13Dec

Trump Rolls Back Anti-Coal Mandate at EPA — Here’s Why It’s Reasonable

Via LifeZette: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2015 mandated the use of carbon capture and storage (CCS) for any future U.S. coal plants. This effectively blocked the development of new coal units, since CCS is not yet commercially viable. In effect, the EPA’s decision was another example of federal overreach designed to further limit […]
13Dec

Wind and Solar Clash with Energy Reality

Via The Hill: In the name of protecting the environment, some public and political leaders want most of our electrical energy to come from renewables. The reality is that wind and solar combined supply only 17 percent of electricity-generating capacity in the U.S. and even less globally. This has not deterred environmental organizations and some […]
12Dec

The Energy Tax Revolt is Worldwide

Just hours before French President Macron – facing the worst protests in France in decades – retreated from a proposed fuel tax hike, The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board presciently wrote, “nothing reveals the disconnect between ordinary voters and an aloof political class more than carbon taxation.” The disconnect is very real. Pollsters have found […]
12Dec

America’s Increasingly Fragile Electric Grid

Via The Washington Times: One of the lesser known economic successes of the modern era is the U.S. electric grid. For the most part, enough electricity-generating capacity to meet the nation’s power needs is available at the flip of a switch. America’s power plants continue to perform at high levels of safety and reliability. The […]
11Dec

Proposed WOTUS Definition Provides Regulatory Certainty and Recognizes States’ Key Role in Protecting Water Resources

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers’ (Corps) proposed definition of “waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS) provides long-overdue clarity regarding the scope of federal Clean Water Act jurisdiction, and restores the appropriate balance between state and federal authority over waterways, the National Mining Association (NMA) said today. “States have an important role […]
06Dec

A Path Forward for High Efficiency, Low Emissions Coal Technology in the U.S

The EPA announced today a proposed revision to the new source performance standards (NSPS) for CO2 emissions from new coal power plants. While some commentators, including The New York Times, have tried to frame the revision as a rollback of climate regulation, it’s anything but. The proposed revision to the standard provides a pathway for […]
06Dec

EPA Proposes 111(b) Revisions to Advance Clean Energy Technology

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed to revise the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for greenhouse gas emissions from new, modified, and reconstructed fossil fuel-fired power plants. EPA is proposing, under Clean Air Act (CAA) section 111(b), to revise its determination of the best system of emission reduction (BSER) for these plants. This determination […]
05Dec

Boost to Black-lung Fund Unfair Burden on Mining Industry

Via The Lexington Herald-Leader: Now is the absolute wrong time for a tax increase on the coal industry. And yet a tax increase is exactly what the industry — and the communities it supports — will face if some in Congress and the Herald-Leader’s editorial board get their way. The tax in question is the tax imposed […]
04Dec

Climate Change Dominates Energy Forum with EPA Chief

Via DailyEnergyInsider: The Trump administration is supporting clean energy policies to reduce air and water pollution, while critics claim these initiatives cannot be legitimized without embracing the recently released National Climate Assessment. In the Washington Post’s forum The Energy 202 last week, acting administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Andrew Wheeler said he had […]