Liz Cheney questions necessity of clean coal technology

U.S. House Rep. Liz Cheney does not believe the federal government should offer financial assistance to the coal sector for clean coal technology.

In a wide-ranging interview with the Star-Tribune recently, the newest addition to Wyoming’s congressional delegation focused on the role federal regulations could have played in coal’s downturn. The congresswoman is fighting for the repeal of environmental limits like the Clean Power Plan and the Mercury and Air Toxics Standard. A regulations rollback will allow coal to compete in the electricity market again, whereas government subsidies or incentives to the industry are not currently on the table, she said.

“The first thing that we ought to be doing is saying, ‘Let’s get rid of the burden of these regulations and let’s see where we are in terms of the playing field,’” she said. “... Let’s fix our tax structure so they can begin to compete before looking at additional subsidies.”

Cheney’s views reflect a common conservative argument against the Obama administration: linking the historic and rapid decline of the coal industry with impending regulations like the Clean Power Plan, which were developed during President Barack Obama’s tenure. Opponents of the CPP say utilities are turning to wind and natural gas for electricity generation because those companies are uncertain of federal restrictions on burning coal. The new Congress has promised to repeal the CPP.

Read more: http://trib.com/business/energy/liz-cheney-questions-necessity-of-clean-coal-technology/article_330099f5-2929-59a5-a18d-e3326745f30d.html