Reality Check

Clean coal technology and coal-generated power has its detractors – we know that. But many of them are misinformed, and as a result, spread misinformation. One oft-used criticism of the coal industry is that it does nothing to benefit the communities where their operations are based.

Reality Check: This couldn’t be further from the truth. The coal industry stimulates local economies and provides much-needed jobs during initial plant construction, ongoing operations, and in the mines. For example, Dominion Virginia Power’s proposed $1.6 billion coal-generated power plant in Wise County, Va., would initially create 800 jobs and provide $6 million in new revenue each year. Once online, it could support more than 250 coal-mining jobs and 75 plant employees. For this struggling community, where new jobs are scarce, coal can create a path to the future.

Read the full story on MSN Money: View Here

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Some professed experts believe that we should focus all of America’s energy research on renewable sources.

Reality Check: That ignores the realities of electricity demand in the U.S. and how that demand is being met today. Coal-based power plants currently generate 50 percent of America’s electricity. And even assuming – as we do – that renewable energy sources will generate more and more electricity over time, the Energy Information Administration estimates that coal will produce more, not less, of our electricity by 2030.
When people talk about alternative energy resources, they usually mean solar and wind. These are not replacements for coal. Electricity is produced in base-load power and peaking power. Base-load power is the energy necessary to keep the electricity grid energized and meet a constant demand. Peaking power is energy that comes on and off throughout the day, when electricity usage and energy demand goes up. Peaking power uses intermittent power resources like solar and wind that produce electricity only when there’s sufficient direct sunlight or sufficient sustained wind speed. For base-load power, you must use so-called hard-path fuels such as coal, which can provide power 24 hours per day.
With America’s ever-increasing demand for electricity, coal will play a huge part in generating our future energy needs, and we should ensure that we keep putting research dollars into clean coal technology.

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ABEC has been sponsoring some of the presidential primary debates. We’re flattered that more than a handful of bloggers think that being a mere sponsor allows us to dictate the questions posed during the debate.

Reality Check: Being a debate sponsor means we paid for advertising for the program. That’s it. Just as purchasing an ad in a newspaper doesn’t skew the editorial content of that paper, the same is true here.

Contrary to some opinions, we want the candidates to answer questions on climate change. Here’s the question we’d love to see asked in one of the debates: “How do you plan to help America meet its growing demand for affordable and reliable electricity while addressing the climate change issue?”

Not only do we want the candidates to address questions regarding energy, environment and the economy, we can’t think of single more important question in the 2008 presidential debates.

Learn about the role coal plays in your state's energy mix.