West Virginia Legislators Bury Heads in Coal in Repealing Renewable 25% Target

January 26, 2015 – While much of the rest of the world sees reductions in the use of coal and other fossil fuel energy sources as critical to a low carbon future, it appears West Virginia is trending in the opposite direction.

In  what has been described as a thumbing of the nose of the American President and the current EPA regulations on coal-fired power, the state legislature with nary a word in opposition last week repealed a state standard committed to requiring utilities to get 25% of their power from non-coal-fired power plant alternatives by 2025. The bill passed the lower house by a 95 to 4 margin and was unanimously voted on in the state’s Senate.

What is so sad is that the original standard was literally written by the coal lobby and included coal-bed methane, coal gasification, coal liquefaction and waste coal as alternative energy methods for earning credits.

For the coal industry, who have described the current U.S. federal administration as conducting a “war on coal,” the victory may prove short-lived as 2015 unfolds, and nations around the world begin to come together with common determination to reduce our carbon dependence in an effort to limit global warming to 2 Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) degrees by the mid-century.

For the West Virginia legislators who believe that responsible government should throw tantrums, it is a disgrace. The state motto “wild and wonderful” takes on a whole new meaning now.