Coal in the News

31Oct

Coal and Nuclear Plants Needed to Meet Missouri’s Energy Demands

Via The Kansas City Star: When I served on the Missouri Public Service Commission, I spent time studying the different utilities that supply electricity throughout our state. And along the way, I learned some surprising facts about our power grid. For starters, we still depend on a lot of coal-fired power. In 2014, coal generated 83 […]
30Oct

Wisconsin Could Benefit from Revisions to Electric Grid

Via The La Crosse Tribune: America’s energy sector has reached an interesting crossroads. After eight years of the Obama administration working to dismantle the nation’s coal fleet, the Trump administration has swept into office and upended the apple cart. Earlier this year, Energy Secretary Rick Perry commissioned a study to assess the health of America’s […]
30Oct

The Clean Power Plan Is Irrelevant

Via Forbes: Signed under the Obama administration but still not enacted, The Clean Power Plan (CPP) called for a 32% reduction in power sector CO2 emissions by 2030 (compared with 2005 levels) but is now in the process of being repealed under the Trump administration. This decision is consistent with American norms because it leaves […]
27Oct

Don’t Overlook Coal’s Continued Importance

Via RealClearEnergy: Contrary to popular opinion, coal is still critically important to meeting our nation’s energy needs. Coal is America’s number one source of electricity, accounting for 32 percent of electricity production, and it generates more than half of the power in states with heavy industries like Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, Colorado and Utah. Coal is also […]
26Oct

Trump is Taking the Right Steps to Ensure our Energy Future

Via Penn Live: America’s energy sector has reached an interesting crossroads. After eight years of the Obama Administration working to dismantle the nation’s coal fleet, the Trump Administration has swept into office and upended the apple cart. Earlier this year, U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry commissioned a study to assess the health of America’s power […]
25Oct

Perry’s Angry Critics

October 25, 2017 It was the 17th century English playwright William Congreve who claimed “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.” Congreve never met the renewable fuels industry. Wind and solar proponents, feeling scorned by Energy Secretary Perry, reacted with righteous anger to his request that the Federal Energy Regulatory Corporation (FERC) allow utilities […]
25Oct

EPA Rides to the Rescue of Sustained Electricity in Florida

Via The Orlando Sentinel:  Floridians, like all Americans, are accustomed to powering their lives with electricity that is abundantly available, reliable and affordable. The impact of recent hurricanes has reminded us how much our lives revolve around that all-important supply of power. Life without electricity means no air conditioning, no cellphones, no computers and no […]
24Oct

Coal Industry Tells FERC the Last 7 Years Was a Catastrophe it Must Now Fix

Via The Washington Examiner: The coal industry claims the last seven years was a catastrophe federal grid regulators under the Trump administration are now bound by the law to fix by supporting Energy Secretary Rick Perry’s grid plan. “In the last seven years, 101,000 megawatts of coal-fired generating capacity has retired or has announced plans […]
23Oct

Why Coal and Nuclear Aren’t Going Anywhere

Via The Washington Examiner: Americans have a strong pragmatic streak. And they undoubtedly took notice recently when two devastating hurricanes knocked out power in much of the Southern United States. News channels focused on the harsh conditions that followed after families were left without power for days on end. It’s understandable, then, that a subsequent […]
23Oct

Commentary: America’s Electrical Power System is Under Stress

Via The Salt Lake Tribune: Serious stresses are building within the U.S. electrical power industry. The further loss of nuclear and coal generating capacity that may occur in the near future depends on whether the federal government and regional electric grids recognize and correct chronic defects in the electricity market. These issues have now resulted […]