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Coal's Time Is Nigh, and Industry Insiders Know It

Coal is terrible. It's terrible for human health, for the planet's climate, for any mountain that might prefer to maintain its top. But since it's also been pretty invisible to those who rely on the power derived from burning it, coal has gotten...

Coal is terrible. It’s terrible for human health, for the planet’s climate, for any mountain that might prefer to maintain its top. But since it’s also been pretty invisible to those who rely on the power derived from burning it, coal has gotten something of a pass in the popular imagination.

Which creates an interesting disconnect in what we like to perceive as our hyper-modern society: We fawn over our high tech toys and appliances, yet the electricity that runs them comes from shoveling coal into rusty old power plants. Now, over the last decade, coal’s role in exacerbating climate change has thrust it a bit further into the spotlight. Environmental groups like the Sierra Club and Greenpeace targeted coal plants in wide-ranging campaigns. Greater scrutiny has been heaped on pollution output, and international concern about global warming has stigmatized the black stuff.

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Furthermore, anyone who respects and pays attention to climate science knows that coal has got to go. Coal-fired power plants are a leading driver of global warming worldwide, and the world is waking up to the fact that it’s imperative we find and deploy alternatives. But even as the activists organized, the science piled up, and popular opinion coalesced around taking action, utilities and energy companies fought the mounting pressure to pivot away from coal. The industry seemed insulated from the entreaties outlined above, and confident that coal-fired power was the only game in town. They battled climate bills, lobbied for “clean coal,” and underwrote think tanks and other operations to disseminate confusion.

But now, it looks like even stodgy old energy company executives are starting to admit that coal’s time is running out:

“The industry's view on coal is rapidly changing. Last year, 81.5 percent stated that they believe there is a future for coal in the United States "when fiscal realities are fully considered." This year, less than 60 percent believe this statement.”

That’s a fascinating finding from the annual Black & Veatch poll, which asks energy industry insiders to disclose their thoughts on the future of the sector. It’s evidence that some cold realities are finally sinking in, even for the most resistant, entrenched parties.

As Philip Bump writes in Grist, “These are executives of companies who stand astride the business world, sitting atop a massive pyramid of success. People in such positions usually only recognize the path they took to the top — and they usually pooh-pooh other pyramids being built around them as insubstantial, doomed to fail.”

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And that transformation in thinking is the result of a web of various actions: a lot of hard work from activists and organizers, who helped to spread the word about the ills of coal, the grudging acknowledgement that one way or another, tougher emissions regulations are on the way, and the increasing cost competitiveness of alternate power sources.

Here’s a bit more on the industry’s evolving attitudes:

  • Utility leaders are starting to "see gold" in green programs. The industry's view on renewable energy is shifting from one of doubt to one of opportunity.
    More than two-thirds of respondents stated that renewables could provide benefits in the form of customer and regulatory relations, investment incentives and future revenue generation.
  • More than 40 percent have begun the process to modify their service models to account for distributed generation resources, such as rooftop solar.
  • Utility leaders, on average, estimate that electric vehicles will account for 7 percent of overall electric load by 2025. The 7 percent projection, however, requires exponential growth in electric vehicle sales.

It’s about time. That utility bigwigs are admitting to seeing promise in renewables and letting their allegiance to coal wane is one of the surest signs yet that we’re finally ready to upgrade the industrial engine of the 20th century with some better technology.

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