THE GREAT U.S. ENERGY SHIFT

5 Charts That Explain the Great Energy Shift; The rise of fracking and the decline of coal

Todd Woody, November 4, 2013 (The Atlantic)

“The United States is undergoing the greatest revolution in energy production in decades thanks to the shale-gas boom and the rise of renewable energy…The lure of cheap natural gas has led utilities to shutter aging and carbon-spewing coal-fired power plants…Pending federal emissions regulations make it unlikely that any new coal plants will get built…while state renewable energy mandates and the declining cost of solar and wind technologies have triggered a boom in green power…Power plants are multibillion-dollar investments…designed to operate for decades…[T]hose natural gas-fired power plants and solar and wind farms coming online now will be fueling the economy for a good chunk of the 21st century…A lot of the dirty coal plants are more than thirty years old.” click here for more

click to enlarge

Tweet