Abby L. Harvey
GHG Monitor
5/23/2014
Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz this week stressed the need to reduce the cost of carbon reduction technologies to allow an ‘all of the above’ energy strategy to move forward. “Given our absolute commitment to looking for lower carbon options, we are continuing to drive cost reduction in technologies like carbon capture for the future. Of course, that’s very much in accord with the draft rule that the [Environmental Protection Agency] has out for any new coal plants,” Moniz said during an online Google+ Hangout event.
The EPA’s proposed New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) have been widely criticized for their focus on carbon capture and storage as the best system of emission reduction. Among the concerns raised over the emphasis on CCS in the new proposal is that the technology is underdeveloped and too costly to be commercially viable, resulting in an effective ban to the construction of new coal-fired power plants. In his remarks this week, though, Moniz sought to refute such concerns.
Critics have argued that the price tag on CCS technology could result in a halt in the expansion of the coal industry, effectively banning the building of any new plants. “The technologies for carbon capture and for storage have been used, have been demonstrated,” Moniz said, referencing the Great Plains Synfuels Plant near Beulah, North Dakota whose captured CO2 is piped to Weyburn EOR site in Saskatchewan, Canada. “The issue of continuing to drive the cost down is one that we have for many low carbon technologies,” Moniz said, adding that “the way I see our job on the technology front is to make the investments to enable all low carbon options to potentially be competitive in a future low carbon marketplace. It’s not for us to choose what’s going to be implemented.”
Moniz also stressed the importance of a mix of technologies when looking toward a low-carbon future. “It’s about low carbon technologies that could include, for example, a contribution from coal with carbon capture and underground storage. Certainly if we look globally at the kind of coal use we see in some other countries … we’re going to have to look at all of the options for low carbon supply and for continued emphasis on efficacy.”
Coal Job Loss Concerns
Among the comments submitted to the EPA concerning the NSPS, the National Mining Association raised concerns over loss of jobs due to the regulations. “The proposed standard will leave the nation’s electricity supply less diverse, less reliable and more expensive. It will also lead to higher and more volatile natural gas prices for businesses and households. American businesses will be less competitive, jobs will be destroyed and families will face higher energy costs. These and other far reaching consequences arise from a rule that EPA concedes will have no quantified benefits and will produce, at best, negligible CO2 emission changes,” the group said, adding, “All of this proceeds without an adequate analysis of the proposal’s effects on costs, business competitiveness, inflation and energy use.”
Moniz said this week, though, that there is the potential for new jobs to be created in developing natural gas and renewable energy. “If you look at a state like West Virginia, while there certainly has been loss of jobs in the coal industry, I believe last year there were at least an equal number of jobs added in natural gas production and part of that switch is what has led to lower net CO2 reductions in the last several years,” Moniz said, adding, “The administration … has certainly advanced training programs, retraining programs and I think that’s what we need because ultimately we are going to be shifting to what I would call a more technology driven energy sector than a resource driven energy sector.”
