ST. LOUIS, April 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- At a time
when record electricity prices are squeezing families and
businesses, Peabody Energy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Greg Boyce has called on Congress
and political leaders to support a five-point plan to help solve
the U.S. electricity crisis, put energy policy back on track and
accelerate a transition toward a low-carbon economy.
"High electricity costs put pressure on families, forcing what
are too frequently becoming painful sacrifices. No parent
should ever make the terrible choice of putting food on the table,
buying medicine or paying for power, yet these are very real issues
for tens of millions of Americans," said Boyce during a global coal
plenary address at IHS CERAWeek in Houston. Affordable energy is critical at a
time when more than 100 million Americans – nearly one-third of the
population – qualify for energy assistance and 45 million live in
poverty, he said.
This past year was the most expensive year ever for electricity
in the United States, and record
prices are continuing in 2015. U.S. electricity rates have
increased 53 percent since 2000. Boyce said the increase in
power prices has accelerated in recent years largely due to policy
actions that have forced utilities to use less coal and take on
high renewable mandates, increasing use of the highest-cost form of
electricity. Wind and solar also are heavily subsidized,
receiving well over $85 billion in
incentives during the past 60 years even though they provide only
about 5 percent of U.S. electricity.
"The greatest problem we confront is not an environmental crisis
predicted by flawed computer models, but a human crisis that is
fully within our power to solve," Boyce said. The challenge
is even more pronounced globally with 3.5 billion people lacking
proper electricity, billions spending their days foraging for
biofuel to cook and heat, and billions having no access to clean
water or sanitary facilities. "Against this backdrop, the
Administration continues forcing a carbon agenda with little regard
for the consequences to people, the economy or the rule of
law."
"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Administrator
has said that the Clean Power Plan isn't about 'pollution' but is
an 'investment opportunity.' Yet this concept runs afoul of
the Clean Air Act, setting the stage for major legal challenges,"
Boyce said.
Multiple studies also show the EPA's plan will continue to
significantly drive up power costs, leaving a legacy of expensive
electricity and causing reliability issues. The carbon
proposal is likely to create power shortages across the nation in
the Great Plains, the Midwest, the Northeast and Texas, according to the North American
Electric Reliability Corp.
The EPA has modeled its carbon proposal after California, a state where high renewable
mandates and energy taxes have created some of the nation's most
expensive power costs. California's power prices are
more than 45 percent higher than the U.S. average. The high
cost of power has resulted in the loss of 600,000 manufacturing
jobs in California since 2000.
Coal fuels about 40 percent of U.S. power, 40 percent of global
power, and delivers the lowest cost electricity of any major fuel.
Coal is also the world's fastest-growing major fuel and is
forecast to surpass oil as the world's largest energy source in the
next several years, according to analyst Wood Mackenzie.
"We can achieve our environmental goals. The key is to
analyze the system holistically and set goals on a rational time
frame. We should not mandate artificial carbon caps, carbon
taxes or renewable mandates that will hurt people and cripple
economies for negligible environmental benefit," said Boyce.
If the EPA power plant proposal is implemented, the average
global temperature would be reduced by less than two-hundredths of
one degree, offering no material benefit under climate
theory. "We can all agree this proposal is ludicrous," he
said.
A majority of states are vocally opposing the rule, along with
members of Congress, governors, attorneys general, business
associations and citizen
groups.
"As the Administration attempts to lead the world toward a
carbon treaty, we need to stop and take note of valuable lessons,"
Boyce said. "Jurisdictions like Australia, the European Union and Ontario, Canada, have tried such policies only
to see their economies turned upside down."
Australia elected a new
government with the mandate to repeal the carbon tax, which cost
the Australian economy more than $20
million a day. Europe
embraced the world's first cap and trade system. Today
Spain's residential power prices are two-and-a-half times higher
than the United States and
Germany's power prices are three
times higher than the United
States.
"All of us share the goals of a strong economy and healthy
environment. But there is a far better and more practical
path," said Boyce. "The solution comes in the form of clean
coal technologies that can accelerate the transition toward a
low-carbon energy future."
Boyce offered a five-point plan:
- Recognize the tremendous impact of energy policy on all
citizens and the importance of keeping energy available, reliable
and affordable. Any new policy recommendation should show how
energy access is increased and energy affordability is
strengthened.
- Embrace a true "all of the above" energy strategy that
recognizes quantifiable benefits and limitations for each fuel
alternative.
- Support continued investment in clean coal technologies to
minimize emissions and drive down costs, which offer a dramatic
success story in the United States: Coal used for power has
increased 165 percent since 1970 while key emission rates have
taken a steep, 90 percent decline.
- Promote development bank funding to expand broad electricity
access in emerging markets. Electrification through coal is
an answer to stop degradation of the natural environment and help
alleviate energy inequality.
- Accelerate development of next generation carbon capture
utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies that will achieve large
emission reductions. Given the world's ambitious carbon
goals, CCUS will play an essential role in reducing emissions for
both coal and gas. CCUS should enjoy policy parity with other
low-carbon energy options.
"Advancing social and economic progress should be our overriding
goals. We must put in place a technology path for long-term
improvement in carbon emissions that will enable us to use more
coal more cleanly delivering major results right now," said
Boyce.
Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) is the world's largest private-sector
coal company and a global leader in sustainable mining, energy
access and clean coal solutions. Peabody was named Energy
Company of the Year at the 2014 Platts Global Energy Awards.
For further information, visit PeabodyEnergy.com and
AdvancedEnergyForLife.com.
CONTACT:
Beth Sutton
(928) 699-8243
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