The Environmental Protection Agency is putting the finishing touches on its Clean Power Plan to reduce carbon emissions, but warnings against it are getting louder.
Many who deal in the energy sector- grid operators, lawmakers, and especially the coal industry- are piling on to the idea that transitioning away from coal to renewables and natural gas will destabilize our power grid. In the latest installment on our series Blackout,Reinventing the grid, Inside Energy’s Leigh Paterson reports.
I drive up onto what looks like a vast black beach
(SOUNDBITE DAVE CUMMINGS)
“We are on top of the coal pile right now”
I’m with Dave Cummings. He’s the environmental coordinator at Laramie River station, a coal fired power plant in central Wyoming and this is its stockpile.
(AMBI GET OUT OF CAR)
as we step out onto the mound... its like walking on chunky coffee grounds
(AMBI WATER TRUCK)
kept damp by a water truck, driving in circles around us.
(SOUNDBITE DAVE CUMMINGS)
“About 35 acres, the entire area thats covered by coal right now”
enough to produce electricity for an entire month. And that’s one of coal’s big benefits: it can be piled up right next to the power plant, ready to be made into electricity whenever…
(SOUNDBITE DAVE CUMMINGS)
“It is a good stop gap for maintaining power”
So coal is usually a reliable and predictable source of electricity... except…
(SOUND UP- TV NEWS: “the frigid polar vortex is crippling over half the nation)
During that frozen winter in 2014, coal stockpiles at some power plants actually nearly disappeared, largely due to high demand and congested railways
This is just one example of how complex the issue of grid reliability really is. Managing supply and demand, dealing with infrastructure, and extreme weather events…. Keeping our lights on is complicated.
(SOUNDBITE JOHN MOURA)
“Hi, I’m John Moura. I’m the director of reliability assessment here at NERC.”
That’s the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, a non-profit TASKED with keeping our lights on. They’ve released a study detailing potential reliability impacts of the Clean Power Plan - and the shift that is likely from coal to natural gas and renewables. That transition has actually been going on since the 1990s, but...
(SOUNDBITE JOHN MOURA)
The difference here is the timeline/There is a um um um level of risk in having every every utility going down that same path at the same time.”
NERC’s report lists all kinds of concerns about grid reliability, including lack of new transmission and pipelines…. concerns echoed by many in the power industry, who claim the plan will leave Americans quote “cold and in the dark.” (sneak sound under) This is from a video produced by the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity:
“Turn the lights off at hte EPA so we can keep America’s power on”
But here’s the thing: under the proposed plan, coal isn’t necessarily going away. States are able to choose how to comply- through retrofitting coal fired power plants, energy efficiencies and adding more renewables. Here is Cheryl Roberto from the Environmental Defense Fund, a former regulator herself.
(SOUNDBITE CHERYL ROBERTO)
“Well can we have a reliable grid without the level of coal fired generation that we have right now, I think the answer is a resounding,yes, of course we can.”
A good place to check that out? Southern California. San Diego Gas and Electric has some of the highest renewable integration in the country. Nearly 35 percent of SDG&E power is renewables and the rest is mostly natural gas. They got rid of its small amount of coal generation a few years ago. And since then, their reliability statistics have haven’t changed much.
But working with wind and solar means you still have another option for those times when the sun doesn’t shine:
(SOUND UP BROADCAST)
“The California Public Utilities Commission approved a new gas power plant in Carlsbad”
Its called a peaker plant - a small facility that runs on natural gas and can be fired up within minutes...
“It gives us that critical insurance to get through the next 5,10,15 years to when we can really be confident that we have a grid that can work.”
That’s PUC Commissioner Mike Florio. Here’s what he is trying to avoid:
(SOUNDBITE MIKE FLORIO)
“The absolutely worst thing that could happen if we have reliability problem and the whole world ….... points and says look what happened to California, this clean energy stuff doesn’t work.”
Next on California’s green energy agenda, the challenge of storage. The commission passed a mandate in 2013, requiring utilities to develop new energy storage options by 2020… a sort of modern day coal stockpile. For Inside Energy, I’m Leigh Paterson.
(ANCHOR TAG)
Stay tuned for more stories in Inside Energy’s series Blackout - Reinventing the Grid. Inside Energy is a public media collaboration focusing on America’s energy issues.
