EPA proposal may fuel Colorado coal
Environmental groups no fans of Affordable Clean Energy rule
As state and utility officials sorted through the Trump administration’s proposed sweeping changes to the Obamaera plan to reduce carbon emissions, environmental groups warned that the proposal announced Tuesday could undermine the significant strides Colorado has made. A mining industry official, though, said the changes would provide certainty for the coal industry and consumers.
In a highly anticipated move, the Environmental Protection Agency rolled out its proposed rule to reduce climatechanging greenhouse gas emissions, which the agency said would replace the “burdensome” regulations of the 2015 Clean Power Plan. The Obama administration’s plan set the goal of cutting U.S. carbon dioxide emissions to 32 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, targeting emissions from coalfired power plants and giving states latitude in meeting specific targets.
Colorado voters became the first in the nation to approve a renewable energy standard for utilities in 2004. Since then, Xcel Energy Colorado, the state’s largest electric utility, has moved to increase the power it gets from renewable energy sources and has shuttered some coal plants or converted them to natural gas. In Colorado, the utility gets 44 percent of its power from coal, 28 percent from natural gas, 23 percent from wind and 5 percent from solar and other renewable sources.
Economics as well as concerns about pollution and climate change are driving switches from coal to natural gas and renewables. This year, a report by Bloomberg said the falling costs of renewable energy were continuing to squeeze the coal market.
Xcel Energy declined Tuesday to comment on the specifics of the EPA’s proposed rule until it could review it.
“We’re working closely with our states on plans that deliver the clean energy our customers want while ensuring reliability or affordability,” Xcel spokeswoman Michelle Aguayo said in an email.
The Colorado Public Utilities Commission is considering a plan by Xcel aimed at halving carbon emissions and boosting its renewable energy sources to 55 percent of its portfolio by 2026.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment was also going through the 200-pluspage proposal, spokesman Mark Salley said in an email.
“Colorado has already made significant progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector and continues to look for ways to further reduce emissions in the future,” he added.
Environmental groups were quick to react. The Environmental Defense Fund said the proposed replacement, dubbed the Affordable Clean Energy rule by the EPA, doesn’t include emission targets or timelines for compliance. Instead, it only requires states to consider establishing standards based on making power plants more efficient, the EDF said.
“It proposes the most minimal of reductions, and if you decide not to make any reductions, that’s totally OK,” said Vickie Patton of Boulder, the Environmental Defense Fund’s general counsel.
“Colorado, through tremendous bipartisan collaboration, has demonstrated that we can slash damaging climate-changing pollution while creating economic opportunities and jobs in all parts of the state.”
Gov. John Hickenlooper supports the Obama rule but isn’t seeking re-election because of term limits. Patton said the next governor will have to decide whether to stay on the current path or follow the Trump administration’s lead and “slam the brakes on reducing dangerous carbon dioxide and other health-harming gasses.”
The campaign of Colorado Treasurer Walker Stapleton, the Republican candidate for governor, released a statement saying he “will support policies at the state level that respect our economy and environment, instead of implementing government mandates that will cost Colorado billions.” He accused his Democratic opponent, Rep. Jared Polis, of backing “a radical energy plan” that is “even more extreme than the Clean Power Plan.”
Polis said in a statement that the Trump administration’s decision “is the wrong one for our economy, our planet, public health, and our children’s future.” He said leaders are needed at the state level who will grow the economy while protecting air and water and that as governor, he would preserve the existing standards and work to reduce harmful pollution while creating good-paying jobs by promoting cleanenergy innovation.
Stan Dempsey Jr., Colorado Mining Association president, welcomed news of the proposed replacement of the Clean Power Plan, which he assailed as part of the Obama administration’s “war on coal.”
“The Obama rule was legally suspect. It had a tough road ahead,” Dempsey said.
Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman joined other attorneys general in a lawsuit in 2015 challenging the Obama plan, claiming that it usurped states’ authority. A hold on the Obama rule by the U.S. Supreme Court after hearings on the lawsuit in the D.C. Court of Appeals remains in effect.
Patton disputed that the Obama rule is legally shaky. She said the coal industry wouldn’t have asked the Appeals Court to stay its decision if it believed the rule wasn’t legal.
For his part, Dempsey said he doesn’t expect the legal wrangling to end if the EPA approves the proposed replacement for the Clean Power Plan.
“And it’s an open question whether states actually adopt these changes,” he added.
But Dempsey does think the proposal would help Colorado’s economy by providing more certainty for coal producers and utilities. He criticized the Obama rule’s focus on cutting emissions across the electric grid rather than plant by plant and contended that the renewable energy industry is subsidized as a result of production tax credits and renewable energy standards.
Even the largest coal companies have struggled in recent years as demand for coal has dropped, but Dempsey said the overall picture has improved. Coal still generates the majority of electricity produced in Colorado — 54 percent — and the industry has continued to make improvements that have cut pollution, he said.
The Colorado Mining Association said the state’s mines produced nearly 15 million tons last year and employed 1,200, making the state the country’s No. 10 coal producer.
The EPA will take public comments for 60 days on the proposed rule after it is published in the Federal Register.