Stop the Bleeding. Preserve the Coal Fleet.
https://www.realclearenergy.org/articles/2018/03/28/stop_the_bleeding_preserve_the_coal_fleet_110282.htmlWith almost 600 coal plants shut down since 2010, we are racing towards a grid reliability crisis of our own making. Millions of Americans are at risk of electricity price spikes from a loss of energy diversity.
Cheap natural gas, in conjunction with a regulatory onslaught on the coal industry, has reduced coal’s share of our electricity mix to 30 percent — down from 50 percent little more than a decade ago. The loss of coal plants, long the foundation of our electricity system, is coming at a high cost. It has already resulted in the loss oftens of thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for state and local governments. Our growing reliance on natural gas is beginning to stress the grid even further.
Make no mistake, low-cost natural gas has been a blessing for the nation. It has helped reduce utility bills, create jobs in gas-producing states, and improve the competitiveness of our manufacturing sector. But natural gas demand continues to grow while efforts to block new gas production and new natural gas pipelines grow in tandem. Environmental activists waving a keep-it-in-the-ground banner have succeeded in influencing mainstream politics with disastrous consequences for energy policy. Massachusetts is case in point.
The Bay Statehas shuttered its coal fleet, resulting in a disproportionate reliance on natural gas to meet both its electricity and heating needs. On bitterly cold winter days mayhem has ensued. While the U.S. is now the world’s largest natural gas producer. Massachusetts, particularly the Boston area, has at times been home to the most expensive natural gas in the world this winter....