Once upon a time a
person could enter any of fifty hotels in Pithole, Pennsylvania and pay for a
shot of
Today's Pithole 2.0,
known as the Marcellus shale gas play, seems poised to strike the death knell
for Pennsylvania coal with the endlessly abundant supply of this fracked
methane supply.
NPR Link: http://goo.gl/MzwI17
Power developers
have rushed into the region to build gas-fired combined cycle plants as
replacements for an aging fleet of coal-fired utilities across the state. The
claims being made for these projects are almost as epic as the Pithole story
must have been in 1860.
We are told that
shale gas-fired plants offer a more environmentally friendly; less carbon-laden
and more reliable approach to electrical production. But is that really true?
Natural gas burns
cleaner, they say. Gas is a natural partner to the renewable energy sector,
they say. What they don't say is that the full lifecycle of shale gas
production from spudding-in to production brings a myriad of serious
environmental and carbon impacts that rarely get mentioned- fugitive methane
emissions, to name but one. And, let's not forget that gas plants have no means
for onsite fuel storage like coal or nuclear facilities. If the fuel doesn't
arrive for any reason, the plant doesn't operate and that should dispel the
myth of reliability.
Seeking to displace
the availability and reliability of coal as a foundation fuel for Pennsylvania
and the PJM with a fuel source which could turn out to be another Pithole is
just not wise.
Let's not buy a shot
of whiskey with that gold coin just yet.
