Last week, the Wall Street Journal published a letter to the editor from America’s Power President and CEO Michelle Bloodworth in response to an Editorial Board opinion piece titled “Thank Heaven for Coal Power.” The letter appeared in the February 4 print edition of the WSJ. You can read the full text on the Wall Street Journal website and below:
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“Cashiering Coal Will Lead To More Cold, Dark Nights − Closures are coming even as the need for reliable power is growing rapidly”
You’re right to highlight coal’s critical role in keeping the lights on during the recent arctic blast (“Thank Heaven for Coal Power,” Review & Outlook, Jan. 26). But this is about more than one storm. Electricity demand is rising rapidly due to artificial intelligence, data centers, advanced manufacturing, and electrification. These industries are central to U.S. economic growth, technological leadership and national competitiveness and require constant, high-quality power that intermittent resources alone cannot provide.
One-third of the nation’s coal fleet plans to retire over the next five years, unless someone intervenes. Most of these retirements are located in regions of the country the North American Electric Reliability Corporation designates as having an “elevated risk” of electricity shortages. That is why the Energy Department’s recent re-establishment of the National Coal Council matters. The council can help develop proposals to keep coal plants operating and maintain grid reliability.
Emergency orders may help avert blackouts temporarily, but they aren’t a long-term strategy. The recent deep freeze offered a reminder that coal must continue to play a major role in our energy mix.