The Briefing Room
General Category => Science, Technology and Knowledge => Energy => Topic started by: thackney on March 14, 2019, 05:12:04 pm
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Perry says he's 'thrown a lot of jello at the wall,' on coal, nuclear closures
https://www.chron.com/business/energy/article/Perry-says-thrown-a-lot-of-jello-at-the-wall-13685747.php (https://www.chron.com/business/energy/article/Perry-says-thrown-a-lot-of-jello-at-the-wall-13685747.php)
March 13, 2019
Energy Secretary Rick Perry said Wednesday the Trump administration continues to look at steps to stop coal and nuclear power plants from closing.
More than a year after Perry was shot down by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on a proposal to increase wholesale power rates for those plants, the former Texas governor said the grid is becoming too reliant on natural gas.
"Gas is cheap right now, but gas is interruptibility," he said, referring to potential pipeline disruptions. "How do you make sure you have [a reliable power supply with coal and nuclear], I'm open for conversations. I've thrown a lot of jello at the wall on this one."
Perry argues coal and nuclear plants are less susceptible to cyber and physical attacks because, unlike natural gas-fired plants, they store fuel on-site, a claim criticized by a broad coalition of American industries as a ploy to prop up a coal industry President Donald Trump championed on the campaign trail....
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@IsailedawayfromFR
ping
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Well, he's right. It's more than being cheap, and it is definitely more than kowtowing to the false god of reduced global warming emissions (a nonproblem). Reliability is paramount if the grid is to be effective.
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A sensible proposition. No one understands this as much as the Japanese, who even after the recent meltdown on on its reactors, is trying to now start more nuclear capacity as it is extremely reliable.
Gas is tremendous on achieving environmentally safe, cheap supply of power but it does have that big drawback of being unable to provide that supply should some major interruption occur in the transportation of gas.
And I like the very last of the article which provides insight into a politician in the eyes of a child:
Perry recounted how years ago when his daughter was in elementary school she was asked what her father did for a living.
"She looked them in the eye and deadpanned, 'He talks,'" Perry said.