Obama’s attack on coal fired plants continues:
FOX NEWS – One state official says the Environmental Protection Agency is “threatening” North Dakota’s power system with new emission regulations, which, he says, are impossible to comply with.
“This is not an attempt to close down power plants,” EPA Region 8 administrator Shaun McGrath said during the event, according to the Bismarck Tribune. “Coal needs to be part of our energy future.” But Public Service Commissioner Randy Christmann says proposed emissions regulations for new power plants tell a different story, one that could mean a bottleneck for power in a growing state.
The EPA is taking public comment on a proposed cap of 1,100 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions per megawatt hour of electricity generated for new power plants. Now, coal-fired power plants average about 2,250 pounds per megawatt hour. During the symposium last week Christmann asked McGrath how the EPA arrived at the proposed lower number. “McGrath said he didn’t have the specific data on hand but would be able to provide the PSC with that information,” reported the Tribune.
“It seems like they’re just picking a number that can’t be met,” Christmann said in an interview. That could cause problems in a state that has been leading the nation in both economic and population growth. Oil operations, not to mention tens of thousands of new residents, are creating more demand for power.