The Industry Has to Have a Product that Companies Want to Buy
Donald Trump says coal is clean and beautiful, and on April 8 he signed an executive order to encourage its use. Whether or not you share his taste in fuels, the order appears to overlook some critical details of how the power system works, details that nuclear advocates should bear in mind when they talk about what will constitute a “renaissance.” The lesson is that government policy can help identify political priorities, but when policy conflicts with the market, the market will win.
Coal has some attractive attributes. It’s plentiful, here and abroad, its price is fairly stable, and a plant manager can look out the office window and see where the next few months of fuel are coming from. In contrast, natural gas is delivered just in time, wind and sun come when they want to, and even water for hydroelectric dams is variable.
Read the article at The Breakthrough Institute
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