Washington, D.C. – January 9, 2018 – Green America is pleased that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has announced that it is terminating the Department of Energy (DOE) Proposal to provide market-based incentives to coal and nuclear power plant owners. Green America, on behalf of its 250,000 individual and 2,000 business members filed comments in opposition to subsidizing coal and nuclear plants.
“FERC received comments that were overwhelmingly opposed to subsidizing coal and nuclear power,” stated Todd Larsen, executive co-director for consumer and corporate engagement at Green America. “This policy would have been bad for Americans, forcing them to pay higher rates for polluting and dangerous technologies. Rick Perry’s assertions that incentives for coal and nuclear were necessary to preserve grid resilience were contradicted by DOE’s own research, and his proposal was clearly designed to slow the progress of low-cost solar and wind technologies that benefit consumers and the environment.”
“Subsidizing coal and nuclear would be bad for businesses across the United States,” said Fran Teplitz, executive co-director for business and policy at Green America. “At a time when businesses are increasingly looking to purchase power from renewable sources, and when renewables are increasingly cost-competitive and part of a reliable grid, we should be looking at ways to further enhance our use of clean energy, and we encourage FERC to support an electric grid increasingly fed by renewable energy.”
At the same time Green America will monitor FERC's new proceeding to explore resilience issues in Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs) and Independent System Operators (ISOs) as this could potentially lead to RTOs, including the PJM Interconnection that services over 65 million customers, to favor coal, nuclear power and/or large scale natural gas generating facilities in their regions.
ABOUT GREEN AMERICA
Green America is the nation's leading green economy organization. Founded in 1982, Green America provides economic strategies and practical tools for businesses and individuals to solve today's social and environmental problems. www.GreenAmerica.org
