Energy Biz - September/October 2008 - (Page 47) EnErgyBiz We’re the Saudi Arabia of coal, yet coal-fired VincEnT- cOLL awn We’re not building a new coal plant. generating plants are being cancelled in lots of places. How We are predominantly a coal-based generation utility. I could coal not be an option for the United States? can’t imagine getting a new coal plant permitted in New yackir a We’re trying to build a coal plant primarily Mexico for us. That said, I agree with Jim. We have to because we have such a huge dependence on natural gas in keep all the options on the table right now and develop the our state. We’re 70 percent dependent on natural gas. We technologies to make those environmentally friendly. have a plan to build a 1,500-megawatt plant in the middle r aMiL We’ve operated a 300-megawatt coal gasification of Nevada in an economically deprived area that used to plant for 12 years. It’s our most efficient coal plant. We be a mining area. We have tremendous had planned a second support from the locals. We have support plant at this site, 600 David Ratcliffe from our governor, from our legislature, megawatts, and we Southern Company, chairman, president and chief executive officer from our public utilities commission but postponed that last fall. not from the majority of the state Senate. The governor of Florida But to answer your question in a nutshell, has said he’s not a big fan the United States would be crazy not to of coal. We postponed use coal wisely. that plant because of all r aTcLiFFE It’s clear there’s been a the unknowns regarding tremendous backlash from primarily the the cost of carbon. I’m environmental community about any still optimistic that the new coal facilities in the nation, regardgasification technology, less of the technology. That’s extremely once the rules shake out, bad public policy. We’ve dealt with is going to be something SO2, NOX and mercury and particulate that we can use in matter. We will deal with CO2. We will Florida. deliver new clean coal technology to this nation and for the world. EnErgyBiz What rOgErs We’re at a impact will the withjuncture now where 50 drawal of federal support percent of our electricity for the FutureGen research project have comes from coal across on coal generation? the country. There are rOwE Well, we have to keep doing the states like Florida, and research one way or another. The DOE John Ramil knows this, decision is, of course, very unpopular in where they have said, Illinois where coal is still a significant ‘No new coal plants.’ resource. And the coal mining industry We may be the only has significant political force. But I think company in the country DOE was probably right in saying what that’s building two new we’re doing is going to cost a lot more coal plants. But we’re than we had told people it’s going to cost, also going to retire 1,000 and we have to regroup. megawatts of very old plants, so it is a modernEnErgyBiz We live in a rising cost Michael Yackira ization plan. world. Couldn’t the government predict Sierra Pacific Resources, the cost of this would escalate? president and chief executive officer EnErgyBiz Does the rOwE You expect a utility executive public understand this is to defend the government’s predictive not your grandfather’s coal plant? capability? We’re not very good at predicting, and the rOgErs In Indiana we’re building the first commercial government is usually worse. coal gasification plant in the United States, 630 megawatts. It’s r aTcLiFFE The secretary of energy didn’t like the the most effective way to use coal in terms of sulfur dioxide, uncapped liability that the government had signed up for. nitrogen oxide and mercury. The ability to capture carbon will It was not that he didn’t like the technology or didn’t want be easier with an integrated gasification combined cycle-type to sponsor new clean coal or carbon capture sequestration technology than any of the pulverized coal technologies. technologies. www.energycentral.com E n E rgyB i z 47 http://www.energycentral.com
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