“Small, modular, coal-fired power plants?” Come on, DOE. This doesn’t even pass the laugh test.
Secy. Rick Perry may not know much about coal, but surely there are people who work for him, who are not Trump apparatchiks, who know something about coal. Clearly Angelos Kokkinos, head of DOE’s fossil energy division, knows coal. He presented a paper in September 2016 outlining DOE’s coal priorities. Small, modular coal plants didn’t make appearance in the 18-page Powerpoint presentation.
This history of coal-fired electric generation demonstrates that economies of scale are real. Over the years, coal plants have evolved from small, localized, dirty units to large, centralized, and much cleaner stations. They are expensive to build, require careful operations, but produce electricity very efficiently.
But DOE last Tuesday issued a notice that it intends to request proposals for what it calls its “Coal FIRST” research and development program. FIRST refers to “Flexible, Innovative, Resilient, Small, Transformative,” all worthwhile, but pie-in-the-sky goals. What are the likely characteristics of small coal plants? Very high capital costs compared to large units. Crappy heat rates. Large parasitic loads to reduce conventional criteria pollutants. No impact on CO2 emissions.
DOE officials have also said they see small coal as a backstop to intermittent solar and wind. When the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine, mini-coal will fire up to fill the power void. But this is a lousy way to burn coal and natural gas does the job much better.
There is the distinct odor of political stunt about DOE’s intent to solicit bids for 50-350-MW coal units. So far, the Trump administration has utterly failed to produce policies that protect coal and coal jobs, as Trump promised with gusto during the 2016 campaign. This program looks like a smoke and mirrors attempt to hide that fact.
Lending credence to the notion that Coal FIRST is more about politics than coal, Reuters reported last week, “The Trump administration plans to set up a side-event promoting fossil fuels at the annual U.N. climate talks next month, repeating a strategy that infuriated global-warming activists during last year’s talks, according to three people with knowledge of the matter.”
The Reuters article specifically makes the link between the upcoming climate talks in coal-dominated Katowice, Poland, and the Coal FIRST initiative. “The Energy Department has touted technologies including small scale ‘modular’ coal plants that could burn the fuel more efficiently and step in when clouds and calm weather limit solar and wind power,” the article said.
According to Reuters, the Trump coal sideshow in Katowice is expected to be led by Wells Griffith, the president’s climate and energy guru. After serving in Trump’s presidential campaign, he became DOE’s international affairs chief. Reuters said, “Griffith’s main energy policy experience involves a year at a political job at the Department of Energy and helping to set up a deal last year to supply Ukraine with U.S. coal after the country lost control of mines to Russian-backed separatists.”
— Kennedy Maize