By Elizabeth E. Payne
On March 28, President Donald Trump signed an executive order instructing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to unravel the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan, which would have limited the amount of carbon dioxide emissions allowed from coal-fired power plants.
Despite the president’s promise to bring back coal, CEOs from electric utilities across the region have stated that they have no intention of returning to coal.
“Our statutory duty is to produce electricity at the lowest feasible rate,” Bill Johnson, CEO of the Tennessee Valley Authority, the nation’s largest public utility, told the Associated Press in mid-April. “And when we decided to close the coal plants, that was the math we were doing. We weren’t trying to comply with the Clean Power Plan or anything else. What’s the cheapest way to serve the customer? It turned out to be retiring those coal plants.”
Similarly, Duke Energy will move steadily away from coal. The company’s CEO Lynn Good told the Charlotte Business Journal, “Our strategy will continue to be to drive carbon out of our business.”
Appalachian Power’s new president, Chris Beam, also said that his company didn’t have plans to expand its coal use either, despite local pressure from coal company owner and West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice.
“The governor asked me, ‘I’d like you to burn more coal,’” Beam said, according to the Charleston Gazette-Mail. “Well, we don’t have any more coal plants. We’re not going to build any more coal plants. That’s not going to happen.”
Related Articles
Latest News
More Stories
English Language Learning in Appalachia
Learning English is always difficult. But current aggressive approaches to immigration policy are creating more barriers for learners and the programs that serve them than ever before in Appalachia and beyond.
Landfill Drama
Many residents of Pike County, Kentucky, are breathing a sigh of relief since county commissioners finalized their decision to rescind a contract with an out-of-state waste management company.
Overdrive: Fossil Fuels in Appalachia
Electricity demand is on the rise. Here, we share snapshots of energy trends in the region and how methane gas, coal and data centers are affecting our communities — and how people are pushing back.
Less Support for Communities with Mine Problems
The Trump administration issued a regulation to weaken the Ten Day Notice process that helps community members call in federal enforcement when state regulators don’t do a good job policing environmental problems at coal mines
Chaos at the Tennessee Valley Authority, Cuts to Public Input
The past year has brought turmoil and uncertainty to the Tennessee Valley Authority, the nation’s largest public power provider, and its more than 10 million customers across the Tennessee Valley.
Landmark Coal Ash Protections Under Attack
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is planning to eviscerate important, hard-won regulations on coal ash, a toxic waste left after burning coal for energy.
Leave a comment
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Leave a Comment