#epa rules

New Post has been published on http://www.newsnish.com/business/officials-calling-nevada-solar-future-bright-under-epa-rules/

Officials calling Nevada solar future bright under EPA rules

Several Nevada government and business leaders said Monday they see a bright future for renewable energy projects in the state under federal rules tightening pollution controls for greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants.

Nevada doesn’t rely much on coal for electricity, and officials at a sun-drenched event beneath solar power panels at Las Vegas City Hall said the new Environmental Protection Agency rules could boost the business of converting sun, wind and geothermal energy to electricity. “Nevada has been ahead of this curve for a long time,” Jennifer Taylor, executive director of the nonpartisan Clean Energy Project, told reporters.

Coal is imported to Nevada for use at three remaining coal-fired power plants, but the state exports solar power to California. Taylor said the state could also become an exporter of geothermal and wind energy if projects are developed.

City, county and Las Vegas Latin Chamber of Commerce officials joined Taylor and executives with solar power companies First Solar and Enel Green Power to say they don’t believe Nevada will have trouble meeting the new federal mandates.

The officials pointed to a list of 150 companies that they said support a statewide renewable energy plan, and Sierra Club members toted signs calling clean energy the future. Using 2012 as a base, the EPA expects Nevada to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants 15.5 percent by 2030.

The EPA said Nevada has one of the more stringent state goals, compared with other states. But the state’s dominant utility, NV Energy, predicted it can meet the standards with no increase in customer rates. It withheld comment on specifics until the ruling could be evaluated.

“We supported the rule as it was proposed in June 2014, including the building block and flexible compliance concepts,” company spokeswoman Jennifer Schuricht said in a statement. “We do not anticipate a significant impact on our customer rates as we move towards reliable renewable generation methods and reducing our emissions.”

NV Energy is due to shut down an aging coal-fired power plant in southern Nevada, near Las Vegas, in 2017. Other coal-fired plants in the state are near Winnemucca and Elko. About two-thirds of Nevada’s electricity is derived from burning natural gas, which emits about half the carbon dioxide as coal but still draws criticism from environmental groups as not totally clean.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, who will host President Barack Obama at an eighth annual green power conference later this month in Las Vegas, voiced support for the new EPA rules. Republican Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval’s energy chief, Paul Thomsen, called Nevada well-positioned to comply.

But U.S. Rep. Joe Heck, a Republican running to replace Reid in the Senate, said he feared the rules “penalize those that depend on fossil fuels for energy and the jobs they provide.” “This plan is not the all-of-the-above energy strategy needed to boost job creation and reduce energy prices for families,” Heck said.

Heck’s Democratic opponent, former Nevada state Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto, called the EPA rules a bold step to lower carbon emissions. Masto said abundant solar, wind and geothermal energy sources in Nevada have helped create jobs that she said can’t be shipped overseas.

Obama’s bold steps on climate change can’t wait

New rules call for U.S. power plants to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 32 percent by 2030.

With his new Clean Power Plan, President Obama is taking his boldest action yet on the issue of saving the planet.

The new rules are the first ever to impose limits on carbon pollution from power plants. The approach aims for a 32 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, from 2005 levels, by 2030.

“W…

[VIDEO]: One Governor Just Sent A Letter To Obama And Threatened Him With This If He Doesn’t Back Off

Indiana’s Republican Gov. Mike Pence — once considered a possible 2016 contender in the race for president — has told the current occupant of the White House to take his EPA rules and…well, shove off, so to speak. The Hoosier State, says Pence in a strongly worded letter to President Obama, is ready to ignore the administration’s…

‘Game we can’t win': Coal states brace for growing number of plant closures over EPA rules

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December 04, 2014

WASHINGTON –  The energy industry and coal-producing states are projecting a wave of power plant closures in the final two years of the Obama administration as Environmental Protection Agency regulations take hold.

The goal of the agency’s campaign is to cut down on carbon pollution. However, industry groups and agencies say the EPA’s demands are simply too…

Just before 9 a.m. Friday, the Obama administration issued strict new carbon emissions limits that could have a major impact on Virginia’s coal and electricity industries. Two hours later, the Republican-led House approved a bill that would keep the government running for a few months but withhold funding for the Affordable Care Act, potentially increasing the chances of a federal shutdown Oct. 1.

The back-to-back events put both Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II (R) and businessman Terry McAuliffe (D) on the spot, as the two leading candidates to be Virginia’s next governoreach avoided taking clear positions on the actions of their fellow party members.

McAuliffe and Cuccinelli both gave lunchtime speeches at a small-business summit in Fairfax, and Cuccinelli made a point of condemning the EPA’s proposed rules, saying they would effectively prohibit the construction of coal-fired power plants, further devastate the commonwealth’s hard-hit coal fields and boost energy prices for everyone.

“The administration renewed its war on coal today,” Cuccinelli said, adding — as he often does — that “a war on coal is a war on the poor” and that Virginia “needs a governor who’ll fight for those folks” who depend on the coal industry.

McAuliffe’s campaign issued a statement reserving judgment on the new rules.

“Terry agrees with the broad swath of scientists, economists, and military leaders, who view climate change as a looming problem for Virginia,” campaign spokesman Josh Schwerin wrote in an e-mail. “While he agrees that there needs to be some limit on carbon pollution and believes that Virginia can and should lead the way in building new plants that create low-cost, low-carbon energy, he looks forward to further reviewing the President’s proposed rules in detail and studying their impact on Virginia’s economy.”

White House Attacks Prison Planet.com Report On Blackouts

    Alex Jones & Paul Joseph Watson Infowars.com February 5, 2011

- Lies about Texas not being affected by draconian EPA rules on greenhouse gases.

- Deception about clean burning coal-fired plants producing “carbon pollution”.

- Spin in denying EPA and Obama administration have publicly stated and openly embarked on mission to destroy coal industry by blocking construction of new power plants.

The White House has publicly responded to the controversy surrounding the Obama administration’s agenda to bankrupt the coal industry and its connection to this week’s blackouts across the country, by attempting to deny the link in a rebuttal that amounts to nothing more than a tissue of lies, deception and spin.

In a blog that appears on the front page of WhiteHouse.gov, White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer begins by claiming that the story came from a “questionable” source and is “unquestionably false,” without even naming the source. Frightened that Americans might actually read the source and make their own minds up based on the facts, Pfeiffer fails to provide a link to our original article that was subsequently picked up by the Drudge Report, Fox News and numerous other media outlets.

Pfeiffer then oversimplifies the debate by building a straw man argument based around the premise that “the Obama Administration is somehow responsible for the rolling blackouts in Texas,” before blaming the outages on cold weather.

By framing the argument to make out as if we claimed Obama flipped a switch and the lights went out is completely deceptive. Of course the cold weather has shown that the country is vulnerable to blackouts, but that vulnerability is a direct result of the Obama administration’s stated goal to bankrupt the coal industry and its proven track record, through the enforcement of EPA regulations, of blocking power plants from being built that would be able to handle the extra demand.

Pfeiffer then claims that the blackouts were a result of power plants experiencing “mechanical failures,” completely ignoring the fact that the blackouts were planned and were made necessary because of a lack of supply to meet increased demand. That’s why Texas had to rely on Mexico to meet its power shortfall, an offer that was subsequently suspended.

Pfeiffer then attempts to counter the manifestly provable fact that desperately needed new coal-fired plants are being mothballed under the weight of draconian EPA regulations on CO2 emissions by claiming that Texas isn’t subject to such restrictions. Firstly, Texas supplies power to surrounding states that have been impacted by the new EPA regulations, leaving less energy to meet the demand of those living in the lone star state.

Secondly, despite Texas’ best efforts to fight the new Clean Air Act standards, the EPA has aggressively enforced existing regulations, a process that has both delayed and prevented new plants in Texas from being built, such as the Las Brisas Energy Center, which has been the subject of a near three year battle between the EPA and state authorities.

Indeed, a federal court ruling last month gave the EPA permission to proceed with greenhouse gas regulation in Texas, temporarily superseding Texas’ non-compliance with the new regulations which came into force on January 2. The White House’s claim that EPA regulations are not currently affecting Texas is a complete fabrication.

The wider argument that the EPA is simply trying to implement reasonable measures to prevent “carbon pollution” is also a complete misnomer. Modern day clean burning coal-fired plants go to great lengths to remove all hazardous chemicals before any emissions leave the plant, through the use of sophisticated scrubbers and other techniques, to the point where the only emissions are water vapor and carbon dioxide. Watch the video below for a demonstration of these techniques.

There can be no doubt whatsoever that the Obama administration has deliberately pursued a policy of bankrupting the coal industry by means of crippling EPA regulations. Candidate Obama himself explicitly stated this objective during a January 2008 interview.

“So, if somebody wants to build a coal plant, they can — it’s just that it will bankrupt them, because they are going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that’s being emitted,” he stated.

This policy has led not only to new coal plants not being built, but also to existing coal plants being threatened with termination. EPA regulations are forcing power plants out of business across America – leaving the country vulnerable to more enforced blackouts and higher energy prices.

- Back in July 2008, a Superior Court judge in Fulton County blocked the construction of a coal plant in Georgia, citing global warming concerns and the need to limit CO2 emissions.

- In January 2009, the Obama EPA blocked approval for a coal-fired power plant in South Dakota, claiming the state, “didn’t meet requirements under the Clean Air Act in part of its proposed permit for the plant.”

- As Governor of Kansas, Obama’s current Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius slapped a de facto ban on the construction of all new coal-fired plants across the state.

- Last month, Senators in Obama’s home state of Illinois blocked the construction of a clean-burning coal gasification and power generating plant.

- As a result of the EPA’s recent remand of air permits, Shell Oil announced this week that it has “dropped plans to drill in the Arctic waters of the Beaufort Sea this year and will concentrate,” ensuring more shortages and higher prices for Americans

A d v e r t i s e m e n t

Last month Dayton Daily News reported that, “The power industry nationwide might have to spend more than $80 billion and retire 45,000 megawatts of coal-fired power plants over several years in adjusting operations to meet current and possible new EPA regulations.”

The shortage of power plants to meet the demands of Texans and other Americans as cold weather grips the country is down to the EPA holding local utility companies hostage and blocking them from building desperately needed new power plants.

Obama’s January greenhouse gas rules restricted the amount of emissions allowable for new power plants, while giving an exemption to General Electric, an intimate financial supporter of his administration.

The Obama administration has crippled US infrastructure and its ability to meet the needs of Americans by declaring war on the coal industry. While smaller independent power plant companies are being squeezed out of existence by EPA rules, transnational giants are busy creating artificial scarcity to jack up prices and eliminate their competition. Indeed, we only have to recall how Enron shut down power plants on false pretenses during the 2001 blackouts in California as a ploy to raise prices to understand how the restriction of energy is used as a political and financial tool of oppression.

Energy prices continue to skyrocket nationwide while the EPA prepares to shut down more plants, ensuring only higher prices in the years to come. The federal government’s siege against independent power companies’ efforts to build coal-fired plants is part of the unfolding globalist agenda to cripple American infrastructure even as China and Mexico build new power plants at ever accelerating speeds.

A d v e r t i s e m e n t

The fact that the White House is so concerned that this agenda is being exposed that they feel the need to address it with a tissue of lies and deception on the front page of WhiteHouse.gov is a telling indication that the Obama administration is panicking about Americans becoming aware of the move to completely de-industrialize the United States.

RELATED: Obama’s Blocking Of New Power Plants Triggers Nationwide Blackouts