Tag: electricity-generation
-
Thoughts on Primary Energy and the Way the World Really Works
The Developed world and the Developing countries depend on energy to run. Developing countries need reliable PRIMARY Energy to progress from muscle power to machines and the Developed countries, including China and India require lots of reliable primary energy to sustain their quality of life. I am one of the few people who focus on…
-
Progress in Clean Coal Combustion Is a Remarkable Achievement, So, Let’s Get on with Building More New Coal Plants
New Modern Coal Plants are Needed for Energy Security, Grid Reliability, Affordable Electricity Generation and Without Pollution, so let me explain some of the details of the equipment used to clean the flue gases and the progress made in cleaning the air since 1970 Short History of Air Pollution Control The EPA was started in…
-
Perceptions vs. Reality
If it was simply the laws of Physics, Economics and Global Experiences of which source of Bulk Power was Best; then coal power plants would be on order by the hundreds. How can we fix the poor perceptions of coal power? Here are my thoughts. Energy Powers Life as We Know It America runs on…
-
Pros and Cons of Conventional and Renewables Electricity Generation In the Red State of South Carolina, Part 1
Background: Bulk Power Supply in the S.C. Lowcountry The wholesale (Bulk Power) electricity providers serving our region are Santee-Cooper (officially the South Carolina Public Service Authority, or SCPSA) and Dominion Energy (which replaced South Carolina Electric & Gas as the Investor-Owned Utility). Most of Palmetto Electric’s Bulk Power comes from Santee-Cooper. Santee-Cooper is a state-owned agency operating since the…
-
The Importance of Coal, Part 2: Coal Power in the Rest of the World
Coal power in America remains important and I wrote on that last week. This is a followup to provide an overview of the importance of coal as a form of primary energy in the rest of the world. The key phrase is Primary Energy. Ron Stein and Nancy Perlman wrote an excellent article on the…
-
The Importance of Coal: Thermal Performance Considerations for Heat Rate and Resiliency
The thermal performance of the existing coal fleet can be improved by applying proven and reasonable cost mechanical tuning solutions. Coal power generation has many advantages when done with excellence in operations and maintenance. This article is based on my presentation to the EPRI Heat-Rate Conference last week and it is written for experienced electric…
-
One Hundred Twenty Quadrillion BTUs and The Need for Coal to Provide at Least 20 Quads of America’s Primary Energy-Part 1
Coal fuel should be included in the future electricity generation portfolio based on the laws of physics, available forms of primary energy, proven economics of electric power generation and the proven track record of coal power for providing reliable, dispatchable and affordable electricity generation. The CO2 Coalition’s Angela Wheeler interviewed me for the CO2 Coalitions…
-
Reality of 32,000 MW/Year of New Generation Demand. Solution: Build New Coal Plants Now!
Bulk Power Supply & Primary Energy: The term BULK POWER means just that, Bulk Power in hundreds and thousands of Megawatts. America needs huge Bulk Power generation additions of about 30,000 MW per year, not small scale R&D projects of variable generation or unproven new SMRs. Perhaps some time in the future renewables and new…
-
Five Reasons to Build New Coal Plants NOW! Coal Should Be Included as A Critical Fuel to Power America’s Future
We can call it a “Bridge Fuel” or just face the reality that it now takes over 100 Quadrillion BTUs of Primary Energy to Power America each year and that Primary Energy Demand will increase in the future. America is the Saudi Arabia of coal and we have the richest and highest quality coal on…
-
Energy is the Economy, Electricity is the Life-Blood of Western Civilization & Coal Can Make America’s Electricity Supply Great Again
For most of the U.S. during high electricity demand periods, natural gas, coal and nuclear provide the Primary energy to provide over 75% of America’s electricity. Here is an example from July 29, 2025 during a peak load of about 745,000 MW for the lower 48 states. The primary energy provided by gas, coal and…
Power for the U.S.A. 