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Tuesday, February 12, 2019

Power grid serving 65 million may be at risk in East, Midwest

Electricity is the most important and convenient way to consume energy. Without it, we’d literally be living in the “Dark Ages.” However, we often forget that it takes energy to make energy.

With the electricity generation mix changing dramatically in recent years, this is no simple task. There is no more disputing it: the combination of too few power plants being built and too many serviceable power plants being shuttered prematurely threatens the viability of America’s power supply. How well — or poorly — power systems address the problem will be critical to ensuring a reliable, affordable and secure supply of energy in the years ahead.

A decade ago, about 50 percent of the electricity consumed in the United States came from coal-fired generation plants. Today, natural gas is the leader, providing more than 50 percent, while coal’s share has dropped to less than 30 percent. In fact, coal capacity in the United States has fallen by more than a third since 2010, and another 25 percent of today’s fleet is set to close by 2025.

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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

So what do we do bring in millions more to put more of a strain if not destroy the nation's infrastructure

Anonymous said...

Dave T: Isn't it odd how our useless politicians can spend unlimited days, even months and years, expending tremendous amounts of energy, effort and tax payer money to bicker and spite each other over partisan politics, but yet when it comes to getting something done that requires intelligence and resourcefulness, they achieve nothing.

Anonymous said...

Build the wall & stop shutting down our base/load coal and nuclear generating stations