message from icc president
Last week a lot of noise was made about the anti-coal initiative, Beyond Coal, being bolstered with another $60 million from donors that want to see hundreds of coal-fired power plants shuttered across the United States.
In their misguided efforts, the Sierra Club’s campaign is boasting it has already contributed to nearly 200 power plants being shut down or rehabilitated to run on fuels other than coal. The Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune even stated “Coal is a dead man walking.”
We see that rhetoric as a lot of over confidence. And a lot of misplaced confidence in the myth that wind and solar can provide all of the power the nation needs to sustain its growth today, and into the future.
Some qualified experts on the topic have described this line of thinking as absurd, among a list of other interesting terms. But whatever you choose to call it, one thing is certain – the United States cannot survive – and certainly not thrive – without coal.
Coal production in Indiana has remained relatively steady over the past decade and has increased the past two years. In fact, Indiana has substantially increased its coal use from 30 years ago – and coal-fired electricity is being produced with 90 percent less pollution than it was four decades ago.
The truth is, coal is not dead and the reason is this: There is no substitute for the energy it provides or the affordability and reliability it delivers to our great nation.
Another truth Beyond Coal, Sierra Club, the Bloomberg Foundation, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency won’t share with you includes how coal and fossil fuels in general have improved our quality of life over the past 100 years. Affordable and reliable energy is mandatory to developing innovations, powering growth, and bringing many of the today’s modern marvels to life. I’m sure you cannot run municipal water supply infrastructure or medical treatment devices without reliable electricity.
There are other additional facts you won’t hear from these groups. Those facts include how the current administration’s overreach will drive up industrial and household energy costs to economic-threatening levels. Studies have estimated America’s consumers could be paying an additional $366 billion to $407 billion for electric power in the not-so-distant future with Indiana families paying 12 percent more on their residential bills– if the current administration’s regulations are allowed to be implemented.
I want you to know that we are working hard for you, our miners and families, so Hoosiers can go to bed at night knowing the lights will be on in the morning. We are also working with the National Mining Association’s Count on Coal initiative – which we’ve rebranded for Indiana as Hoosiers Count on Coal – to help educate people all across our state about the risks of the current administration’s Clean Power Plan, and the dangerously naive rhetoric of wind and solar as equal replacements for coal.
Over the next few months, our fight will become more intense, and likely more contentious. This summer, the EPA is expected to finalize three sets of regulations, requiring state implementation plans for existing plants on how to achieve those regulations.
To meet these regulations, states like Indiana would need to pass new laws or rush through new rules to comply, jammed into a single year. The EPA wants to make policy changes that will deny governors and legislatures the time to give proper serious consideration to the consequences.
I want to assure you, we are going to do everything in our power to ensure that doesn’t happen. We will be here watching and working every step of the way to protect the Hoosier coal industry – and in turn, protecting our access to affordable and reliable electricity for every household in Indiana.
Just as you’ve come to count on coal over the years, you can count on us to continue fighting for you.
Bruce Stevens
President
Indiana Coal Council
In their misguided efforts, the Sierra Club’s campaign is boasting it has already contributed to nearly 200 power plants being shut down or rehabilitated to run on fuels other than coal. The Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune even stated “Coal is a dead man walking.”
We see that rhetoric as a lot of over confidence. And a lot of misplaced confidence in the myth that wind and solar can provide all of the power the nation needs to sustain its growth today, and into the future.
Some qualified experts on the topic have described this line of thinking as absurd, among a list of other interesting terms. But whatever you choose to call it, one thing is certain – the United States cannot survive – and certainly not thrive – without coal.
Coal production in Indiana has remained relatively steady over the past decade and has increased the past two years. In fact, Indiana has substantially increased its coal use from 30 years ago – and coal-fired electricity is being produced with 90 percent less pollution than it was four decades ago.
The truth is, coal is not dead and the reason is this: There is no substitute for the energy it provides or the affordability and reliability it delivers to our great nation.
Another truth Beyond Coal, Sierra Club, the Bloomberg Foundation, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency won’t share with you includes how coal and fossil fuels in general have improved our quality of life over the past 100 years. Affordable and reliable energy is mandatory to developing innovations, powering growth, and bringing many of the today’s modern marvels to life. I’m sure you cannot run municipal water supply infrastructure or medical treatment devices without reliable electricity.
There are other additional facts you won’t hear from these groups. Those facts include how the current administration’s overreach will drive up industrial and household energy costs to economic-threatening levels. Studies have estimated America’s consumers could be paying an additional $366 billion to $407 billion for electric power in the not-so-distant future with Indiana families paying 12 percent more on their residential bills– if the current administration’s regulations are allowed to be implemented.
I want you to know that we are working hard for you, our miners and families, so Hoosiers can go to bed at night knowing the lights will be on in the morning. We are also working with the National Mining Association’s Count on Coal initiative – which we’ve rebranded for Indiana as Hoosiers Count on Coal – to help educate people all across our state about the risks of the current administration’s Clean Power Plan, and the dangerously naive rhetoric of wind and solar as equal replacements for coal.
Over the next few months, our fight will become more intense, and likely more contentious. This summer, the EPA is expected to finalize three sets of regulations, requiring state implementation plans for existing plants on how to achieve those regulations.
To meet these regulations, states like Indiana would need to pass new laws or rush through new rules to comply, jammed into a single year. The EPA wants to make policy changes that will deny governors and legislatures the time to give proper serious consideration to the consequences.
I want to assure you, we are going to do everything in our power to ensure that doesn’t happen. We will be here watching and working every step of the way to protect the Hoosier coal industry – and in turn, protecting our access to affordable and reliable electricity for every household in Indiana.
Just as you’ve come to count on coal over the years, you can count on us to continue fighting for you.
Bruce Stevens
President
Indiana Coal Council