We are apparently not to leave fossil fuels as the current dirty coal power plant construction boom in the vicinity is an indication. have a recent Associated Press review of the U.S. Department of Energy documents and information from utility companies and trade groups provided showed that at least 30 traditional-style coal power plants completed or canceled soil since 2008.
The construction boom in the traditional coal burning power industry seems to be a confirmation of three beliefs:
- The first condition is that the electricity from "clean coal" is still years away. Growing up with a great promise as a domestic source of clean energy clean coal generation got no traction with respect to the replacement of standard coal combustion methods.
- The second is that sufficient renewable energy sources do not progressed to meet energy needs efficiently.
- Finally, the carbon dioxide emissions regulations were not adopted in the near future, if at all. The last coal make it to the Senate a bill was rejected on both sides of the aisle as a Democrat from the coal mining states in support of the Republicans for the bill to defeat.
can capture hope for the development of devices that emit greenhouse gases from the combustion of coal, the Obama Administration assigned to build 3400000000 $ in economic programs, the basis for building "clean coal" plants. The implied rejection of the program is clear, as the money spent on traditional coal-fired power plants more than 10 times as much amount $ 35,000,000,000.
Utilities that spending for dirty-burning coal by pointing out the wealth to justify the domestic availability and lower cost of coal compared to natural gas and nuclear energy. Utilities are also more reliable and coal as an energy source viable intermittent or inconsistent sources of energy such as wind and solar energy. These properties are the main reasons for coal is responsible for about half the power of the nation.
Despite the wealth, this cost coal power plants in the consumer 30% more because of the cost of building the new facilities. Representatives of the municipal building of the plant say that the increase would be even greater if they were more expensive fuels or carbon dioxide emissions have been forced to use were controlled.
While supporters of clean energy sources by the ongoing power plant construction is frustrated, they can at least take heart in the fact that campaigns to limit coal rush their share of success. The 32 plants fade out either by or initiated over the past two years compared to the 150 coal-burning plants, which were projected, with many, again become of litigation and other legal challenges.
The bad news is that produced by plants that are either gone or going online is about 125 million tons of greenhouse gases per year, according to figures from the sponsoring utilities emissions and the Center for Global Development. This is equivalent to put more than 20 million additional cars on the road.
Despite the monetary incentive to reduce emissions from coal power plants, the new one will not have the capacity to capture carbon dioxide. While the sound absorption of carbon dioxide may be simple in theory, market observers are currently estimated that the widespread deployment of carbon capture technologies for coal-fired power stations will remain at least 15 to 20 years away. The problem is that the separation and capture greenhouse gases before they leave the work is really very complicated and very expensive to leave.
For now at least it seems that the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the background is too cheap, but take too dirty energy.