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Warnings of rate hikes as Oregon becomes 1st state to kill coal
[FOXNEWS] The massive coal-fired plant in Boardman, Ore., is just four years away from being shut down for good ‐ at that point, Oregon coal production will be no more, after the state became the first in the nation to completely ban coal power.The mandate, signed into law earlier this year, was the result of an environmentalist-fueled push by the Democrat-controlled legislature. Under the plan, coal production will end once the Boardman plant shutters in 2020 ‐ utilities would still be able to buy coal power from out of state for another 10 years, until a 2030 deadline to end coal use entirely. But the phase-out already has groups warning that residents are headed for big rate increases and brownouts. "This is basically a wind mandate," said the Cascade Policy Institute's John Charles, while suggesting alternative energy sources won’t be able to meet the state’s needs. "There's no way wind can physically power the grid because days, weeks on end, wind produces zero." Coal has been in decline for years. In 2005, coal made up 51 percent of the electricity used in the U.S. Last year, it met 40 percent of the need. Posted by: Fred 2016-08-25 |
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