Posts filed under In the States

Stand Up for Kentucky Miners and Kentucky Families

Today we want say “thank you” to U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield and Kentucky State Rep. Jim Gooch who are standing with Kentucky’s 14,000 plus coal miners.

In an op-ed published last Friday, Reps. Whitfield and Gooch shine a much-needed spotlight on a planned anti-coal protest in Louisville later this week.

The group planning the protest, who is supported by the Sierra Club, has one goal: to destroy the jobs and benefits Kentuckians enjoy thanks to the coal industry.

Coal-fueled plants generate 92 percent of Kentucky’s electricity. The protest group would see these plants shut down and energy prices skyrocket as a result of the drastic decrease in energy supply.

What’s more troubling than this protest group trying to influence Kentucky’s energy policy is that they stand in support of a rule that wasn’t created by elected officials with public input, but rather by the EPA who wouldn’t just hinder new plant creation, but could target existing plants if they get their way.

At a time when coal generated electricity production is increasing around the world, we need strong leaders like Reps. Whitfield and Gooch to stand against this plan to destroy Kentucky jobs and raise energy costs for Kentucky families.

17 June 2013, 2:45 pm | Posted in ACCCE News, Affordability, In the States, Policy and Legislation | No comments »

Coal Fuels More than Electricity in the Midwest

The Midwest has seen a significant uptick in coal output, and as the Wall Street Journal reported today, its recent “comeback” has powered new jobs and economic activity in the region.

The article attributes coal’s surge in this region to clean coal technologies that have enabled mining companies to access more broadly the Midwest’s vast deposits of coal. As Vic Svec, of Peabody Energy, noted in the article, “The widespread deployment of scrubbers [installed on coal-fueled power plants] removes the major barrier—sulfur dioxide—to Illinois Basin coal use.”

As many in the article go on to say, the ramped up production of coal from the Illinois Basin is not only giving communities access to affordable, reliable American-made energy, but it’s also creating jobs and spurring economic growth.

David A. Meyer, chairman of the county board of Washington County, IL, said the project has given the area a much-needed boost and has provided “permanent good-paying jobs, some of them very high-tech.” Indeed, one coal mine in a farming community southeast of St. Louis added 580 jobs and helped fund a high school and court building. In McLeansboro, 70 miles to the east, a mine under construction has brought jobs and several new businesses to the area.

06 May 2013, 3:23 pm | Posted in Clean Coal Technology and Research, In the States, Jobs | No comments »

The Cost of Los Angeles Prematurely Replacing Coal-Based Electricity

In a story from yesterday’s Los Angeles Times, a city watchdog has attached a large price tag to the city’s initiative to move the city away from coal-based electricity.

According to the article, “Fred Pickel, the ratepayer advocate at the Department of Water and Power, said Monday that eliminating coal from the utility’s power mix ahead of a state-mandated deadline is projected to cost more than $600 million. What that could mean for ratepayers’ electricity bills is unclear, he said.”

At a meeting of the City Council’s Energy and Environment Committee on Wednesday, Pickel said he would urge city officials to look for ways to lower the costs. “The question is, can we do this cheaper?” he said.

Two coal plants currently provide nearly 40 percent of the city’s energy. Under the new plan, the city would supplant most of that with power produced by switching to natural gas.

Fuel switching is an interesting approach for Los Angeles considering clean coal technology enjoys majority support among California voters. It is especially noteworthy that this support is broad-based, encompassing majorities of Republican, Democratic and voters declining to state a party affiliation. Given that the most important issues to California voters are “jobs and the economy,”voter sentiment that the state’s energy policies have made it less competitive should be a red flag to Sacramento legislators.

In a recent survey of California voters, nearly 57 percent answered yes when they were asked “Do you support or oppose developing new clean coal power plants in California?” When asked the question, “Do you think that California’s energy policies have made the state more or less competitive?”, more than 43 percent answered yes. And particularly telling is the fact that nearly one-quarter of California voters feel that the state’s energy policies have made the state far less competitive.

These numbers are in stark contrast to comments recently made recently by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa when he announced that the city will become the only city in America that won’t get any electricity from coal by the year 2025.

Coal-based electricity is one of the least expensive, most reliable means of producing electricity, and it’s a central part of the American energy portfolio. Not only that, coal has a long history of providing energy to Americans.

America has depended on the reliable and abundant coal that comes from our land and powers our lives for more than a century. With the energy in America’s coal reserves being roughly equal to the world’s known oil reserves, it’s clear that coal should continue to be a reliable source of electricity for all of us.

17 April 2013, 11:16 am | Posted in Affordability, In the States | No comments »

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