01.19.24

Hoeven Outlines Strategic Importance of U.S. Energy Resources, Need to Develop Coal, Oil & Gas Reserves

WASHINGTON – During remarks delivered on the floor of the U.S. Senate this week, Senator John Hoeven, a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, outlined the strategic importance of U.S. energy reserves. The senator called on the Biden administration to empower greater energy production, including of the nation’s coal, oil and gas reserves, and pushed back on burdensome mandates being advanced by the administration, such as:

  • The Obama-era Mercury and Air Toxic Standards (MATS) rule targeting coal-fired electric power plants.
    • Hoeven plans to lead a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution of disapproval to block the MATS rule, should it be finalized by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
  • The EPA’s Clean Power Plan 2.0.
    • This proposal runs counter to a 2022 Supreme Court ruling that the EPA does not have the authority to issue sector-wide regulations that would force states to change their fuel sources for electricity generation.
  • A proposed fee and costly technology mandates on energy producers for methane emissions.
  • Efforts by the Interior Department to restrict access to taxpayer-owned coal, oil and gas reserves.

“Much of the nation continues to experience very cold temperatures, in some cases record cold temperatures,” said Hoeven. “In my state of North Dakota, coal typically provides 35 to 40 percent of the 24/7 baseload power generation to not only our state, but other states in the region.

“In the coldest times, the hottest times and at peak energy times, they know that know those baseload power plants are going to be there to keep the lights on and keep the heat going. Not only that, but according to the Energy Information Administration’s October 2023 data, North Dakotans paid the lowest electricity prices in the country. Let’s compare that to California, which paid four times as much for electricity during this same time period.

“Access to affordable and reliable energy is not only a quality of life issue, but obviously a public safety issue, and we’ve seen that with these record cold temperatures. That includes keeping our homes warm and our businesses running, it includes keeping the lights on for our critical infrastructure – hospitals, schools, police and fire departments, and many other public services we depend on every single day. But the reality is our electric grid only works when there is sufficient power generation available to meet demand in real time.

“In its 2023 Long-Term Reliability Assessment, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, or NERC, is warning that our grid continues to face higher risks of blackouts and brownouts because of planned power plant retirements alongside rising electricity demand… Despite these warnings, the Biden administration’s Green New Deal approach and regulations will only accelerate this crisis.

“The fact remains that coal, oil, and gas remain vital to our economic and national security, because these resources are reliable and energy-dense compared to renewable sources, which only provides energy part of the time… Let’s make sure we have that energy here at home. Let’s not just be energy independent, but energy dominant.”

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