It appears that the additional costs to electricity customers that will result from last year’s passage of a state Renewable Portfolio and Energy Efficiency Standard (which will amount to $500 million annually) are not high enough.
State Reps. Harrison, Leubke, and Fisher introduced a bill yesterday that will ban the use of coal extracted from mountaintops within the state. Utility companies would be forced to find coal that is not mined from mountains if they are to continue operations at those plants. As virtually all coal is acquired in this way, utility companies in North Carolina would likely be forced to cut back operations at these plants – meaning less electricity would be available.
Since 60% of the electricity generated in North Carolina comes from coal-fired power plants, this could mean a huge reduction in energy usage and a substantial increase in the cost of the energy that remains available. Practically, this bill has the potential to be much more costly than the REPS that was passed last year.
This will undoubtedly be touted as a bill to protect the scenic beauty of North Carolina mountain ridges. Yet, coal burned in North Carolina is imported almost entirely from other states (Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia). At the same time, the bill’s sponsors were also supportive of the REPS which will generate pressure to dot those mountain ridge lines with 500-foot wind turbines.
Cross-posted at www.environmentnc.com.
