Posted on March 22, 2024
Hartford, Conn. – State Representative Patrick Callahan (R-New Fairfield), Ranking Member of the legislature’s Environment Committee, opposed HB 5004. The omnibus bill, which includes 22 provisions, passed out of committee for further consideration this session.
“The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) says the nation will need 38 more gigawatts of power, the equivalent of 34 more nuclear plants to handle the electrification of our economy. Energy demand is increasing dramatically because of data storage, data mining, bitcoin, carbon sequestration, EVs and the like,” noted Callahan.
Connecticut has among the highest electricity costs in the country and is one of a household’s biggest expense.
“This proposal is an extreme approach to climate change measures, is bad for the economy and will make it impossible for people to afford to live in Connecticut,” said Callahan.
While the proposed bill outlines a switchover to electrifying Connecticut, it doesn’t identify how the state will create that power.
“Fossil fuels, natural gas, is the majority of production in Connecticut with about 38 percent nuclear. With the increased demand, renewables will remain a small piece of that production. Renewable power though is intermittent and relies on inefficient battery storage, which is immensely expensive and reliant on China. We’re putting all of our eggs in one basket, and that basket is our geopolitical foe. With renewable power we would still need the battery backup, and the challenge becomes what to do with these batteries at the end of their useful life. There is no plan for recycling these products, which means they’ll just sit in landfills. We have plentiful natural gas to the south and to the west of us, we just don’t have the pipeline capacity to get it here without liquifying it and shipping it,” said Callahan.
Callahan told the committee that there are admirable goals included in the proposed legislation, but it will cost the people a lot of money and will drive businesses and families to somewhere more affordable.
“We are all conscious of the climate just don’t know what this will do to improve the climate or alter the things in Connecticut when the prevailing winds come from the west. The benefit does not exceed the cost and I don’t see us accomplishing these goals in an affordable way,” concluded Callahan.
The bill passed out of committee on a party-line vote, with all Republicans voting against it.