Letter: Reader disputes information about electricity generation

Man hands writing in the diary, coffee mug and laptop on wooden table

From: Michael Greven

Columbus

On Jan. 10, The Republic published a column on its Opinion page by Matthew Kandrach, president of Consumer Action for a Strong Economy concerning the electricity generation in Indiana. He did a wonderful job of misrepresenting basic facts around energy markets.

1. Statement: “Key coal plants have been going out of business in the face of artificially low wind and solar prices.” First, coal fired plants aren’t going out of business as they are only the power generating tool employed by the utility to create power. Coal is not being used because it is not as efficient, clean or cost effective as natural gas, wind or solar. Utilities don’t make rash decisions around changing generating equipment, rather they evaluate all key components of power generation. The simple fact is that coal is no longer cost effective. The same utilities are in business, they are simply phasing out coal.

2. Statement: “and natural gas plants depend ….on thousands of miles of pipelines……Conversely coal plants are uniquely able to store months of fuel on site and continuously generate 24/7 electricity.” Kandrach insinuates that the natural gas distribution system in the U.S. is unreliable and therefore we should be generating power with coal which you can just pile up and burn when you need it. Of course the coal just happened to land in the pile and wasn’t dependent upon miners, truckers, markets, roads, strikes or weather. I have yet to hear of a power generating plant shutting down for lack of gas supply.

3. “Making renewable energy truly cheap is the path forward, not more market manipulation and subsidies.” It will be a wonderful day when the coal industry pays for the cost of power generation and passes it along to consumers. What value do we place on coal ash ponds that have yet to be dealt with and are tremendous burden to future generation…. how do we place a value on the mountaintops in Appalachia that were removed in order to reach coal? The communities and ecosystems in those communities have been destroyed. Find me a coal company writing checks for those peoples futures!

Renewable, clean energy is the path forward for a strong and healthy economy not only in the U.S. but also around the world. Kandrach’s recognition of the fact that our carbon dioxide emissions increased in 2018 should raise an alarm bell for him that the U.S. energy sector needs to do more to reduce carbon emissions. Its almost as if he is proud of that fact.

The coal industry is on its way out, much like the horse and buggy once were. Hoosiers need to focus on looking out the front window and not looking in the rear-view mirror.