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Consultant: Green power a threat to W.Va. coal – Forbes.com

Associated PressConsultant: Green power a threat to W.Va. coal
Forbes.com By VICKI SMITH 10.16.08, 8:41 AM ET MORGANTOWN, W.Va. –

Solar power plants and other renewable energy sources are real, competitive threats that neither the coal industry nor the state’s political and academic leaders should dismiss, a consultant warned Wednesday at the second West Virginia Coal Forum.

While the carbon in coal has many potential applications, its future as a fossil fuel to be burned for electricity is limited, said Allan Tweddle, a member of the West Virginia Public Energy Authority.

In a discussion focused mainly on ways to ensure that West Virginia coal remains a prominent part of the nation’s energy plan, Tweddle was a splash of cold water to the face.

Germany has abandoned the coal-to-liquid fuel technology it pioneered, he said, opting instead to focus on solar power plants. South Africa, which has had the world’s largest continuously operating coal-to-liquids plant, is now planning to shut it down.

Simultaneously, the worldwide solar cell industry is growing 35 percent a year, with China spending $3 billion a year, Tweddle said. And California is looking into on-demand solar plants that he said could produce electricity that is price-competitive with coal-fired power plants.

All that growth is lowering the cost of silicone, a key ingredient that had made solar power more expensive, Tweddle said.

“The state has got to pay attention to these serious trends,” he warned. “I hear too much dismissal of these technologies.”

Consultant: Green power a threat to W.Va. coal – Forbes.com

Tags: renewables, nuclear, antinuclear, radioactive, uranium

October 17, 2008 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | ENERGY