Clinton, Obama on both sides of fence regarding moratorium for coal-fired power plant construction

As coal-producing states such as Pennsylvania, Indiana, West Virginia and Kentucky prepare to hold their presidential primaries, Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are treading carefully on coal issues. We reported recently that they equivocated on the issue of mountaintop-removal strip mining, and Scott Finn of West Virginia Public Broadcasting reports that they have been far from clear about a possible moratorium for new coal-fired power plant construction.

At different times, both have suggested they would support such a coal-plant moratorium, and have nevertheless suggested that such a freeze would be impractical in many places. “I am very disappointed and surprised at the comments by both presidential candidates. It leaves you somewhat confused over what kind of energy policy they advocate,” Chris Hamilton, vice president of the West Virginia Coal Association, told Finn.

Recently, Sally Mauk, news director of Montana Public Radio, talked to Clinton about a moratorium. Since cleaner coal technologies could be years away, Mauk asked Clinton, "“In the meantime, would you support a moratorium on new coal fired power plants?” Clinton replied, “It’s doable. We’re just not doing it. So yes, I would like to see us hold off on new coal power plant construction while we push to do the demonstration projects, push to do the energy efficiency. In some places that’s practical, in other places it isn’t. But the longer we wait, the less likely we are going to be to have the right solutions.”

Finn followed up with Clinton's domestic policy director, Catherine Brown, to clarify Clinton's stance on a moratorium, and reported:

“I don’t think there’s any ambiguity in her position. It’s a very bold and realistic position, given where we are with the technology right now,” Brown said.

Brown hangs onto the last part of Clinton’s statement, that in some places, it’s practical, in other places, it isn’t.

“The ultimate goal is to be able to have that technology operating wherever it is possible, but she recognizes that we are a long way from that, given that we don’t have any commercial coal plants that are capturing and storing their carbon,” Brown said.

Obama addressed a possible coal-plant moratorium in a July 2007 interview with environmental magazine Grist.com, “I believe that relying on the ingenuity of the free market, coupled with a strong carbon cap, is the best way to reduce carbon emissions rather than an arbitrary freeze on development,” he said. (Grist.com interviewed Clinton in August 2007 but did not ask directly about a moratorium.) As with Clinton, Finn went to the Obama campaign to find out more about the candidate's position, and reports:

We tried to get Obama’s campaign on tape. They refused. But they did say that Obama’s proposal to cap and trade greenhouse gases would make it nearly impossible to build traditional coal-fired power plants in the future:

“Obama will use whatever policy tools are necessary, including standards that ban new traditional coal facilities, to ensure that we move quickly to commercialize and deploy low carbon coal technology,” the Obama campaign e-mail says.

Finn also looked at Senate records and found that both co-sponsored the Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act of 2007, and that both want to cut total greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050. To listen to his full report, go here.

The energy and environment issue page of the Clinton campaign Web site declares: "Centered on a cap and trade system for carbon emissions, stronger energy and auto efficiency standards and a significant increase in green research funding, Hillary's plan will reduce America's reliance on foreign oil and address the looming climate crisis. Setting ambitious targets, the plan would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent from 1990 levels by 2050 to avoid the worst effects of global warming, and cut foreign oil imports by two-thirds from 2030 projected levels, more than 10 million barrels per day."

The energy and environment issue page of the Obama campaign Web site declares: "Obama will significantly increase the resources devoted to the commercialization and deployment of low-carbon coal technologies. Obama will consider whatever policy tools are necessary, including standards that ban new traditional coal facilities, to ensure that we move quickly to commercialize and deploy low-carbon coal technology."