Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Updated Study Highlights Eroding Economics of U.S. Coal Fleet

Advocates of coal power argue that it is among the cheapest sources of energy in the United States and allows for lower-cost power. But a Harvard study found that whatever money is saved in operation costs is completely negated by the cost coal plants inadvertently pass on to the American public: $345 billion. These hidden expenses are not borne by miners or utilities, but come from the detrimental side affects of coal burning, like health problems in mining communities and pollution around coal plants. The study is the first to look at the entire cost of coal, from extraction to combustion. (Credit: inhabitat.com) Click to enlarge.
Market factors are making more and more of the nation’s coal-fired power plants less economically viable, especially in Michigan, Alabama, Georgia and Texas, according to a new article from researchers at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) published last week in the Electricity Journal.

 "Coal-fired generation is getting increasingly expensive compared with cleaner power sources,” said Jeff Deyette, assistant director of energy research at UCS and co-author of the study, which was initially released last year and updated this month. “This shift in economics is a historic opportunity to modernize our electric sector and gain the economic, health and climate benefits that come with it."

 Updated Study Highlights Eroding Economics of U.S. Coal Fleet
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