By Mark A. Shilling Southern States Energy Board
The debate about electricity generation has become focused almost singularly on which fuel source creates the greatest number of jobs & how we ought to ensure those jobs through government mandates and forced choices.
Jobs are important but what America needs is a comprehensive energy policy that allows for diverse sustainable electricity generation by incentivizing innovation in all fuel sources; not picking winners and losers through overly broad and impractical government requirements.
Recently a coalition made up of labor unions the environmental community and renewable energy trade associations reiterated their long-standing call for a national Renewable Electricity Standard (RES).
Specifically they are demanding that utilities provide a minimum of 25 of their power generation from renewable sources such as wind and solar. Its a goal that is noble in theory but unrealistic in reality. Although an important part of our modern energy portfolio wind and solar are intermittent resources; they are only effective when the wind blows and the sun shines and only available in limited parts of the country.
The coalitions rationale as expressed in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is that
an RES would provide a down-payment on carbon reduction goals save and create jobs and keep America competitive."
One of the signers the Union of Concerned Scientists recently took issue with the nuclear industry-backed Clean & Safe Energy Coalition on their own declaration of substantial job creation resulting from expansion of nuclear power generation. Both claim their respective pet sources will create more jobs and deserve special government support. Unfortunately both parties chose to focus only on their selfish interests and missed an important opportunity to support a well-balanced energy strategy that keeps us free from dependence on any particular source and ensures the power we need will be available when we need it. While the Union of Concerned Scientist and the Clean and Safe Energy Coalition should be lauded for their interest in jobs economic and environmental prosperity they have all missed what is arguably the most important part of the discussion: How do we create an energy supply that meets those goals and remains affordable reliable and sustainable? According to the US Department of Energys Energy Information Administration (EIA) global energy consumption is expected to double from approximately 16 to 32 terawatts by 2050. (One terawatt is the equivalent of one billion kilowatts.) Energy demand in the US is about 25 of that figure. The EIA has forecast our need for an additional 135000 MW of new generation capacity within the next ten years alone. Meeting that demand will require just about every megawatt we can produce whether from base load coal and natural gas rooftop solar or continued expansion of our world-class utility-scale wind generation. Without embracing all available
energy sources America stands at serious risk of electric power rationing rolling blackouts and a general reliability crisis.
This is evident in recent reports of power usage hitting all time highs across the south and midwest United States to the eastern seaboard.
Even the Union of Concerned Scientists admits that renewables alone cant meet demand stating No single solution can meet our societys future energy needs" and that the answer lies in a family of diverse energy technologies."
We have little control over the availability of most renewable energy sources so to mandate an across the board minimum presents at best a scheduling dilemma. Oil and natural gas prices are volatile and unpredictable highly sensitive to world markets over which Americans have little control.
Outside of the high regulatory costs and long timeline necessary for putting a reactor online nuclear power is arguably green efficient and affordable and advances in coal technology are continuing to improve both its efficiency and emissions footprint.
In fact the Environmental Protection Agency announced this week that emission from coal-fired power plants have been reduced by 36 since 2008.
Clearly there are benefits and disadvantages to all available energy sources and even attempting to rely on one over another or require one over the other is a recipe for an electricity crisis of astronomical proportions.
We live in the most innovative technologically advanced country in the world. We should embrace the potential of renewable energy to become more affordable 
efficient and reliable as well as the continued potential of carbon-based energy to zero out its environmental impact.
There is more than enough room at the table and it is time to stop being parochial about which energy source is better or produces more jobs. Jobs are created when economies prosper and it takes affordable reliable and abundant power to drive our economy.
We can have a diverse balanced mix of wind and coal nuclear natural gas solar and biomass all working together to drive a nation where the vibrant and well-energized economy creates the jobs; not where government creates simply picks the winner with mandates.
Mark Shilling is a public affairs professional in Austin TX. A fan of renewable energy he gets up to 40 of his electricity from a rooftop solar system but only when the sun is shining. Shilling serves as special counsel to the Southern States Energy Board an interstate compact organization of 16 southern states and two US territories. Southern States Energy Boards mission is to enhance economic development & quality of life through innovations in energy and environmental policies.
