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New strategy needed for coal, nuclear power

Regardless of U.S. preferences on energy policy, the rest of the world will continue to use coal and nuclear power for electricity production. These energy sources are plentiful and cheaper than alternatives.

    And for all its success so far, the United States cannot come anywhere close to successfully fighting climate change without help from countries that continue to capitalize on coal and nuclear power.

    Coal is the most emissions-intensive fossil fuel, but the United States is developing and preparing to demonstrate technology for carbon capture-and-storage, which would prevent most carbon produced by coal plants from entering the atmosphere. If anything, recent developments have underscored the technology’s importance. For the United States, this means that the emphasis should be on driving down the cost of carbon capture-and-storage.

    Nor should we ignore the value of nuclear power. Zero-carbon nuclear plants are environmentally benign. A new energy strategy that exploits America’s expertise in nuclear power should be high on our government’s agenda.

    Unfortunately, the United States is following a different path, having shifted much of its investment to solar and wind. But solar and wind are available only when the sun is shining and the wind is blowing. So the output of solar and wind systems cannot be predicted from day to day, requiring costly back-up power from fossil fuels running just in case the weather isn’t cooperating.

    The reality is that China, India, South Korea and many other countries need large amounts of baseload power from coal and nuclear power to drive their economies and lift millions of people out of poverty.

    Alternative energy sources are bound to fail. These countries are unlikely to adopt U.S. technology for shale-gas production or utility-scale solar and wind power anytime soon.

    With about 2,100 new coal plants proposed, being developed or being built worldwide, coal use is growing steadily. Asia alone is responsible for more than two-thirds of global coal consumption.

    According to energy analyst Michael Levi of the Council on Foreign Relations, although demand for coal elsewhere in the world declined from 2008 to 20134, gains in Asia more than made up for the

    difference. During this period, China’s coal use alone offset U.S. reductions five times over.

    The trend is the same across Asia. India consumes almost three-quarters as much coal as the United States. Japan uses more coal than Russia. South Korea uses as much as Germany.

    In order to develop an effective strategy that combats climate change while fueling economic growth, the United States needs energy policies that take full account of coal’s importance.

    Instead of relying on renewables, countries with emerging economies are looking to the United States for designs of advanced energy technologies that are dependable suppliers of clean power 24/7. Either we figure out how to retrofit coal plants to capture their carbon emissions and store them underground. And develop advanced nuclear technologies for worldwide use. Or, barring those steps, we get ready for a significant rise in global temperatures, along with sea level rise and extreme changes in climate patterns.

    There’s still time to awaken the American public and Congress to the dangers of abandoning coal and nuclear power, which account for well over half of the world’s energy supply.

source: http://www.fosters.com