Capital Power Plant, the clean energy dilema

[Gary_C]

Congress needs to clean up it's own backyard before they start forcing changes elswhere.

http://apnews.myway.com//article/20090301/D96L8JU80.html

Capitol power plant dims clean energy hopes

WASHINGTON (AP) - As Congress tries to clean up the nation's energy sources and cut gases blamed for global warming, it is struggling to do so in its own backyard.

The Capitol Power Plant, a 99-year-old facility that heats and cools the hallowed halls of Congress, still burns coal and accounts for one-third of the legislative branch's greenhouse gas emissions. For a decade, lawmakers have attempted to clean it up.

In recent years, Congress has reduced its energy consumption. The steam and chilled-water power plant has become more efficient. It now burns more natural gas and only 35 percent coal, compared with 49 percent in 2007.

But Congress is running out of options to make the plant fully green. Also, there are questions about whether it can afford to keep paying to use the extra natural gas, which burns cleaner than coal.

The plant's story is one that is likely to play out across the United States as Congress looks to limit greenhouse gases and require more of the country's energy to come from wind, solar and other renewable sources.

The issues hampering the cleanup - politics, cost and technological barriers - could trip up similar efforts elsewhere. The U.S. counts on coal-fired power plants for about half of its electricity; the plants are also the biggest source of heat-trapping gases.

So if Congress cannot act locally, as the environmental slogan goes, how can it begin to think globally?

What Congress has done in the past is buy carbon credits for the outdated power plant and most recently has switched some coal to natural gas. The only real solution at this point is to burn all natural gas at four times the cost.

So it's one thing for the government to OK a solution that increases fuel costs by a factor of four, but you know what will happen if they demand coal plants across the country to do the same.

You know who will be paying thru the nose for clean electricity. 

[rowerwet]

put in a nuke plant if all you are worried about is so called greenhouse gas. I think nuclear is the answer to our energy needs, save all that gas and crude for transportation where it is the best answer.
If congress hadn't made reprocessing spent fuel off limits for us, we could have a better nuclear industry than France. Amazing that France is the model for us, but that is what you get when you let the left wing media influence us. (thanks a lot jane fonda)

[underdog]

Oh they are working on fixing there problem.
In there infinite wisdom rather than invest in ways to burn coal cleaner.
They have figured out that cap and trade could make them alot of revenue.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/06/cap_and_trade_trap.html
http://seekingalpha.com/article/98934-cap-and-trade-in-the-u-s
So rather than companies paying for a solution to the problem, they will be spending most of there time buying and selling these credits.
This looks prime for a few to make alot of money off it.
Maybe there will be another Enron grow out of this.