April 26, 2024 |
Photo – Wyoming’s largest coal fired power plant Jim Bridger – Bigfoot99 file photo
New federal rules released on Thursday governing coal-fired and natural gas fired power plants nationwide drew fire from Wyoming’s Congressional delegation.
The Biden Administration rules aim to end carbon pollution over the next 26 years.
U.S. Senator John Barrasso said in a statement that the rules “handcuff America’s coal and natural gas production. The impact of the rules will be disastrous, Senator Barrasso said. Power plants will be required to shut down and energy costs on Americans will rise. Energy may be less reliable, as well, because of the power grid’s dependence on wind.
“Wyoming energy jobs will be threatened, electricity bills will rise, and the country will be at risk for rolling blackouts,” the senator said.
The new rule would force all coal-fired and gas-fired power plants to cut 90% of their carbon pollution.
Senator Cynthia Lummis said the rules will be disastrous for Wyoming’s energy industry and the jobs they have historically created.
In a statement, Lummis said, “Forcing the closure of gas and coal-fired plants that account for 60% of electricity generated across the country, while increasing demand by 30% through an electric vehicle mandate is not only unrealistic but dangerous.”
Wyoming’s junior senator said she would work to overturn Biden’s “disastrous set of regulations.”
The EPA touts $300 million dollars in health benefits from its rule—which is less than $1-dollar in benefit for every American based on the nation’s current population of 336-million people.
Republican governors—22 of them, including Governor Mark Gordon of Wyoming—have called on the Biden Administration to put a pause on the rule. Governor Mark Gordon called the rules “devastating” and promised a court battle. In a released statement, Governor Gordon said the Biden Administration seeks “the end of coal communities in Wyoming. EPA has weaponized the fear of climate change into a crushing set of rules that will result in an unreliable electric grid, unaffordable electricity, and thousands of lost jobs.”
Governor Gordon added that the White House seeks to crush the states and industries that have made the country strong.
Wyoming is joining other states to challenge yesterday’s rule and the wave of federal regulatory actions that state leaders see flowing from the EPA’s new rule.
States prevailed in the U.S. Supreme Court when the Obama Administration released similar regulations. A senior administration official told CNN that the EPA was “really confident” it had “carefully crafted” the final rules within the confines of the law. Governors and some industry stakeholders are confident the rule will be overturned in the courts.
