If you want to understand the demise of coal despite
what some politicians insist, consider this quote from
CEO Pat Vincent-Collawn, whose utility
is invested in New Mexico’s Four Corners Power Plant:
“The current data clearly supports the replacement of
the coal ... with an energy mix that includes more
renewables and natural gas as the best, most economical
path.”
This explains why — much faster than anyone would
have predicted just a year ago — so many utilities are
transitioning out of the West’s largest coal plants. For
example, the CEO of
Talen Energy wants out of Montana’s Colstrip Coal
Plant by the end of 2018, because it is putting the
company in the red by $30 million a year.
Scott Harrelson of SRP, operator of
Arizona’s Navajo Generating Station,
blamed “changing economics” after the company announced
the likely closure of another coal plant 25 years ahead
of schedule. These plants struggle to sell coal-fired
power because it’s become more expensive than cleaner
energy options, like solar, wind and energy efficiency.
This flurry of companies hastening their exit from
the coal business should raise an eyebrow at President
Donald Trump’s frequently repeated promise to bring coal
jobs back to the
U.S.
The companies’ announcements came right before and right
after Trump stymied the Clean Power Plan, which would
have let states decide how to cut harmful pollution by
building more clean energy. And just a day later, he and
his secretary of the Interior decided to reopen public
lands to a broken federal coal-leasing program, even
though it will cost taxpayers billions. Trump also wants
to slash the Department of Energy’s innovative programs
that helped establish multibillion-dollar clean-tech
companies that employ hundreds of people, including
First Solar and Tesla.
Despite all the bluster about a coal revival, when
Reuters recently polled 32 utility companies in states
that were attempting to block the Clean Power Plan?, the
majority said they are still planning to phase out coal
in favor of cleaner, cheaper resources. Not one utility
announced that it intended to build new coal-fired power
plants. And this makes perfect sense: The existing
plants are getting older and more expensive to operate
with each passing day.
This transition away from coal is happening most
rapidly here in the West.
Washington and
Oregon are on the way to joining
California in being coal-free.
Nevada
is trying to pass more ambitious clean-energy goals, and
14 Western cities and towns have already made 100
percent clean-energy commitments. The West’s vast clean
energy opportunities explain why a utility like Xcel is
about to spend billions of dollars on wind farms in
Colorado and
New Mexico, mostly using wind turbines built
in
Colorado.
Even states that have relatively low clean-energy
goals are seeing major economic benefits. According to
the Department of Energy, nearly 38,000
Utahns work in solar, wind, smart grid and battery
storage. Even though the clean-energy industry is
relatively young, it is growing faster than any other
energy source and employs more people than coal, oil or
gas.
This historic shift in how we produce and deliver
electricity cannot be slowed down. That means continued
change and challenges for working people — change that
must be planned for rather than ignored by politicians
who seem to be content with making unrealistic promises
to their constituents. Failure to plan and act will hurt
the very people who have often risked their own lives
working to keep our lights on and our appliances
humming.
Instead of using taxpayer money to delay the
inevitable closure of coal plants, as
Montana
has done, we should invest directly in the affected
communities to help them diversify their economies and
create family-sustaining jobs. Right now, two critically
important federal bills that will help do this are in
the works: the ?RECLAIM Act and the Miners’ Protection
Act?.
These bipartisan bills are steadily moving forward
because coal communities and grassroots organizations
are demanding that their representatives in
Washington, D.C.,
do something. All levels of government must take these
efforts seriously and find ways to create more economic
opportunities, modernize workforce development programs,
and advocate for better pay and benefits for all
workers. Hundreds of thousands of people already work in
clean energy. Utility CEOs, coal plant owners, and
investors are telling us clearly that the market has
chosen clean energy over coal. Change is happening now
and will only continue. The sooner we listen, the sooner
we can build a healthier, more prosperous future in the
West — and across the country.
Bill Corcoran is a contributor to
Writers on the Range, the opinion service of High
Country News (hcn.org).
He is the Western campaign director for the Sierra
Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign.