Tag: Energy
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Advantages Of Coal Fuel for Electricity Generation
It is now officially winter. I think this is an appropriate time to review eleven advantages of coal fuel for electric power generation. Coal is Proven because it provided nearly 50% of America’s electricity generation up till about 2012. The peak year for coal production was 2008 when America produced over 1 billion tons of…
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Ten Hard Truths of S.C. Electricity-The Lifeblood of the Economy
There are a number of states that are on a path to higher electricity bills and less reliability, including S.C. Why? Because the S.C. Governor and the Legislature are still stuck on Net Zero Carbon. I thought it might be informative to list 10 unpopular truths: Hard Truths that Apply to S.C. as Well as…
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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…
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Some Red States Still Embrace the Green New Deal; Including “Usually Conservative” South Carolina
Anti-American, pro-CCP energy policies are not limited to Blue states. We expect foolish energy policies from California, Hawaii, Massachussetts, CT, ME and NY but not so much in “Red States” like South Carolina. S.C. is one of the most Conservative states in the U.S. However the S.C. political leaders have drank the “Green Kool Aid”…
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SWAMP People and Organizations Against Making America Great, Foreign & Domestic
About three decades ago I became curious of those people and organizations that seemed to work in earnest against the best interests of the U.S.A. My interest began with EPA “Violations of New Source Review” How did they affect me? It was directly. Myself and our team were consulting and providing performance improving modifications (“modifications”…
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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…
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The Solution to the Nation’s Coming Electricity Reliability Crisis: Build New Coal Plants! Part 2
President Trump’s acknowledgement of the importance of energy at the Pittsburgh Energy and AI Summit is appreciated. My suggestion to Governor Shapiro and state Legislators in the Great State of Pennsylvania is: Remove the Regulatory Obstacles that stand in the way of building new coal plants. Just a day before President Trump’s Summit, I presented…
