The combination of low natural gas prices, low (and now, negative) demand growth, and dropping cost of renewables have been driving coal out of the market. In addition, the COVID pandemic has reduced energy demand from what it otherwise would have been. This has reinforced decisions by many utilities to move away from coal and toward renewables. Even back in 2018 the CEO of Vistra Energy stated on Jim Cramer’s Mad Money that, “coal is on its way out”. Over two years later that message is even more correct.

As I mentioned several years ago in my description of the Shifting Sands program, the electric energy industry is changing toward cleaner energy and away from the large, fossil generating sources. In a number of decades it will seem as strange to make electricity with coal as it is to heat a house with coal. The fossil plants will still be there. But, these will be natural gas fired, and perhaps even hydrogen fueled. But, I believe that even natural gas will eventually go away as battery technology evolves and renewables can become dispatchable.

This will result in major changes to the transmission grid, as transmission ...

Welcome to the new ATP web site. It was recently redesigned. While I generally kept the same format, there are several improvements that utilize more current technology than the old site. In this time of the COVID 19 pandemic we are observing changes that I believe will have long term consequences for energy. Trends that have been underway for a decade or more are going to be accelerated. The trend that I am referring to is the decline in demand for central station electric power generation. I am not saying the demand for electricity in the US is dropping, but for generation it has been and future growth will certainly be less than in the past. Demand for electricity from power plants has been flat or even declining for a decade or so. This has largely been the result of energy efficiency measures and a shift away from energy intensive activity to less energy intensive businesses. Along with less expensive natural gas that has made natural gas fired generation more economical, flat energy demand and other cheaper alternatives are forcing coal out of the marketplace. I am of the view that the COVID pandemic will have a negative impact on ...