Our nation has long benefited from a diverse electricity grid, which includes energy sources such as coal, natural gas, nuclear power, hydro, wind, and solar. While this diversity has enabled the nation’s grid to produce reliable, resilient, affordable, and increasingly cleaner electricity, some policymakers have advocated for rapidly changing our energy mix with the goal of creating a carbon-free grid by 2035.
Over the past several months, we have highlighted a number of the obstacles associated with decarbonizing the grid in such a short time period, particularly given the fact that coal and natural gas were responsible for more than sixty percent of our nation’s electricity last year. Moving away from these traditional resources within just the next fifteen years would leave consumers with less reliable and more expensive electricity.
We recently visited with a number of experts to better understand some of the concerns they believe need to be addressed as part of a discussion on decarbonizing the grid by 2035. Wisconsin Public Service Commissioner Ellen Nowak, Montana Public Service Commissioner Tony O’Donnell, and Executive Director of the Kentucky Industrial Utility Customers, Carl Kurz, all offered their own perspectives on the obstacles and consequences of decarbonizing the grid by 2035, as well as their thoughts on the critical importance of maintaining a diverse generation mix that includes coal.
The video also highlights how a strategy that allows time to develop innovative technologies and relies on all, not just a few, electricity resources is the best way to reduce carbon emissions, while helping to keep electricity affordable and maintaining a reliable and resilient electric grid.
Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsZ9l5KO97M