Abby L. Harvey
GHG Monitor
1/9/2015
With fossil fuels set to remain a major factor in power generation for the foreseeable future, industry is best equipped to answer the call for lower emissions through innovation, not government mandate, American Petroleum Institute President Jack Gerard said during API’s annual State of American Energy event this week. “From 2000 through 2012, the industry has spent more on low and zero-carbon emitting technologies than the federal government has spent, and that total is nearly as much as all other industries’ spending on these technologies combined. The fact is, our nation’s greenhouse gas emissions are near 20-year lows, thanks in large part to the significant growth in the use of North American produced natural gas, which is driven by the 21st century American energy renaissance, not government regulation and mandate,” Gerard said. “We need to make sure that the small but vocal view of those who peddle the false choice between energy production and safe environmental stewardship do not prevail in their narrow view which is contradicted by the facts."
Gerard said that while projections see renewable energy rising to a more prominent portion of the nation’s energy mix, fossil fuels will remain the most significant energy source for many years to come. “The fact is fossil fuels will continue to take the lead in providing most of the world’s energy needs well into this century. The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that 25 years from now, oil, natural gas and coal, collectively will account for 80 percent of the country’s energy consumption,” Gerard said. “That same report estimates that renewable energy sources will grow to 12 percent of our energy mix, with the remaining 8 percent coming from nuclear power. Even under their most aggressive scenario, fossil fuels still account for 65 percent of our energy needs.”
Within API’s State of American Energy Report for 2015, the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity makes a case against regulations proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency that would mandate carbon capture and storage on all new build coal-fired power plants, set state-specific emissions reductions targets and require states to develop action plans to meet those goals. “EPA’s proposed carbon emission standards will only exacerbate an already tenuous energy situation. EPA’s proposed standard for new generating units under section 111(b) of the Clean Air Act effectively bans the construction of new, highly efficient clean coal plants. In order to meet the proposed standard, new coal plants would require Carbon Capture and Storage technology, which is not yet commercially viable. This proposal essentially ignores the technological advancements made as utilities and ratepayers have invested approximately $118 billion to achieve a nearly 90 percent reduction per kilowatt-hour of sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOX) and particulate matter (PM) from coal-fueled power plants,” the report says.
