By Kevin Collins

President and CEO

 

This morning’s Washington Post business section looks at the controversy surrounding new coal fired power plants in the article, “Coal Rush Reverses, Power Firms Follow; Plans for New Plants Stalled by Growing Opposition (www.washingtonpost.com).” In this story, staff writer Steven Mufson describes the backlash against new coal-fired power plant projects in Montana, Nevada, Illinois, Florida, and Colorado from legislators, financial backers, and consumers. 

 

This rush to judgment will soon encounter the hard reality of meeting electricity demand in this country for the next 50 years—and Evergreen is ready to step in with an immediate solution.

 

Conservation? Yes. Wind, solar, and renewable? Yes, Yes and Yes. But the Energy Information Administration projects U.S. electricity demand will rise 41% between 2005 and 2030. That same report says renewables will only address 9% of that increase. (Link To EIA Report) How will we adapt?

 

All realistic projections suggest coal will continue to generate large amounts of our electricity for years. If it’s to be part of our energy portfolio now and tomorrow, let’s make it as clean as possible as soon as possible. We don’t have to wait for untested technologies that hold promise but are years from wide scale deployment.

 

New plants or existing ones--K-Fuel® and K-Direct SM can lower emissions and raise efficiency right now with an immediately available technology.

 

Whether it’s before Congress, state legislatures, independent organizations or the media, we’re making sure they know about our solution. In April we briefed the Post’s Steven Mufson about K-Fuel’s ® advantages. We’ve testified before Congress, met with federal agency officials, reached out to states and interested third parties.

 

Everyone who hears our story likes it.  Every customer who’s tried our refined coal likes it.  I think that if all of us at Evergreen keep pushing as hard as we can to execute and deliver, it’s only a matter of time before the problem comes to us – and we will be ready.