The coal industry today has reason to feel more positive about the
future of coal fuel power, as the U.S. House of Representatives has
passed HR 3826, "The Electricity Security and Affordability Act." HR
3826 requires greater transparency for the Environmental Protection
Agency's (EPA) rulemaking process and safeguards against the agency's
standards for both new and existing power plants.
The legislation was spearheaded by Representative Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) and Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).
"At a time of such political polarization, Representative Whitfield and Senator Manchin should be commended for their bipartisan leadership in the fight against EPA's costly, overreaching regulations. President Obama has made it clear that he will 'go at it alone' by wielding executive order without regard for congressional input or oversight of his administration's rulemaking process," said Mike Duncan, president and CEO of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE). "The Electricity Security and Affordability Act ensures Congress retains its rightful role in creating policy and institutes safeguards to protect American consumers from attacks on affordable, reliable coal-fueled power."
While HR 3826 focuses primarily on EPA's New Source Performance Standard (NSPS), proposed in September 2013, the bill also requires that the EPA Administrator report to Congress on the cost and other impacts of any greenhouse gas standards proposed by EPA for existing plants. Further, the bill states that regulations on existing plants shall not take effect unless Congress enacts a federal law specifying the effective date.
Some estimates show that because of looming regulatory restrictions, a large portion of the nation's coal-fired plants would be shuttered over the next six years, which could weaken the reliability of the power grid and increase the price of energy.
NSPS governs new power plants and will require on-site carbon capture and storage (CCS), a technology that remains underdeveloped and unproven on a commercial scale, as well as prohibitively costly. One estimate forecasts that implementing this technology could increase the wholesale price of electricity by up to 80 percent.
A draft of the agency's rules for existing power plants is due in June.
For more:
- see this report http://assets.fiercemarkets.com/public/sites/energy/reports/electricsecurityreport.pdf
Related Articles:
Coal: More upside than down
CATF claims "common sense" proposal to carbon pollution rule
More fallout from re-proposed NSPS
DOE forms CCS research partnerships
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| Credit: Dr. G. Schmitz/Wikimedia Commons |
"At a time of such political polarization, Representative Whitfield and Senator Manchin should be commended for their bipartisan leadership in the fight against EPA's costly, overreaching regulations. President Obama has made it clear that he will 'go at it alone' by wielding executive order without regard for congressional input or oversight of his administration's rulemaking process," said Mike Duncan, president and CEO of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE). "The Electricity Security and Affordability Act ensures Congress retains its rightful role in creating policy and institutes safeguards to protect American consumers from attacks on affordable, reliable coal-fueled power."
While HR 3826 focuses primarily on EPA's New Source Performance Standard (NSPS), proposed in September 2013, the bill also requires that the EPA Administrator report to Congress on the cost and other impacts of any greenhouse gas standards proposed by EPA for existing plants. Further, the bill states that regulations on existing plants shall not take effect unless Congress enacts a federal law specifying the effective date.
Some estimates show that because of looming regulatory restrictions, a large portion of the nation's coal-fired plants would be shuttered over the next six years, which could weaken the reliability of the power grid and increase the price of energy.
NSPS governs new power plants and will require on-site carbon capture and storage (CCS), a technology that remains underdeveloped and unproven on a commercial scale, as well as prohibitively costly. One estimate forecasts that implementing this technology could increase the wholesale price of electricity by up to 80 percent.
A draft of the agency's rules for existing power plants is due in June.
For more:
- see this report http://assets.fiercemarkets.com/public/sites/energy/reports/electricsecurityreport.pdf
Related Articles:
Coal: More upside than down
CATF claims "common sense" proposal to carbon pollution rule
More fallout from re-proposed NSPS
DOE forms CCS research partnerships
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