“May you live in interesting times” is an English translation of what many consider to be a Chinese curse. Most of us would agree that 2020 has certainly been “interesting times” but, hopefully, none of us feel that the year has been a curse.
As a leader of an advocacy group devoted to providing low cost, affordable power, I believe that a lot of progress has been made in the past 12 months that prepare us for the future – especially if that future is a carbon-constrained world.
No, we can’t flip a switch, at least not yet, and capture carbon dioxide from our North Dakota coal-based power plants, but I see the progress that has been made and think that we have certainly moved in that direction.
So when we look ahead at the Biden/Harris Administration, it’s my belief that the lignite industry is better positioned today – thanks in part to our close working relationship the Department of Energy, nationally recognized technology providers and regional energy research labs. Quantitative steps have been taken both at the state level and at the federal level to make an economic and logical case for Project Tundra using the 45Q tax incentive and the proven technology that has been tested in Texas at Petro Nova.
The real challenge for the lignite industry and our partners in oil and gas is to work to ensure that cabinet members in a Biden/Harris Administration do not stray too far left.
The Democratic Party – as we saw during the Presidential campaign – includes people who clearly represent the environmental/industrial complex that is spelled out in the Green New Deal. Jobs in the fossil fuel industry would disappear because of energy policies that favor renewable – but intermittent – sources of energy coupled with unproven battery storage.
We saw a glimpse of that when then Presidential Candidate Joe Biden spoke at the end of the second debate about transitioning away from fossil fuels by 2035 and ending fracking. He later walked back that position, especially in states like Pennsylvania and Texas that have a strong oil industry because of fracking.
The key cabinet nominations to watch include Interior, Energy, and the director of the EPA.
As I am writing this, the makeup of the U.S. Senate has not been determined because of the two run-off elections in early January. The Senate’s approval of the cabinet appointees is part of the checks and balances put into place by our country’s founders.
There are political pundits who are already looking at the new Administration trying to breathe life into a different version of the Obama-era Clean Power Plan, which was stayed by the U.S. Supreme Court. The Trump EPA has worked to promote the Affordable Clean Energy Rule, which has been supported by the Lignite Energy Council and many of our major members.
Given the legal difficulties of the Clean Power Plan, it would seem logical that a plan that went even farther outside of the lines of the powers given to the EPA would not survive legal challenge. However, time will tell.
So, what is our plan in challenging times? First, we must work with our partners in industry and our allies in government to ensure that moderate policy changes do not harm our industry. We must also NOT back down from our position that baseload, coal-based energy is a necessity for the future strength of our state, region, and country.
The rolling blackouts in California this summer should serve policymakers as a reminder that moving too fast away from affordable and reliable electricity generation is a pitfall best avoided.
Jason Bohrer
President and CEO
Lignite Energy Council