Posted on Jul 9, 2022
The Supreme Court handed coal power a win. But experts say that won't save it
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https://www.npr.org/2022/07/08/ [login to see] /the-supreme-court-handed-coal-power-a-win-but-experts-say-that-wont-save-it
The state of North Dakota is rich in a kind of soft, brown coal, called lignite, which it burns to make electricity, selling the excess to neighboring states and Canada.
When then-President Barack Obama rolled out the Clean Power Plan in 2015, intending to curb the use of coal-fired power, state officials viewed it as a major threat.
"The Clean Power Plan was forcing conversion from coal-based generation," said Special Assistant Attorney General Paul Seby. "It would have impaired North Dakota dramatically."
So, along with more than two dozen other states and coal companies, North Dakota successfully sued to stop the plan from taking effect in 2016.
But in years since, coal power generation declined anyway, hitting a 42-year-low in 2019, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
In a 6-3 decision late last month in West Virginia v. EPA, the U.S. Supreme Court's conservative majority blocked the EPA from putting out another regulation as broad as the Clean Power Plan. However, that ruling is unlikely to reverse coal power's downward trend, say analysts.
The state of North Dakota is rich in a kind of soft, brown coal, called lignite, which it burns to make electricity, selling the excess to neighboring states and Canada.
When then-President Barack Obama rolled out the Clean Power Plan in 2015, intending to curb the use of coal-fired power, state officials viewed it as a major threat.
"The Clean Power Plan was forcing conversion from coal-based generation," said Special Assistant Attorney General Paul Seby. "It would have impaired North Dakota dramatically."
So, along with more than two dozen other states and coal companies, North Dakota successfully sued to stop the plan from taking effect in 2016.
But in years since, coal power generation declined anyway, hitting a 42-year-low in 2019, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
In a 6-3 decision late last month in West Virginia v. EPA, the U.S. Supreme Court's conservative majority blocked the EPA from putting out another regulation as broad as the Clean Power Plan. However, that ruling is unlikely to reverse coal power's downward trend, say analysts.
The Supreme Court handed coal power a win. But experts say that won't save it
Posted from npr.org
Supreme Court
Mining and Metals
Energy
Environment
Posted 2 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Seven years after the Clean Power Plan made waves, its critics won in the country's highest court. Many who fought the case talk about their win as one against executive overreach, not a win for coal.
"If Congress had intended to give EPA such sweeping authority to transform an entire sector of our economy, Congress would have done so explicitly," said Republican West Virginia Sen. Shelley Capito, in a statement about the decision.
"The court recognized the cooperative federalism aspect of how [the Clean Air Act] was written," said Seby.
North Dakota still makes more than half of its electricity by burning coal, but some plants there are shutting down, too. Seby points out that wind power, fueled by steady gusts crossing the Great Plains, is also a major player."
..."Seven years after the Clean Power Plan made waves, its critics won in the country's highest court. Many who fought the case talk about their win as one against executive overreach, not a win for coal.
"If Congress had intended to give EPA such sweeping authority to transform an entire sector of our economy, Congress would have done so explicitly," said Republican West Virginia Sen. Shelley Capito, in a statement about the decision.
"The court recognized the cooperative federalism aspect of how [the Clean Air Act] was written," said Seby.
North Dakota still makes more than half of its electricity by burning coal, but some plants there are shutting down, too. Seby points out that wind power, fueled by steady gusts crossing the Great Plains, is also a major player."
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SCOTUS did not hand the Coal Industry a win, they handed the Constitution a win by telling Congress that unelected members of Federal Agencies have no authority to make de facto law via Agency regulations as well as, in a nutshell, telling Congress to do their freakin job and stop pawning it off to the Alphabet Boys. Kudos to SCOTUS for doing their job correctly as clearly defined by the Constitution.
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