Electric cooperatives are actively engaged in the congressional debate over how to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to address climate change concerns. A number of bills encompassing a wide variety of approaches have been introduced already in the House and Senate. Some bills apply only to electric utilities while others are economy-wide. The timelines and reduction requirements vary as do many other details, including costs and their impact on the economy. Each of these details will have significant effects on electric cooperative member-consumers.
As Congress debates the details of a carbon-control program, cooperatives are actively investigating what options will be available to allow us to comply with whatever program Congress eventually adopts. No “silver bullet” technology exists that will magically solve the issue of climate change. In fact, a wide array of new technological advances will be required if the nation is going to constrain CO2 emissions without serious negative economic implications.
COAL MUST REMAIN IN ELECTRICITY MIX AS CARBON EMISSIONS ARE ADDRESSED
NRECA members have a significant interest in developing cost-effective options to mitigate carbon emissions. Electric cooperatives generate half of their power needs; more than two-thirds of this power is generated from coal. Cooperatives serve some of the poorest areas of the country (nearly 400 co-ops have service territories with poverty levels above the national average), and most cooperatives’ rates are higher than the rates of their neighboring investor-owned utilities. Furthermore, many co-op service territories are growing more rapidly, with a composite growth rate twice those of other utilities.
Current technologies provide only limited options to cooperatives in the effort to reduce carbon emissions. The primary option currently available to co-ops would be to switch from low-cost, domestic coal to much higher priced (and increasingly imported) natural gas. New technologies that improve efficiency, avoid carbon emissions, or capture and sequester emissions will all be required to accomplish any reductions mandated by legislation.
Yet, despite any advances brought about by new technologies and substantial increases in power generated from nuclear and renewables, coal must continue to be factored into the electricity mix to meet growing electricity demand. At present, coal accounts for approximately 51 percent of the nation’s overall electric production. The amount of coal-based generation is expected to increase to a 54 percent share in 2030. Electricity demand, according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA), is expected to increase by 40 percent.