"A New Inconvenient Truth"

by Gary Reinhold-President
Reinhold Environmental

A lot has happened since Al Gore's documentary movie "An Inconvenient Truth" aired in 2006. Gore described the greenhouse effect and how changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations contribute to global warming. Concern about the long term effects formed the basis of EPA legislation to limit the amount of CO2 emitted from coal-fired power plants.

Admittedly, based upon EIA data, electricity demand remained flat from 2006 thru 2020, so closing coal-fired power plants and replacing them with wind and solar generation seemed like the sensible and environmentally correct thing to do for the future.

But suddenly "A New Inconvenient Truth" which is more urgent than global warming has emerged. Last summer's heat wave and last winter's polar vortex made it painfully obvious that, in part due to the rapid closing of coal-fired units, there is marginal connected generation to the national grids to provide continuous reliable electricity even for air conditioning and heating. But adding to those concerns are the surge in new data centers. Projected data center driven load growth has tripled from 58 to 176 TWh between 2014 and 2023 and is expected to increase between 325 to 580 TWh by 2028 according to a December 2024 report released by DOE.

Over the short term, where will all of that power come from? Lead times for new gas turbines are around 5 years. And the time to implement a working SMR is at least that long. Furthermore, many tax and federal governmental incentives for wind and solar have been eliminated. So, the only answer seems to be "delay closing any operating coal fired units" and "start running them based loaded instead of as peakers."

Oh? But many of the remaining coal-fired units have not been maintained in anticipation of imminent closings. Where are the industry experts who can help keep them running for the next five years? Many have retired or switched to other career opportunities. But one shining beacon in the darkness remains. The 2026 Reinhold/PCUG Conference from June 22nd-25th. Over 300 attendees will meet in Nashville, TN to discuss O&M for coal and natural gas-fired environmental controls. And next year there will be a 2027 Reinhold/PCUG Conference in Charleston, SC. Don't miss these important technical training and discussion opportunities!