The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is under investigation by Republicans on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee about their proposal to tighten regulations on emissions from fossil fuel power plants.
The 22 Republican legislators, led by Rep. Jake LaTurner, R-Kan., and James Comer, R-Ky., chairman of the panel, wrote an open letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan on Wednesday, expressing concern that the agency had not adequately taken into account the rule’s financial implications and technological viability. The Republicans requested a number of internal messages concerning the rulemaking procedure from Regan, as well as an extension of the public feedback period.
They stated in the letter that “it is difficult to overstate the threat that the proposed performance standards pose to grid reliability in the United States.” The power plants that provide baseload power to the electric grid would be most affected if the proposed rule became law.
As a direct result of this Administration’s assault on domestic energy production, millions of Americans have experienced the crushing weight of increased electricity costs over the past two years, the letter stated. The EPA’s deliberate reduction of producing capacity at a time when pleas for greater electrification are being made across the country is a classic bait-and-switch on American consumers.
Overall, the EPA’s plan requires electric power companies to reduce pollution by approximately 90% over the following two decades, or about 617 million metric tonnes nationwide through 2042, according to the agency. Power facilities must either adopt the emerging and expensive technology of carbon capture or shut down in order to achieve such drastic emissions reductions.
The analysis also revealed that if it is finalised and put into practise, the amount of U.S. electric production produced by coal plants without carbon capture will decrease by 67% by 2030 and 100% by 2035, while the amount produced by coal plants with carbon capture will rise by 29% and 13%, respectively.
The Republicans said on Wednesday that carbon capture technology is still “largely untested at scale” and that, in the places where it is currently being implemented, it produces lower capture rates than those called for by the proposal. Additionally, they stated that many power facilities will not be able to afford carbon capture.
LaTurner, Comer, and the other members of the Oversight Committee said, “This Administration must concentrate more on keeping the lights on for American citizens, and less on provoking reliable sources of power generation. “It would be unacceptable to make trade-offs for the marginal emissions reductions EPA is estimating by sacrificing affordable energy, national security, and global competitiveness.”
The Republicans also asked the EPA to extend the time for public comment and take the concerns of the power sector seriously.
In order to aid in their evaluation of the regulations, they also requested EPA records and conversations associated with the proposal.
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According to LaTurner of Fox News Digital, “President Biden’s failed energy policies have led to the highest electricity prices in four decades and skyrocketing utility bills.” The EPA’s new restrictions on power plant emissions are yet another illustration of how the President and his army of unelected bureaucrats are pressuring American energy companies with onerous and expensive regulations.
“The Biden Administration should focus more on keeping the lights on for American families and less on their reckless Green New Deal agenda,” he added. I’m honoured to collaborate with Chairman Comer and my Oversight Committee colleagues to demand explanations and accountability for the American people.
His government has promoted legislation promoting renewable energy sources including wind and solar farms as part of President Biden’s climate plan, which includes his ambition to establish a 100% carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035. This goal was stated in 2021. Even while the use of such green energy has increased significantly because to advantageous federal and state incentives, it still accounts for only 14% of the nation’s electricity needs and is sporadic or weather-dependent.
According to the Energy Information Administration, wind turbines produce 34% of their stated capacity and solar panels only produce 25%. Nuclear, coal, and natural gas power plants, on the other hand, each produce 93% of their stated capacity.
All four Federal Energy Regulatory Commission members also voiced concern about the early retirement of coal-fired power generating during a recent Senate hearing. The consequences of forced retirements, according to Commissioner James Danly, “are going to be catastrophic.”
The nation’s top grid inspector warned in December that the retirement of fossil fuels put the country at risk of more capacity shortages.
