Moniz: Obama working hard for coal power
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said the “war on coal” political messaging is untrue, adding the Obama administration is working to keep coal an important part of a low-carbon energy future.
Moniz spoke Monday at West Virginia University during the Mid-Atlantic Region Energy Innovation Forum. He also toured Longview Power’s coal-fired plant with Sen. Joe Manchin and Congressman David McKinley.
Moniz beckoned Congress to pass billions of dollars in tax credits to help burn coal more cleanly and meet the administration’s carbon emissions limits to combat global warming. He said credits would help provide long-term certainty for utilities planning investments.
Republicans and some coal-state Democrats decry the carbon limits as a “war on coal.” Moniz points at cheap natural gas prices as the principal driver in coal’s downturn.