Michigan Energy for the Future - An Editorial

Uranium (Nuclear Minerals) / Nuclear Power - Economics, Design, & Industry

Date posted: 03/19/15

John T. Greilick reports that like it or not, coal has a dwindling place in the Michigan energy future. Federal regulations assure that. Renewable forms of energy, nuclear power and natural gas will take its place, along with ramped up efforts to eliminate energy waste. The Governor adequately combined the state need to shift dependence off coal, largely because of tightening federal mandates with a market-driven approach to increasing efficiency and use of renewables. We want to respect the marketplace in terms of making sure it makes good economic sense, Snyder said. This is a solid way for Michigan to deal with the issue every state is balancing, particularly in light of strong-arming from the U.S. EPA, regarding energy affordability and environmental concerns. Michigan per-capita energy usage is 38 per cent above the national average because of the its heavy industrial base, and users here pay 6 percent more for heat and electricity than others. The state also relies on coal more than most states, generating 59 percent of its electricity from the fossil fuel. Snyder said the state should decrease that to between 34 and 43 percent over the next 10 years. That makes sense. Many coal plants are too old to be cost-effectively retrofitted to meet new EPA requirements. And increasing reliance on nuclear, ramping up natural gas and renewables and minimizing energy waste should help the state close the gap. If current prices are any indication, natural gas will likely be the more affordable option for the next decade. Still, Snyder envisions clean energy nuclear and renewables will make up 30 percent of the state power generation, an amount roughly equal to what natural gas will produce. Renewables do not provide base load energy at this point, so they will likely always be a secondary power source in the foreseeable future, but an important one. Siting windmills is also a challenge and have developed public push-back.