Current:Home > FinanceCoal’s Decline Not Hurting Power Grid Reliability, Study Says -GlobalInvest
Coal’s Decline Not Hurting Power Grid Reliability, Study Says
View
Date:2025-04-17 18:22:57
A new study is challenging Energy Secretary Rick Perry’s concerns about increasing levels of renewable energy in the U.S. electric grid, arguing that the decline of coal in the nation’s power mix is driven largely by market forces and is not hurting the reliability of the grid.
Perry in April ordered a 60-day grid review looking in particular at whether government support for renewable energy is speeding the retirement of coal and nuclear plants and resulting in a more fragile electricity supply. He suggested in his memo that renewable energy and regulatory burdens on coal were to blame for an “erosion of critical baseload resources.”
The new study says that that fear is baseless, and it argues the opposite.
It cites, among other evidence, the latest annual analysis of grid reliability conducted by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), which found that most metrics of grid reliability are either improving or staying the same. For example, 2015 saw a drop in the number of incidents causing a temporary loss of supply. Frequency and voltage has remained stable as the amount of power from renewable energy sources has grown, it said, and the industry has been getting better at modeling changes to the grid to assess risks.
“The retirement of aging or uneconomic resources has not led, in any region, to an observed reduction in BPS (bulk power system) reliability from either resource adequacy or system security perspectives,” the study says.
The report was released Tuesday by the American Wind Energy Association and the Advanced Energy Economy, which represents a broad range of corporations, including some renewable energy companies and utilities. The groups had earlier written to Perry, criticizing the department for not opening the rushed grid review to public comment—including from the renewable energy industry.
“Recently, some have raised concerns that current electric market conditions may be undermining the financial viability of certain conventional power plant technologies … and thus jeopardizing electric system reliability. In addition, some have suggested that federal and state policies supporting renewable energy are the primary cause of the decline in financial viability. The evidence does not support either hypothesis,” says the report, which was written by energy consultants, including a former Department of Energy official and state utility commissioner.
Perry selected Travis Fisher, a political appointee who previously worked for the Institute for Energy Research, an organization that favors fossil fuels, to lead his review. In a budget hearing earlier this week, Perry said the review would be completed by the end of the month. But on Wednesday, DOE spokeswoman Shaylyn Hynes told E&E News that that date had been moved back to July.
In recent years, power companies have retired more capacity from coal than from any other fuel source, while adding primarily natural gas and some renewables.
Citing data from wholesale energy markets, the report says that shift has been driven primarily by the low price of gas and advancements in the efficiency of new gas generating units. While it says government policies supporting energy efficiency and renewables have played a role, too, their influence is “a distant second to market fundamentals.”
A spokesman for Edison Electric Institute, which represents utilities, said they not had yet reviewed the study and couldn’t comment.
In his memo calling for the review, Perry wrote that grid experts had expressed concerns about “the diminishing diversity of our nation’s electric generation mix and what that could mean for baseload power and grid resilience.” He also voiced strong support for baseload power plants “that run 24-7” during budget hearings this week on Capitol Hill, where Perry made clear to members of Congress that the Trump administration’s vision is to keep coal plants running and to build oil pipelines.
In a not-so-veiled swipe at the coal industry, the new report says that over the past few decades, as market and policy changes such as deregulation have reshuffled the nation’s energy mix, established entities have charged that the changes would hurt reliability. Those concerns never came to pass, the report says, because of the nation’s robust system of safeguards.
The review will surely face strong opposition if it tries to push the scales in favor of coal. On Wednesday, Perry’s predecessor as energy secretary, Ernest Moniz, announced the formation a new organization, staffed with former Energy Department officials and MIT experts, to promote innovation in low-carbon energy technology and energy policies for a cleaner energy future.
veryGood! (841)
Related
- Man can't find second winning lottery ticket, sues over $394 million jackpot, lawsuit says
- Are you balding? A dermatologist explains some preventative measures.
- What does conditioner do? Here’s how to attain soft, silky hair.
- Billy Joel's ex-wife Christie Brinkley dances as he performs 'Uptown Girl': Watch
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- Shark attacks and seriously injures British tourist in the Caribbean as friends fight off the predator
- Britney and Jamie Spears settlement avoids long, potentially ugly and revealing trial
- Climber who died after 1,000-foot fall on Alaska peak identified as passionate New York forest ranger Robbi Mecus
- Krispy Kreme offers a free dozen Grinch green doughnuts: When to get the deal
- Baby Reindeer's Alleged Real-Life Stalker Speaks Out on Netflix Show
Ranking
- Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
- Shark attacks and seriously injures British tourist in the Caribbean as friends fight off the predator
- Louisiana Supreme Court rules for new City of St. George
- Is Taylor Swift Going to 2024 Met Gala? Here's the Truth
- Finally, good retirement news! Southwest pilots' plan is a bright spot, experts say
- Taylor Swift’s ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ hits No. 1, with songs claiming the top 14 spots
- Mexican man wins case against Cartier after buying $13,000 earrings online for $13
- Legendary football coach Knute Rockne receives homecoming, reburied on Notre Dame campus
Recommendation
Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
A Plastics Plant Promised Pennsylvania Prosperity, but to Some Residents It’s Become a ‘Shockingly Bad’ Neighbor
Nick Viall's Wife Natalie Joy Fires Back at Postpartum Body Shamers After Her Wedding
Don't use TikTok? Here's what to know about the popular app and its potential ban in US
The Grammy nominee you need to hear: Esperanza Spalding
'You tip, we tip': Domino's to begin tipping customers who tip their delivery drivers
They had the same name. The same childhood cancer. They lost touch – then reunited.
Person of interest sought in shooting on Navajo Nation in northern Arizona