WASHINGTON D.C. — The Environmental Protection Agency will open the comment period for its latest regulatory assault on U.S. energy tomorrow with publication of a new emissions rule in the Federal Register. In advance of this important development, the Institute for Energy research released today a revised report on the impacts that new and proposed EPA regulations will have on the nation’s ability to meet current energy demands. The revised report includes new coal-fired plant closures in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Georgia, as well as cancelled coal-to-natural gas conversions in Minnesota, all of which account for an additional 1.5 GW of lost electricity generating capacity in the U.S.
“The EPA is determined to shut down coal-fired power plants, the source of nearly half of our electricity. The loss of 30 GW of power to our electric grid means much more than an inconvenience for American consumers or rolling blackouts. It means a real threat to our national security,” noted IER’s Director of State and Regulatory Affairs, Dan Simmons.
“Already, Americans are seeing record spikes in their monthly electricity bills, the largest sustained increases since the days of Jimmy Carter. President Obama promised that ‘electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket,’ and that he would ‘bankrupt’ the coal industry. But the legislative death of the president’s cap-and-trade plan in the last Congress didn’t stop the EPA. What the administration couldn’t do through legislation, they will now do through regulation — even if it means increased threats to our national security and added financial burdens on American consumers,” Simmons added.
The updated IER report on coal-fired plant closures and cancellations can be read here.
To learn more about the vast coal resources that the U.S. has to power its future, read IER’s recent North American Energy Inventory.
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