Dive Brief:
- In an interview with Platts Energy Week, Ron Binz explained that his nomination for Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) chairman met defeat due to opposition from the coal industry, coal-burning utilities and right-wing organizations funded by the Koch brothers.
- Binz said the opposition "scared up a lot of things in the media" that simply weren't true, in particular criticizing a series of Wall Street Journal editorials that alleged he was an activist regulator who would phase out coal.
- "What I was confronted with in Washington was a caricature of me, a fictional Ron Binz that I didn't even recognize," he said.
Without further ado, here's a video of Ron Binz speaking about why his nomination came to an end:
Dive Insight:
Binz schooled the opposition on FERC's role. Despite the opposition's claims to the contrary, Binz clarified that FERC has no role in deciding the energy mix, just in making sure that infrastructure is ready to support the mix, whatever it may be. "[FERC] is more of an enabler than anything else," Binz said.
While the opposition almost certainly knew what FERC's true role was, they capitalized on the general public's unfamiliarity with FERC to doom Binz's nomination. Binz suggested the right wing doesn't want to see regulators take initiative to help the country achieve the clean energy solutions we need to get to. Binz said he is dispirited about the battle for our sustainable energy future, but noted that he is hopeful the U.S. can find a way forward. "I know it can be done," he said.