of Congress will have the ability to do something about these threats by voting in favor of Senate Joint Resolution 37, or the Inhofe CRA (Congressional Review Act). This resolution of disapproval, along with any legal action, is the only recourse for reversing this destructive and heavy-handed policy from going into effect.
Last week, President Obama’s campaign finally addressed the critical role that coal plays in American energy policy. Although that is a step in the right direction, it is a very small step – and one that EPA regulators should follow.
Tell the EPA to stopthese harmful regulations. You can help by making sure your representatives vote in favor of Senate Joint Resolution 37. Now’s the time to help America grow, by embracing coal – this country’s most abundant natural resource for producing affordable baseload electricity.
WASHINGTON – The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity today announced the launch of a new advertising campaign about how the EPA’s heavy-handed regulations have threatened the affordability and reliability of electricity in America. The new campaign will air three TV ads nationally.
“EPA is limiting America’s energy options and adding ‘pain at the plug’ with their regulatory over-reach,” said Evan Tracey, senior vice president of communications for the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity. “America has centuries of a coal – a proven energy source – yet the EPA has spent the past three years enacting heavy-handed regulations that are attacking the coal industry, destroying jobs and increasing the cost of electricity for millions of American families and businesses. These new ads will draw America’s attention to coal’s importance as a domestic energy source to power our economy.”
To view the ads, please visit:
Fairness – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uslsdfDQ3iw
Economics 101 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wL5HMHIBSdE
Three Short Years – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emiIXlnrBfg
By Evan Tracey
This weekend, our partners from JR Motorsports are heading to Iowa, where the team will be racing in the Iowa Spring 250. Be sure to keep an eye out for Clean Coal on the No. 88 car as it zooms around the track.
In Iowa, coal fuels more than just the No. 88 car. Iowa is a state that heavily depends on reliable, affordable electricity from coal—with coal making up almost 70 percent of the state’s energy portfolio. As a result of the state’s reliance on such an affordable natural resource, the state has the eighth lowest electricity rates in the country—allowing small business and job growth to flourish in the Hawkeye State.
That’s why it’s important to keep coal fueling America. Stable rates and strong power allow America to stay on track on the road to recovery.
Stay up to date with America’s Power this summer on Facebook.
By Steve Gates
Utilities continue to innovate and invest to reduce emissions from coal-fueled plants— in fact, over the last four decades, regulated emissions have been reduced by nearly 90 percent.
Mississippi’s Kemper County coal-fueled plant is an example of the industry’s ongoing investment in clean coal technology. The plant, which is currently under construction, is a 582-megawatt integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant that will use cutting-edge technology to reduce emissions.
Companies have spent $95 billion on emissions controls and will spend $127 billion more by 2020. These investments are not only improving our environment, they’re also creating jobs – the Kemper plant alone is currently employing almost 2,000 workers in construction. Check out this recent report on the “instant economy” in Kemper County from the coal-fueled plant’s construction.
WASHINGTON – The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity today unveiled a new web video contrasting President Obama’s campaign rhetoric on coal with the record of the Obama EPA, which is seeking to regulate coal out of existence in the United States.
“The President used to say the right things about coal, now millions of Americans need him to do the right things about coal,” said Evan Tracey, Senior Vice President, Communications of ACCCE. “Democrats and Republicans should agree that coal is critical to keeping electricity affordable and reliable.”
The video spotlights speeches from the 2008 campaign in which then-Senators Barack Obama and Joe Biden spoke of the importance of clean coal. It then takes a brief look at the impact of recent EPA regulations that will shutter coal-fueled power plants and destroy American jobs. The video concludes with the recent news that the Obama campaign updated their website to include “clean coal” in their energy strategy after criticism from lawmakers.
The video can be viewed online at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt2rUgxzXwE&feature=youtu.be
It’s been over a year since President Obama voiced his support for coal. In the last few months, coal has been an energy blind spot for the Obama administration. Despite touting an “all-of-the-above” energy policy, the president continually omitted coal.
But now, things are changing.
Last week, President Obama “set a 10-year goal to develop and deploy cost-effective clean coal technology.” And, a page on the president’s campaign website now lists “clean coal” as a piece of the American energy portfolio.
We’ve seen this before. During the 2008 election, Obama embraced coal, saying that America should “invest in renewable sources of energy and in clean coal technology.” But as president, his EPA has released regulations that hurt clean coal and stifle our country’s ability to use this natural resource.
Will he change his stance again? If President Obama is reelected, it will be essential for him to fulfill his campaign promises. The EPA must be reigned in and stopped from issuing job-destroying regulations.
It’s time for the president to understand that now is not the time to stop innovation, slow job growth or take measures that could raise electricity prices. Whoever is elected this November, the next president needs to embrace and utilize this country’s most abundant natural resource to produce baseload electricity—coal.
WASHINGTON – After facing criticism from Members of Congress this week over omitting coal from the “all of the above” energy strategy on his campaign website, the Obama campaign last night finally added “clean coal” to the site. In response, Senior Vice President for Communications of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity Evan Tracey released the following statement:
“We’re glad the Obama campaign finally included clean coal in its ‘all of the above’ energy strategy, but the President’s commitment to coal needs to be more than just a talking point. The President’s EPA is using expensive and heavy handed regulations to regulate coal out of existence in America, making low cost and reliable electricity less certain in the future. We hope the President will reconsider these rules that only serve to make energy more expensive and destroy American jobs.”
Obama/Biden Campaign Energy Page, May 3, 2012:
Obama/Biden Campaign’s Energy Page, May 11, 2012:
http://www.barackobama.com/energy-info
By Evan Tracey
I wish it was not the case, but this morning Bloomberg Government released a new report confirming what we know to be true. If EPA’s New Source Performance Standards for Greenhouse Gases are made final, they will drastically harm the U.S. coal-based electricity industry and also set America on a dangerous economic path.
But it does not have to happen.
If left to the devices of the Obama Administration, EPA would lay the most expensive regulations ever imposed on utilities using coal—causing rates to potentially rise, hurting small businesses and families depending on affordable electricity. When we’re struggling to regain our economic footing, unnecessarily raising what Americans pay for electricity is destructively bad policy. As it stands already, states not using coal for a dominant share of their electricity generation pay higher rates than those relying substantially on coal.
Is this really the policy his Administration wants to pursue? Candidate Obama frequently said that spreading the deployment of clean coal technology was a national imperative, but President Obama has allowed his EPA to push regulations that make it impossible to build new, advanced technology coal plants in America. And what is worse, this does not have to happen.
Global consumption of coal for electricity is growing dramatically. We hear elected and appointed leaders cite energy independence as a national goal, but if we effectively remove coal from the mix—despite America having centuries of reserves under our feet—we will not achieve that milestone. Rather, we’ll cede the competitive advantage to other countries who will continue to build their economies on electricity from coal. In the meantime, American businesses and families will be forced to pay significantly more for electricity in this new reality.
With leadership from Congress, there is an opportunity to fix one of the most destructive regulations. Congress can vote to disapprove and nullify the Utility MACT Rule, a regulation that threatens to cause some of the problems laid out in the Bloomberg Government report. The resolution of disapproval, along with any legal action, would be the only recourse for reversing this destructive and heavy-handed policy from going into effect. At this time, it appears that the resolution will come before the full Senate for a vote in mid-June and, under Senate rules, only 51 votes are needed for passage.
You see, it doesn’t have to happen, and with leadership in Congress, we can see that it doesn’t happen.
By Steve Gates
What energy source keeps conveyor belts moving and machinery cranking in the United States? Coal. America’s dominant natural resource provides strong, stable power to manufacturing facilities across the country, and helps keep electricity bills down for companies stamping MADE IN U.S.A. on our favorite products.
Today, President Obama is speaking in New York about the importance of manufacturing in America. But new EPA regulations are threatening to compromise this affordable, reliable source of energy. Just last week, the National Association of Manufacturers said the following about EPA regulations:
…[H]igh costs placed on utilities will do far more harm than good. There will be substantial job losses in the utility and coals sectors. There will be a significant ripple effect as communities lose jobs and as electricity prices increase by double digits.
Coal helps keep American manufacturing competitive on a global scale. As NAM notes, EPA regulations threaten our standing globally:
Manufactures will not be able to compete in the global economy because of high energy prices… As these new regulations are implemented, those costs will go up significantly.
We need to provide manufacturers with affordable, domestic energy. Now is the time for coal in America.
By Steve Gates
Tomorrow, President Obama will be kicking off his campaign in two states: Virginia and Ohio. We hope he talks about something that’s important to both states: Making affordable, reliable coal power central to an all-of-the-above energy policy.
In fact, Ohio gets nearly 78 percent of its electricity from coal-fueled plants, and Virginia gets more than 30 percent. Both enjoy below-average electricity rates compared to states that use less coal, which their governors know helps attract the businesses and people needed to grow their economies. Here’s what Ohio Governor John Kasich had to say about the future of coal in his state:
We are going to continue to work on cleaning coal, but I want to tell you, we are going to dig it, we are going to clean it, and we are going to burn it in Ohio, and we are not going to apologize for it.
But costly EPA regulations will hamstring the growth that these states want and need. The EPA has been so aggressive, that some, including the Washington Post, say the agency and President Obama are overstepping their regulatory boundaries:
The lesson for Ms. Jackson and her boss, President Obama… is clear: The agency’s officers must have a clear sense when to deploy its mighty power and when to exercise discretion. That’s true for the sake of the economy and to ensure that the EPA will be able to continue its necessary work for years to come.
As Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell writes, “When President Obama endorsed an ‘all of the above’ energy strategy in this year’s State of the Union address, he gave the impression that he was finally adopting an aggressive policy. Unfortunately, the president’s words are worlds apart from his actions…”
We’ll be listening to what the president has to say this weekend, and we hope you do, too. With more than half of U.S. households paying 20 percent of their families budgets on energy costs, now is the time to stop restraining growth, and unleash the power of America’s abundant coal resources.
