Comments Josh at NRDC has made

Coal Costs...

Yup, at NRDC, we think that the dollars speak for themselves on this plant and others.

We finished this report a few weeks ago. Since then, the financial argument has gotten even more persuasive as business journals have published articles about skyrocketing coal prices.

Cheap coal? The Wall Street Journal pointed out that coal futures on some New York futures markets have already doubled from last year and the trend will continue due to competition for the resource from China and other developing countries. Forbes predicted that the price of coal will double in the next year. Those price increases will be paid by business and home ratepayers---for the next 50 years (pretty scary terms on the agreement)! If Wall Street banks don't want to fund coal, why would ratepayers do it?

The numbers are not lost on smart cities like Oberlin. They brought in outside experts to conduct a study of the overall energy landscape. They weighed all the factors (cost, risk, flexibility, environment) and found that a variety of alternatives were viable and cost competitive to coal. So they pulled out of the plant. Others should follow.

Once we realize the true cost of coal, the other options (like wind, combined heat and power, biomass, and even natural gas) start to look like a bargain. But it all needs to start with energy efficiency. Let's figure out how to make the best use of the power resources that are already in place before jumping to new plants that will be tapping our wallets and darkening our skies for generations to come...On How to make the case against coal posted 1 year, 9 months ago 6 Responses