Leaked DOE Finds New Energy Beats Old Energy

Coal and nuclear are uneconomic — more bombshells from Perry’s draft grid study; “High levels of wind penetration can be integrated into the grid without harming reliability.”

Joe Romm, July 17, 2017 (ThinkProgress)

“…[A leaked July draft of Energy Secretary Rick Perry’s grid study debunks his attack on renewable energy…[Its findings] are fairly well known to energy experts but may come as an unpleasant surprise to Perry and the White House. For instance, a large fraction of America’s aging fleet of coal and nuclear plants are simply not economic to operate anymore…The release of the study has been delayed several weeks — and the findings in the draft might explain why.

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The study was specifically requested to back up Perry’s claims that EPA regulations, along with renewable power sources like solar and wind power, were undermining the U.S. electric grid’s reliability…But the leaked July draft concludes the grid is as reliable than ever…[and finds that since 2002, most baseload power plant retirements have been due] to relatively high operating cost…It’s increasingly clear that, for the foreseeable future, gas prices will stay low, demand growth will stay lower (thanks in large part to energy efficiency), and renewables will keep getting cheaper. And it doesn’t make sense to keep an uneconomic plant running when you know it’s going to keep losing money…” click here for more

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