May 14, 2014
www.gfb.org
Vol. 32 No. 19
GFB VOICES CONCERNS ABOUT ACCESS TO ENERGY IN LETTER TO EPA Georgia Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall wrote to the EPA on May 6 expressing the organization’s concerns about the agency’s proposed rule that would impose new standards on plants that generate electricity, emphasizing that the rule would result in reduced U.S. farm profitability and competitiveness in a global market. The proposed rule would establish separate standards for new coal-fired electric plants and natural gas-fired plants. Specifically, GFB is concerned about the carbon dioxide standard for new coal-fired plants. “This standard is a demonstration that the administration wants to end coal generation though regulation,” Duvall wrote. “The presence of carbon dioxide is not just in the United States but worldwide. Imposing added energy costs on our own economy while other nations are not held to the same standard puts the United States at a competitive disadvantage. In the end, merely reducing fossil fuel emissions without producing a measurable impact on world temperatures or climate cannot be regarded as a success.” The proposed rule, for which the EPA has begun considering more than 995,000 comments, “does not provide the certainty that farmers need in order to ensure they will continue to receive an affordable and reliable supply of energy,” Duvall wrote. The EPA has acknowledged that the standards for coal-fired power plants would result in significant costs for utility companies to comply, which likely would pass those costs on to consumers. Unlike other businesses, farmers do not set the prices of the commodities they produce and cannot pass on their increased energy costs to their consumers, so utility rate hikes resulting from compliance with the new standards would erode farm profitability. Duvall pointed out that coal is inexpensive, abundant and reliable but due to increased regulation Georgia Power is moving to close 15 coal-fired generators across the state, and Duvall expressed concern that this would diminish the supply of electricity. “At a time when our country needs to consider all types of energy, the proposed standard appears to eliminate the use of coal, the most widely used and inexpensive energy source,” Duvall wrote. Increased dependence on natural gas as an energy source would have other financial effects on farmers. Natural gas is essential in the production of nitrogen fertilizer, a vital component of crop production. Diminishing use of coal would increase the demand for and the cost of natural gas, resulting in higher input costs for farmers. To read the proposed rule visit http://tinyurl.com/kvnrjes.