NIPSCO doesn’t anticipate any change in its plans to retire four of its seven coal-fired electric generating facilities, despite President Trump’s executive order week attempting to roll back the Clean Power Plan and other environmental regulations instituted by President Barack Obama.
“We are proud of the progress we’ve made,” said Nick Meyer, spokesman for Northern Indiana Public Service Co.
The Clean Power Plan is a rule to reduce carbon pollution from power plants, which scientists believe is a major cause of climate change. Trump said rolling back some of its regulations would help companies and create jobs.
An organization representing iron and steel companies supported the president’s action, saying some of the regulations instituted by Obama adversely impacted domestic steelmakers. Meanwhile, Meyer and spokespersons for BP and U.S. Steel touted their own environmental achievements and called for a balance between environmental and economic responsibility.
In the mind of a local environmentalist, the decision to roll back some of these regulations is short-sighted.
David Woronecki-Ellis, secretary/treasurer of the Duneland chapter of the Sierra Club and vice chair of its Hoosier chapter, said natural gas, which has been replacing coal at some power generating facilities including NIPSCO’s, is faster to get up to speed when power is needed than coal.
Air quality is another issue.
“My father used to say the smell in the air in Northwest Indiana was the smell of money,” Woronecki-Ellis said. “I don’t think people expect that now. They want cleaner air.”
Coal vs. natural gas
The American Iron and Steel Institute, which both local steel makers, ArcelorMittal and U.S. Steel, are members of, spoke in favor of Trump’s action. The institute said the order will begin the process of revising and overturning several environmental regulations instituted by Obama that it has consistently opposed and which it believes could harm the international competitiveness of energy-intensive, trade-exposed U.S. industries like steel.
“The leading states for iron and steel production in the U.S. are heavily dependent on coal for electricity production, and, therefore, so is our industry,” AISI President and CEO Thomas J. Gibson, said in a statement.
He said EPA regulations that disproportionately impact coal-generated electricity have put the affordability and reliability of steel producers at risk.
But NIPSCO, which services the heavy steel manufacturing area of Northwest Indiana, has already begun reducing its dependence on coal, which it said is not as cost-effective as it once was.
Meyer said NIPSCO’s decision to reduce its reliance on coal was partially driven by natural gas costs, market changes and an aging coal fleet.
“Many utilities across the nation, including NIPSCO, have historically used coal to generate electricity for customers because it was one of the most reliable, abundant and lowest-cost forms of energy. The current price of natural gas, changes in technologies and other market conditions have made coal increasingly less competitive in recent years,” Meyer said.
Meyer said NIPSCO will retire two coal-fired units at its Bailly Generating Stations and two at its Schahfer Generating Station. Two coal-fired units at Schahfer and one at Bailly in Michigan City will continue to run.
Balancing economic, environmental benefits
Meyer said NIPCO has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 41 percent since 2005 and when its unit retirements are complete in 2030, the utility expects to have a more than 50 percent reduction in those emissions.
BP spokesman Michael Abendhoff said the company has a strong commitment to a lower carbon future.
“BP believes that if governments adopt policies that are economically efficient and environmentally effective, the world can become more prosperous while also moving toward a lower carbon emissions future. BP looks forward to working with the Trump administration to help achieve those goals,” Abendhoff said.
He pointed out that the company has invested billions of dollars in recent years to make its Whiting refinery among the safest and most competitive in the world.
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US Steel Corp. spokeswoman Erin DiPietro said she couldn’t comment on how the executive order would impact the company, because it was still being reviewed.
However, she added, “It is critical to maintain the balance between environmental responsibility and economic opportunity to preserve the viability of our operations and the manufacturing jobs they support.”
She said U.S. Steel has been an industry leader in environmental compliance, in keeping with its core value of environmental stewardship.
Wayne Ranick, spokesman for United Steelworkers union, which represents many of the employees at both the steel mills and BP, said its hard to predict how Trump’s changes would impact the industries and its employees.
“As for an institutional view, the USW has consistently supported regulations that keep our work places and communities free from toxic pollutants,” Ranick said.
A spokeswoman for ArcelorMittal said it would be inappropriate to speculate on the president’s action to the steel company since no new policies have been established as yet.
Woronecki-Ellis, however, believes natural gas power generation and renewable energy sources will be more profitable and generate more jobs in the long-term.
“The renewable energy sector has been expanding with jobs that, like with coal mining, are difficult to outsource,” Woronecki-Ellis said.
Meyer said NIPSCO has been able to find other opportunities within the company for employees working at the retiring plants who wanted to continue working at NIPSCO.
Karen Caffarini is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.