Energy organizations back Congressional resolution to block plan to close power plants
On Thursday, dozens of energy organizations rallied support behind Congressional action to block plans to close American power plants.
The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), American Petroleum Institute (API), American Electric Power (AEP), Buckeye Power, Duke Energy, South Dakota Public Utilities Commission, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, came out in favor of actions by U.S. Rep. Troy Balderson (R-OH) and U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) to pass a Congressional Review Act (CRA) joint resolution of disapproval of a plan to close coal-fired and gas-fired power plants.
The move comes after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency filed its final rules, the Clean Power Plan 2.0, that would impose emissions requirements on existing coal-fired plants and newly constructed gas-fired plants. The law makers said the emissions requirements are unrealistic and would force the closure of the plants that supply America’s baseload electricity. Officials said it was similar to efforts under President Barack Obama’s administration that were overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.
“With this Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval, every member of Congress will have the opportunity to protect America’s energy future, heed the warnings of our nation’s electric grid operators, and adhere to the precedent set by the Supreme Court,” Capito, ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said. “This vote is an important one because the Biden administration’s Clean Power Plan 2.0 makes it clear it will stand with climate activists, regardless of the harm that is sure to be done to families, workers, and communities across West Virginia and the rest of the country.”
Energy organizations said the final rule would decrease the number of operating plants at a time when the country is seeing its energy demand increase.
“At a time of rapid energy demand growth, we need policies that harness all of America’s resources, including natural gas, to power our future economy and help ensure energy is affordable for families and businesses,” Rob Jennings, vice president of natural gas markets for the American Petroleum Institute (API). “Instead, EPA’s final rule does nothing but add barriers to building the new generation capacity needed to power the future grid. We thank Rep. Balderson for prioritizing reliable energy and will continue to work with policymakers to keep the lights on for the American people.”
Putting more emission requirements on natural gas plants would impede emission reductions instead of improve them, some officials said.
“Increased use of natural gas to generate electricity is the primary reason the United States has reduced more greenhouse gas emissions than any other country,” Kathleen Sgamma, president of Western Energy Alliance, said. “Despite the huge environmental benefits natural gas provides, the Biden EPA seeks to discourage new gas power plants by requiring 90 percent carbon capture and storage by the completely unrealistic year of 2032 for a technology that currently is operational in exactly zero power plants. Rather than subject the power sector to a long legal struggle to overturn a rule that is so obviously unlawful, Congress can circumvent a huge source of wasted effort with the CRA resolution and let the power sector get back to meeting the vast new demand for electricity to support AI, data centers, electric vehicles, and basic daily life.”
More than 170 members of both houses of Congress co-sponsored the CRA resolution of disapproval.
