Obama’s New EPA Rules Will Increase Energy Prices up to 80%

 

In a 2008 interview with the San Francisco Chronicle editorial board, Barack Obama uttered a prophetic statement about energy prices. “If somebody wants to build a coal-fired power plant, they can. It’s just that it will bankrupt them.” The senator added, “under my plan… electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket.”

The candidate was talking about his cap-and-trade scheme which Congress shelved long ago. But the president’s EPA is going around democratically elected legislators and their constituents to attack the coal industry administratively. 

The EPA has mandated that new coal plants use expensive and unproven carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology despite angry resistance from coal states and their representatives. Now the administration admits that the new rules will drastically increase electricity prices.

Dr. Julio Friedmann, the deputy assistant secretary for clean coal at the Department of Energy, told House lawmakers that the first generation of carbon capture and storage technology would increase wholesale electricity prices by “70 or 80 percent.”

The Obama administration’s plan to fight global warming includes limiting carbon dioxide from new power plants. In order for new coal-fired power plants to be built, however, they would need to install costly carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology.

This must be the same global warming that is throwing a second ice storm at Alaska… I mean Atlanta. More than a decade of cooling isn’t enough to prevent green religionists from forcing their mystical beliefs on their fellow Americans.

“In typical EPA fashion, they’re putting the cart before the horse to advance their environmental policy agenda,” said Louisiana Republican Sen. David Vitter. “They’re moving forward with a controversial rule to regulate carbon based on technology that isn’t commercially available. Not only is this wrongheaded, it’s beyond the scope of their legal authority.”

Democrats, however, argue that the mandate for coal plants to use CCS is necessary because power providers would not adopt the costly technology on their own.

“By requiring CCS, EPA is placing a de facto ban on the construction of new coal-fueled power plants, handing over leadership of the development of CCS, and an estimated $1 trillion in economic benefits, to countries like China,” said Laura Sheehan, spokeswoman for the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity.

Is coal done for in the U.S. or will the American people demand that Obama backs down? To date, the only torch-wielding mobs are on the left.

Energy prices graphic via Shutterstock.

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  1. Profile Photo Inactive
    @user_646399

    The sheeple will be aroused only when they have to live with regular rolling blackouts. By then, given how long it takes to bring a new plant online (thanks to the same regulatory stupidity), it will take ten years to fix the situation. Welcome to third world living.

    • #1
  2. Profile Photo Inactive
    @flownover

    The House can move to defund the EPA . But then that might require some intestinal fortitude and alot of selective deafness to the media.

    • #2
  3. Profile Photo Inactive
    @flownover

    I have to post again, the absurdity of trying to limit coal emissions in the USA in the face of the planned numbers of new coal plants being built in China and India is utterly stunning. 

    Not that carbon dioxide is a bad thing (I’m an emitter) and one volcano event lasting more than a week will wipe any carbon savings accrued over the past ten years by all these feelgood crapola measures just makes it obvious that the goal can’t be carbon reduction but industrial restructuring to a familiar third world standard in order to bring some equality to an arrogantly successful America . Cozy up to your inner African poverty people, relativism and income equality are global goals . 

    Otherwise why would the Scandinavians allow millions of people to come spoil their land, harass their natives and sack their treasuries ? 

    • #3
  4. Profile Photo Inactive
    @JohnnyDubya

    The government has a history of mandating the use of technology that doesn’t exist and then fining businesses that do no “adopt” the non-existent technology.

    Our ruling and bureaucratic classes have lost their collective minds. In order to favor CCS, you have to believe (a) anthropogenic global warming exists and is continuing, (b) AGW is a threat to humanity, (c) CCS will arrest or mitigate AGW, (d) this can be done on a cost-effective basis, and (e) the CCS technology exists to do so.

    We are far from establishing all these things to be true. In fact, we know (e) is not true!

    Is there no end to the idiocy of the global warming religion? It will bankrupt us all, and we will be freezing in the dark.

    • #4
  5. Profile Photo Inactive
    @NickStuart

    And that makes absolutely no difference whatever to Barack and Michelle Obama, AlGore, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Robert Redford, the trust fund babies, the Hollywood elites, Upper West Side Manhattanites, and all. They could care less if the price of energy goes up 800%. They have plenty of money to insulate them against whatever price shocks come along.

    • #5
  6. Profile Photo Member
    @Chris
    civil westman: The sheeple will be aroused only when they have to live with regular rolling blackouts. By then, given how long it takes to bring a new plant online (thanks to the same regulatory stupidity), it will take ten years to fix the situation. Welcome to third world living. · 2 hours ago

    Don’t know about others, but we have seen slowly rising energy bills for the past few years.  I’m among those who have followed this anti-carbon storyline since 2008 and am not surprised.  

    Like  CW says,  however, most people will be utterly shocked when things go downhill rapidly.  They just haven’t been paying attention.  

    After a period of “adjustment” and government sponsored “re-education” about the new normal, the people will be happy just to have power.  

    For example, happiness reigns when gas dips below $3 a gallon (as it recently did here).  Never mind that gasoline never breached $3 a gallon until 2005  and was under $3 from 10/08 through 11/10.  We’re being trained.

    Expect similar forgetfulness about cheaper electricity. 

    • #6
  7. Profile Photo Coolidge
    @JohnHanson

    Nixon sure did all of us a favor when he set up the EPA by executive order :(.

    • #7
  8. Profile Photo Member
    @DrewInWisconsin
    Johnny Dubya:

    Is there no end to the idiocy of the global warming religion? It will bankrupt us all, and we will be freezing in the dark. 

    That’s a feature, not a bug.

    • #8
  9. Profile Photo Member
    @DrewInWisconsin
    Chris

    Don’t know about others, but we have seen slowly rising energy bills for the past few years.  I’m among those who have followed this anti-carbon storyline since 2008 and am not surprised.  

    Like  CW says,  however, most people will be utterly shocked when things go downhill rapidly.  They just haven’t been paying attention.  

    After a period of “adjustment” and government sponsored “re-education” about the new normal, the people will be happy just to have power.  

    For example, happiness reigns when gas dips below $3 a gallon (as it recently did here).  Never mind that gasoline never breached $3 a gallon until 2005  and was under $3 from 10/08 through 11/10.

     We’re being trained.

    Yep. Absolutely.

    • #9
  10. Profile Photo Inactive
    @Ralphie

    Ethanol is being abandoned, it was supposed to replace oil.  Our lawmakers are years behind reality, because they can afford to be. High energy prices do not seem to effect the poor on welfare with vendored payments, nor the wealthier than can afford it.  As with most government meddling, it is the quiet middle that carries the load.

    I believe the green movement is meeting reality in Europe, and it should happen here. Whether it will be timely, and enough to turn around, will have to be seen. Americans don’t like to lose generally, though I can see a changing in attitudes toward the proper role of government to citizen (or subject).

    Obama does not care, he cannot care for 317 million people as proven by Obamacare. Those of us that had health insurance, who now don’t, are “just a small number of people.” 

    • #10
  11. Profile Photo Coolidge
    @ChrisCampion

    You don’t need laws with a pen and an EPA.  You simply have tyranny, petty and much, much larger.

    When are we going to elect people to Congress with the sack to actually dismantle the EPA?  We should be holding public hearings, with witnesses to the fines and harassment, and the damn SWAT teams they sport.

    • #11
  12. Profile Photo Inactive
    @MikeH

    Good thing we’re moving to natural gas.

    CO2.jpg

    Remember the Kyoto Protocol?

    “During the first commitment period, 37 industrialized countries and the European Community committed to reduce GHG emissions to an average of five percent against 1990 levels. During the second commitment period, Parties committed to reduce GHG emissions by at least 18 percent below 1990 levels in the eight-year period from 2013 to 2020; however, the composition of Parties in the second commitment period is different from the first.”

    Done.

    • #12
  13. Profile Photo Inactive
    @gnarlydad

    To date,the only torch-wielding mobs are on the left.

    Rather than torches, maybe the people of the Great Quiet Middle (Ralphie #7) will arise in November brandishing ballots.

    Call me a pessimistic optimist. A possumnist.

    Hang on, I’m feeling fainty.

    • #13
  14. Profile Photo Inactive
    @RossC

    This is a long term plan.  There is enough uncertainty out there that no investor is going to thrown down the billions in investment in a large coal plant even if it makes financial sense because of the overarching regulatory risk on the investment.  So our energy companies are doubling down on natural gas fired plants which is not a bad idea in the foreseeable future but the future is hard to predict.  In the meantime the existing coal plants are being chipped away at by EPA (Mercury and Air Toxics rule anyone?) in such a way that the plant owners cannot upgrade the plants or modify them in any way without taking on a whole new set of emissions requirements.  Plants under 400MW are already on their way out.  Give it another 30 years and there will be none left.

    • #14
  15. Profile Photo Member
    @
    John Hanson: Nixon sure did all of us a favor when he set up the EPA by executive order :(. · 6 hours ago

    Nixon was one of the most successful Democratic presidents.

    • #15
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