The role of a diverse electricity generation portfolio
The Subcommittee on Energy and Power held a hearing yesterday in the Rayburn House Office Building. The hearing was entitled, 鈥淎merican Energy Security and听Innovation: The Role of a Diverse Electricity Generation Portfolio鈥� and below are a few of the statements regarding the role of coal-based electricity presented during yesterday鈥檚 testimony:
Mark McCullough, Executive Vice President of Generation, AEP
鈥淔or over a century, AEP has been a pioneer in the development of advanced coal-fueled generation technologies, which include many first-in-the-world accomplishments that have set the standard听for combustion efficiencies, emissions control, and system performance.鈥�
John McClure,听Vice President for Government Affairs and General Counsel, Nebraska Public Power District
鈥淲hat many do not realize is coal remains a more competitively priced fuel for certain regions of the country due to the proximity of supply, especially in the central and western U.S. Natural听gas may be a great option if your power plant is located near a robust network of gas pipelines, but unfortunately many of the existing coal plants do not have access to pipeline capacity to convert from coal to natural gas.
Coal has been a mainstay of our Nation鈥檚 generating mix, and the Energy Information Administration continues to show coal as an important part of a diverse fuel mix for the coming decades.鈥�
Rep. Ed Whitfield (KY-1)
鈥淭丑别 EPA, without question, has established an unfortunate trend line, methodically establishing a regulatory framework to eliminate coal, and taking away diversity choicesfrom utilities throughout听the country.鈥�
Rep. Steve Scalise (LA-1)
鈥淭丑别 government is picking winners and losers and those that lose are the families that will pay higher electricity costs.鈥�
