Sometimes our perceptions become skewed by what we hear or read in the news. Headlines often emphasize problems and concerns but rarely celebrate the slow, constant progress made by business or industry. We often need a reality check, or an opportunity to look at the facts and adjust our perception. I hope you’ll take a few moments to look at the electric power industry as I see it.
Production of U.S. electric power is cleaner than it’s ever been, by a lot. Sounds like a bold claim, but it’s true by every measure. Since 1990, emissions of regulated pollutants from the production of electricity have steadily decreased. Depending on the factors measured, we produce one-third more electricity today, with 65 percent to 80 percent lower emissions, as compared to 1990. That’s correct — in 2015, we produced about one-third more electricity than we did a quarter of a century earlier, with far fewer emissions.
You might wonder how we did it. Like many accomplishments, the reduction of emissions is the result of hard, concentrated effort. The technology used to scrub pollutants from power plant smoke stacks has improved dramatically throughout the past 25 years. Coal-burning power plant efficiencies have been enhanced, which typically reduces emissions by about 90 percent. Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives have been at the forefront of the charge.
New supplies from shale formations have made natural gas more available and less expensive. As a result, some older, coal-fired plants have been replaced by new, cleaner-burning natural gas-fired power plants. In fact, it is expected that in 2016, we’ll produce more electricity from natural gas than from coal. That’s a first. As recently as 2005, more than half of the electricity produced in the U.S. was from coal. Today, that figure stands at about 33 percent.
Renewable energy sources have been on the rise, as well. As of 2015, hydropower has remained at about six percent of U.S. power generation, while electric production from wind and solar power sources has grown from about two percent to more than eight percent of the nation’s total. Ohio’s electric cooperatives have been regularly adding renewable energy sources, too.
Regardless of what you may have heard, facts are facts. The U.S. electric power system remains the envy of the world. The powerful combination of safe, reliable delivery and clean, affordable production makes our electric power system world-class. That fact may not make headlines, but it’s good news for those of us who use electricity every day.
