In a July 29 speech Moniz said using fossil fuels cleanly instead of eliminating them was the best way to battle climate change, according to excerpts of prepared remarks made available by the Department of Energy.
Moniz's comments were provided in advance of a visit to the department's National Energy Technology Laboratory in Morgantown, West Virginia – the heart of coal country.
“In the last four years, we’ve more than doubled renewable energy generation from wind and solar power,” Moniz said.
“However, coal and other fossil fuels still provide 80% of our energy, 70% of our electricity and will be a major part of our energy future for decades.”
Moniz highlighted a $6 billion investment from DOE in clean coal technologies, which included carbon capture, utilization and storage.
He said these would help "ensure that fossil energy use is cleaner, safer and more sustainable".
“No discussion of US energy security and reducing global CO2 emissions is complete without talking about coal – and the technologies that will allow us to use this resource more efficiently and with fewer greenhouse gas emissions,” he said.
“Any serious effort to protect our kids from the worst effects of climate change must also include developing, demonstrating and deploying the technologies to use our abundant fossil fuel resources as cleanly as possible.”
Moniz has long been an advocate for clean coal technologies and said the NETL was leading the charge to develop clean and efficient energy technology.
He came out in defense of President Barack Obama’s carbon action plan late last month, saying both he and Obama strongly supported an “all of the above” energy policy that included traditional energy sources and renewables, adding that the plan was not a “war on coal”
Obama’s three-pronged plan, presented as a 21-page blueprint, focuses on slicing domestic carbon emissions – which may result in staggering changes to US coal production and electricity generation – as well as upping investments in climate-resilience measures and stepping up to a lead role in international climate change issues.
The president has ordered the US Environmental Protection Agency to “expeditiously” complete performance standards to lower carbon emissions from existing power plants and finalize carbon limits rules for new facilities by September 20.
The EPA was also directed to draft carbon limits for existing power plants by June 2014. The limits will ultimately be finalized in 2015.
The plan has upset many coal-state leaders, power companies, coal producers and unions across the nation, which argue it will damage the economy, threaten jobs and increase electricity prices.
