nuclear-news

Much has been written on coal and coal miners since the president began campaigning in earnest in 2016. Since taking office, he has continued that dishonest and dangerous rhetoric—and has directed his agencies to do something. Anything. Except, of course, anything that represents real solutions for coal miners and their communities, instead proposing (initially at least) to cut federal programs that invest in those communities.

The president continues to push for a misguided federal bailout of the coal industry—a blatant political payoff to campaign donors using taxpayer money with no long-term solutions for coal workers. The latest shiny object masquerading as reasoning? National security. But as we know, bailing out uneconomic coal plants only exacerbates the real national security issues brought on by climate change, while continuing to saddle our country with the public health impacts of coal-fired electricity—which hurt real people in real communities.

As is typical with this administration, substance and science and evidence are inconsequential compared to ideology, and their attempts to bail out money-losing coal and nuclear plants are no exception. Here’s a quick take on how we got here and what to expect next…….

LET’S SEE WHAT STICKS…

THE ADMINISTRATION DIDN’T EXACTLY HIT THE GROUND RUNNING AFTER THE 2016 ELECTION—NO ONE BOTHERED TO SHOW UP AT THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY UNTIL AFTER THANKSGIVING OF 2016, EVEN THOUGH CAREER STAFF WERE READILY AVAILABLE AND PREPARED TO BRIEF THE INCOMING ADMINISTRATION ON THE IMPORTANT WORK OF THE AGENCY. BUT BY THE SPRING, IT HAD BECOME CLEAR THAT ENERGY SECRETARY RICK PERRY WOULD BE THE FRONT-MAN IN LEADING THE CHARGE FOR A FEDERAL BAILOUT OF COAL AND NUCLEAR PLANTS. HIS SHIFTING RHETORIC AND POOR JUSTIFICATIONS FOR USING CONSUMERS’ MONEY TO PROP UP UNECONOMIC COAL PLANTS SUGGESTS THAT HE AND HIS INNER CIRCLE ARE DESPERATE TO FIND AN ARGUMENT THAT STICKS AND SURVIVES LEGAL CHALLENGES.

BRIEFLY:

• MARCH 2017: PERRY MEETS WITH COAL MAGNATE AND MAJOR CAMPAIGN DONOR AT DOE. THE PHOTOGRAPHER WHO CAPTURES A SHOT OF THEM EMBRACING AT THE START OF THE MEETING IS LATER FIRED FOR RELEASING THE INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC.
• APRIL 2017: PERRY ASKS DOE STAFF TO WRITE A REPORT EXAMINING THE CHANGES TO ELECTRICITY MARKETS AFFECTING “BASELOAD” POWER (READ: COAL AND NUCLEAR) THAT MIGHT AFFECT GRID RESILIENCE AND RELIABILITY. PERRY’S REQUEST FOR AN ELECTRICITY GRID STUDY IS RIDDLED WITH FLAWED ASSUMPTIONS, ENCOURAGES PREDETERMINED CONCLUSIONS, AND CONTRADICTS RESEARCH BY HIS OWN AGENCY.
• JULY 2017: A LEAKED VERSION OF THE DRAFT GRID STUDY SUGGESTS THAT DOE CAREER STAFF WERE PUTTING TOGETHER AN UNBIASED REPORT IN SPITE OF TREMENDOUS POLITICAL PRESSURE.
• AUGUST 2017: THE FINAL GRID STUDY CONCLUDES THAT CLOSURE OF COAL AND NUCLEAR PLANTS DO NOT THREATEN RESILIENCE AND RELIABILITY, NOT EXACTLY THE CONCLUSION PERRY WAS LOOKING FOR. THE STUDY FINDS THAT THE GRID IS OPERATING RELIABLY WITH HIGH LEVELS OF RENEWABLES AND THAT LOW NATURAL GAS PRICES WERE LARGELY TO BLAME FOR RECENT PLANT RETIREMENTS. BUT, IN A HINT OF THINGS TO COME, IT DOES SUGGEST EXPLORING THE IDEA OF “UTILIZING EXISTING FEDERAL AUTHORITIES UNDER THE FEDERAL POWER ACT … TO ENSURE SYSTEM RELIABILITY AND RESILIENCE” AND HAVING STATES USE REGULATORY AUTHORITY “TO SUPPORT SPECIFIC AT-RISK PLANTS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO SYSTEM RESILIENCE.”
• SEPTEMBER 2017: PERRY PUSHES FORWARD. UNDETERRED BY THE CONCLUSIONS OF THE STUDY HE REQUESTED AND EVIDENTLY UNINTERESTED IN FURTHER RESEARCH, PERRY ASKS THE FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION (FERC) TO GUARANTEE PROFITS FOR COAL AND NUCLEAR PLANTS UNDER THE GUISE OF ENSURING A RELIABLE AND RESILIENT GRID.
• JANUARY 2018: FERC REJECTS THE PROPOSAL—UNANIMOUSLY, EVEN THOUGH FOUR OF THE FIVE COMMISSIONERS WERE APPOINTED BY THE CURRENT PRESIDENT—NOTING THAT THE PROPOSAL REPRESENTED AN UNWARRANTED INTRUSION INTO ELECTRICITY MARKETS, AND INSTEAD OPENING A DOCKET TO STUDY THE ISSUE.
• JANUARY 2018: THE BOMB CYCLONE BRINGS EXTREME COLD TO THE NORTHEAST. DOE REQUESTS ONE OF ITS NATIONAL LABS, THE NATIONAL ENERGY TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY (NETL), TO WRITE A STORY (MASQUERADING AS A REPORT) ABOUT HOW COAL SAVED THE DAY AND PREVENTED MASSIVE BLACKOUTS. NETL DELIVERED WITH THE INTENT OF PUSHING BACK AGAINST FERC’S DECISION, AND IT MIGHT AS WELL HAVE BEEN A FAIRY TALE ABOUT A HANDSOME PRINCE.
• MAY 2018: AN INTERNAL MEMO LEAKS ON MAY 31. IT REVEALS THE ADMINISTRATION’S PLANS TO USE EMERGENCY POWERS, UNDER THE KOREAN WAR-ERA DEFENSE PRODUCTION ACT AND THE FEDERAL POWER ACT, IN ORDER TO BAIL OUT THE MONEY-LOSING COAL AND NUCLEAR PLANTS, WHICH TOOK FERC BY SURPRISE. THE NEW RATIONALE IS THAT THESE PLANTS ARE VITAL FOR NATIONAL SECURITY AND THAT WITHOUT THEM, THE ELECTRICITY SYSTEM WOULD SOMEHOW BE MORE VULNERABLE TO CYBERATTACKS.
• JUNE 2018: THE LEAK PROMPTS THE WHITE HOUSE TO RELEASE A STATEMENT ON JUNE 1 DIRECTING PERRY TO “TAKE IMMEDIATE STEPS TO KEEP BOTH COAL AND NUCLEAR PLANTS RUNNING” ON THE BASIS OF NATIONAL SECURITY.
• AUGUST 2018: HAVING FAILED TO GET ITS POLITICAL PAYBACKS THROUGH ON THE FIRST GO-AROUND, THE ADMINISTRATION MOVES TO POLITICIZE THE IMPORTANT AND ONCE-INDEPENDENT FERC. PROMINENT STAFF HAVE TAKEN THE UNPRECEDENTED MOVE OF DISCUSSING PROPOSALS BEFORE DECISIONS HAVE BEEN MADE, THE ADMINISTRATION IS PLANNING TO PUT FORTH A NOMINEE THAT SUPPORTS THE BAILOUT PROPOSAL.

SO, THE GAME OF WHACK-A-MOLE CONTINUES.

FALSE ARGUMENTS

IN SHORT, THE ADMINISTRATION IS PROPOSING TO USE EMERGENCY AUTHORITIES TO FORCE GRID OPERATORS AND CONSUMERS TO BUY ELECTRICITY FROM UNECONOMIC COAL AND NUCLEAR PLANTS. LET’S BREAK DOWN THE ARGUMENTS ONE BY ONE. …….
Led by Secretary Perry, the administration continues to make false and misleading arguments about the purported need for keeping uneconomic plants from retiring early—and this issue will be with us as long as the current president is in office.  ……

At UCS, we’re going to continue the fight to hold the administration accountable and stop this misguided and disastrous proposal from being implemented. The facts are on our side—there is no grid reliability crisis and no grid resiliency crisis, but there is a climate crisis, and bailing out coal plants will only add to the climate crisis with real adverse consequences to the economy and public health. Stand with us.   https://blog.ucsusa.org/jeremy-richardson/rick-perry-rejects-facts-in-favor-of-coal-and-nuclear-bailouts