Americans often take their daily electricity for granted. And it’s only when storms knock down power lines that we realize how much we rely on it.
Unfortunately, there are real, growing concerns about the long-term sturdiness of America’s electricity grid. That’s because a decade of heavy-handed federal regulations, along with a wave of competition from natural gas, have combined to dismantle a sizable number of the nation’s coal-fired power plants.
The numbers are actually somewhat disturbing. More than 60 gigawatts of coal-fired power capacity has disappeared since 2010. That’s enough electricity to power 40 million homes. And overall, this loss is slated to rise to as much as 80 gigawatts by 2020.
Coal remains underappreciated, even though it still provides more than 30 percent of total U.S. power generation. In fact, coal and nuclear plants combine to supply a steady 50 percent of overall U.S. electricity demand. Essentially, they buttress the “baseload” power generation of the United States — the power needed to continuously meet the nation’s daily operational needs. – READ MORE
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