Green Power a Real Threat to King Coal

On Oct. 16 the Associated Press reported:

	Wind power - a rainbow of hope to a carbon-free future

Solar power plants and other renewable energy sources are real, competitive threats that neither the coal industry nor the states 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 nations energy plan, Tweddle was a splash of cold water in 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 worlds 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.