Friday, April 4, 2008 | 2:03 a.m.
Regarding a March 28 editorial in the Las Vegas Sun (“One small step: Nevada Power heads in right direction with investment in geothermal plant”):
Nevada Power should be commended for its decision to help Nevada create a balanced and diverse energy resource portfolio to help meet the state’s growing demand for electricity.
Where the editorial fell way short was incorrectly stating that coal is “yesterday’s energy” and we do not need coal to meet our growing future demand for electricity in a secure and affordable manner.
In fact, coal is the fuel of the future. How? Through technology that allows coal to produce electricity today with about 70 percent less emissions, despite a tripling of its use since 1970.
Today, coal accounts for nearly a quarter of all electricity produced in Nevada. Most people support development of renewable resources, but how are we going to meet growing electricity demand without coal?
Renewable energy alone cannot reliably meet Nevada’s growing energy demand. To keep the lights on day and night, during windy and calm days, Nevada needs base-load electricity generation, and that is best supplied through a mix of available energy resources. This type of generation provides a constant flow of electricity. Renewables, for the most part, provide an intermittent source of electricity, which can be helpful during peak use, but not 24/7.
Technology has helped meet the requirements of the Clean Air Act, and we are working on the technologies that will again help meet and balance energy and environmental needs of the future.
Instead of attempting to stop using our most abundant resource, we need to be supporting progress in making coal cleaner and a viable source of secure and affordable energy.
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy