Abby L. Harvey
GHG Monitor
5/16/2014
If another polar vortex were to hit while the nation’s coal fleet is under strict Environmental Protection Agency regulations, the energy system will not be able to meet increased demands, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va) said Monday “There are a lot of people on the lower end of the socio-economic ladder that are going to die, and that’s a fact,” the senator said at an energy event hosted by Politico.
Manchin has been outspoken about his disapproval of the proposed regulations, which would limit emissions from coal-fired power plants largely by requiring the use of carbon capture and storage, a technology the EPA says is technically feasible, while opponents say it is not commercially viable and not adequately demonstrated. Manchin said his goal is not to stop EPA but to “try to get them to come to the reality of what we’re doing with these [regulations]. People need to know the reliability of the system. If you all knew how fragile the system is right now and you put the same amount of pressure that the polar vortex put on the PJM system, which is about 144,000 MW of distributed of power that they’re responsible for. They had, at the best, a 2,000 MW cushion out of 144,000 MW, it’s all they had. They’re supposed to take off 10,000 MW of coal-fired power in that same system this coming year. You have another polar vortex next year, how many people lose their lives?”
Moving quickly away from coal is not reasonable option for climate mitigation, Manchin said, criticizing those who favor rigid climate regulation. “There are deniers on both sides. On my side, there’s people who say, ‘Oh, the climate is not a problem.’ Well, let me tell you, 7 billion people, we have an impact on the climate and we have a responsibility. And if you don’t think so, you’re a denier. On the other side … If you believe that we can continue to run this country and this economy without any fossil [fuels] or any coal — if you do, then you’re a denier.”
Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D), also a panelist at the debate, stated everybody wants to meet the goal of environmental stewardship, but that goal has been halted by red tape. “I believe, when you create a regulatory environment with so much uncertainty, so much red tape, and you tie up, not hundreds of millions, but billions and billions in investments that want to go into energy, not only to produce more energy more dependably, more cost effectively, but also with better environmental stewardship, then you are not accomplishing your goal of environmental stewardship.”
This abundance of red tape, Hoeven said is also preventing the U.S. from aiding other countries in the development and deployment of these technologies. “If you encourage that investment and you encourage that technology development and you get these new technologies deployed and demonstrated and show that they are commercially viable, not just technically feasible, then other countries throughout the world will adopt that technology as well and they’ll have better environmental stewardship as well. Are we talking about this, or are we going to go do it?” the senator said.