SEN. ROCKEFELLER SEEKS INPUT FROM STAKEHOLDERS ON ‘CLEAN COAL’ LEGISLATION

Senator Penning Comprehensive Measure Aimed at West Virginia

Tamar Hallerman
GHG Monitor
08/24/12

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) is currently writing legislation aimed at accelerating the deployment of ‘clean coal’ technology in West Virginia, the senator’s office has confirmed. Rockefeller is seeking input from a broad swath of stakeholders as he crafts a measure to drive the deployment of advanced coal technology in West Virginia, his office said. The senior senator sent letters to nearly three dozen stakeholder groups including utilities, coal companies, trade organizations, universities and environmental groups earlier this month, saying that he is looking to build a broad coalition of groups to work with him on the issue. “Technological development to reduce carbon emissions is critical to increasing our energy and economic security, reducing our environmental impact and securing the future of coal and other domestic resources,” he said in the letter to stakeholders.

Rockefeller said the legislation would set out steps for developing advanced coal technology, encouraging private sector financing for new projects and enabling the U.S. to become the global leader in the sector. “In order to address global issues like climate change, we must be honest about the need to clean up fossil fuels, especially in developing nations,” Rockefeller said in a statement. “We have to make the collective choice between developing key technologies of the future here in the United States or ceding that role to other countries.” The letter asks stakeholders to suggest targets and policies that would be useful to help fully develop carbon capture, utilization and storage and other advanced coal technologies. An aide said Rockefeller is hoping to introduce the legislation this year.

Bill Would Be Follow-Up to Failed 2010 Measure

As a coal state Democrat, Rockefeller has towed a unique line politically between coal and environmental interests. He has long positioned himself as an advocate for both the West Virginia coal industry and for climate change mitigation. An early supporter of carbon capture and storage technology, he was one of the driving forces in securing federal matching dollars for CCS deployment as part of the stimulus bill in 2009. In 2010, he introduced comprehensive CCS legislation with then-Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) that would have boosted funding for R&D, provided ample financial incentives for early large-scale projects and created technology and greenhouse gas emissions performance standards for new power plants. The measure, which also would have clarified long-term stewardship rules for sequestered CO2, was essentially dead on arrival in the Senate as it became eclipsed by much of the cap-and-trade debate.

After laying low in the coal debate in Washington for much of the last year as many coal state senators aimed at beating back controversial Environmental Protection Agency air quality regulations, Rockefeller launched himself onto the black list of many coal supporters earlier this summer when he delivered a scathing critique of the industry on the Senate floor. He criticized the industry for dragging its feet on encouraging improvements and efficiency efforts and instead focusing all of its energy on fighting off EPA regulations. Rockefeller faulted coal industry leaders for concentrating their efforts on retaliating against “false enemies” like EPA and denying “real problems” instead of searching for answers. “Change and uncertainty in the coal industry is unsettling. But my fear is that concerns are also being fueled by the narrow view of others with divergent motivations—one that denies the inevitability of change in the energy industry and unfairly leaves coal miners in the dust,” he said. He added that instead of taking an “all-or-nothing” approach to EPA regulations, the industry should “face reality” and focus on securing coal’s future in the long term. “We have the chance here to not just grudgingly accept the future—but to boldly step into that future,” he added. His remarks attracted widespread criticism from West Virginia’s coal industry, but in a later speech, Rockefeller said he did not regret his remarks. “I’ve never felt so proud about anything in my life,” Rockefeller was quoted as saying at a public meeting in Charleston, West Virginia last month. “This issue had been gnawing at me for many years.”