The Future

I've been reading a few stories this week questioning whether generating electricity from coal will be possible if Congress decides to regulate carbon emissions.

Some people say the future possibility of greenhouse gas emissions reduction policies will mean that coal will have a diminished role in meeting future energy needs.

Wrong.

There is no credible energy forecast that doesn’t show coal use growing both here in the U.S. and around the world.  Meeting our growing energy demand will not be possible without coal (and I challenge anybody to present an accepted scenario that says otherwise).  That is why we believe ensuring the availability of carbon capture and storage technology is so important to meeting our energy supply and environmental goals. 

And I still hear some folks say that ACCCE opposes measures to reduce greenhouse emissions.

Wrong again.

ACCCE supports federal policies to achieve meaningful reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in the utility sector, provided we simultaneously work to protect energy security and keep energy costs affordable for consumers. Striking this balance will require hard work, but it can be done.   

We see climate change is a global issue requiring leadership by the United States and actions by all nations in a spirit of shared responsibility to devise and carry out practical, cost-effective measures by government, business, and citizens to slow, stop, and then reverse the growth of manmade greenhouse gas emissions. We know that coal has a big role to play in the future, even with the possibility (even likelihood) of future carbon regulations.

That is why investing in advanced clean coal technologies for the capture and storage of CO2 is so important, and we call upon groups that might not have supported coal R&D in the past to reconsider their position on that point. 

Comments

[Kelly Beninga]

Why isn't the large and profitable coal industry paying for their own R&D on clean coal? What is your plan for phasing out conventional coal and building plants with CCS? How soon will it happen? Who will pay for it?

Until you answer these tough questions, clean coal is just a PR slogan.