NMA: Fossil fuel regulations must reflect balance
June 15, 2014 | By
Barbara Vergetis Lundin
The National Mining Association (NMA) has laid out its reasons policymakers should reject the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposed guidelines for regulating fossil-fueled power plants emissions. By minimizing coal's role in the energy mix, NMA claims, the standard will reduce America's diverse and low-cost energy resources, which are critical to supporting the economy.
NMA contends that the new standard would compromise America's competitive position by eliminating coal from the energy mix, forcing power companies to rely on other, more costly energy sources for generation, and driving up U.S. production costs to the advantage of foreign competitors. Higher production costs will compel manufacturers to move jobs to markets like China and India, NMA contends, where companies have access to a plentiful supply of low-cost power, leading to higher global emissions as countries like China and India use energy less efficiently than the U.S. Without coal, consumer costs will skyrocket, according to NMA, who bases their assumption on California -- where there is little in-state coal generated power (8 percent) and consumers pay an average retail price 45 percent higher than the national average. "Our environmental policies must reflect a balanced approach. Let's not pursue policies that lead to more expensive energy, suppress growth in energy-intensive industries like manufacturing and impact the livelihoods of Americans," said NMA President and CEO Hal Quinn. For more:
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