The Washington Examiner published a piece we wrote that discussed the crucial role the nation’s coal fleet plays in a diverse grid, and the importance of policies that promote and support technology and innovation for all fuel types. As our economy bounces back from the economic disruption of the pandemic and U.S. energy demand rises as more aspects of our lives come to depend on electricity, it is essential that our power grid remains reliable and resilient.
Policies that value all fuel types, including dispatchable fuel sources like coal, will ensure that we can meet our nation’s full energy potential in an environmentally responsible way. A few key points of the piece in the Washington Examiner include:
- Dispatchable fuel sources, including coal, are essential to ensuring a reliable, affordable power supply. Aggressive policies that seek to phase out these fuel sources, some of which aim to create a carbon-free grid by 2035, would jeopardize grid resilience and reliability and create financial hardship for consumers.
- It’s important to understand the technical hurdles that must be overcome to transition the grid on such aggressive timetables. The process is not a flip of the switch from one fuel to the next. For example, the time and cost involved in building necessary transmission infrastructure would almost certainly disrupt the timeline of a rushed transition.
- Technology investments in our nation’s coal fleet have reduced traditional air pollutants by 90% over the last 20 years. Rather than working to eliminate dispatchable fuels from the mix, reducing the nation’s generating capacity in the process, we should find ways to continue to support technology development.
Read the article on the Washington Examiner’s website here
Access a PDF of the article here