CBS' 60 Minutes didn't break any news with its report on the dilemma posed by coal-fired power plants. It was probably inevitable that they would look into the fascinating contradictions posed by Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers. For a man who make a lot of money emitting greenhouse gases into the planet's biosphere, he sure seems to grok the climate crisis. And he seems to be sincere about transforming his business into a carbon-neutral supplier of electriticy.
When it comes to walking the walk, though ...
"Controlling carbon emissions in the near future is inevitable in your view. This is going to happen," [CBS correspondent Scott] Pelley remarked."It's inevitable in my judgment," Rogers agreed.
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"Our goal line is substantially to reduce our carbon footprint, to de-carbonize our business, by 2050," he explained.
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Asked how much Duke Energy has invested in carbon sequestration technology so far," Rogers said, "We have not invested any dollars in the technology, per say. We have spent a lot of time and money reviewing and analyzing the various technologies."
"But come on, you admit to being the third largest carbon producer in the United States. You tell me that carbon sequestration is the future, because we can't afford to live without coal. But then you tell me you haven't invested any money in carbon sequestration," Pelley remarked.
"While we haven't spent the money on sequestration technology we spent the time and the energy and we're going to co-invest with the government when this technology evolves," Rogers explained.
You can watch the full report here. Sadly, it give the last word to the wrong Jim. Instead of leaving viewers with warning from NASA climatologist Jim Hansen about the threat posed by coal and the need to stop building coal-fired plants immediately, the man who is building two of them right now responds with
"I say, 'Mr. Hansen, can't get done, won't get done,'" Rogers replied. "We've got to keep our economy going. We've got to make the transition. And I'm gonna do everything I can with the greatest sense of urgency to make the transition. But to do what you ask me to do now is just not doable."
Curiously, just a few days before Sunday's 60 Minutes broadcast, the UK government announced that it's not waiting for industry to figure out how to capture and sequester carbon;
Any new coal-fired power stations built in Britain will have to be fitted with cutting-edge technology to capture their carbon emissions, the Government announced yesterday in a revolution in energy policy.
Given that context, along with the desire for a more dramatic closing quote, here's the interview excerpt I would have ended with, one that emphasizes phyiscal reality more than profit motives;
"Are you saying we can't build any new coal fired power plants in this country?" Pelley asked.
"Absolutely, not only in this country, but in the world. This is not yet understood. We are going to have to have a moratorium on new coal-fired power plants within the next few years and phase out the existing ones over the next 20 years or so if we have to preserve the climate like the one that has existed the last several thousand years," Hansen said.
You know, Jim Rogers will hasten to tell you he does share your sense of urgency," Pelley remarked.
"Well, his plan doesn't match that," Hansen replied.
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Duke energy, and any other company for that matter, is unlikely to spend large amounts of money on carbon sequestration until they are compelled to by some regulation. They would have to increase their rates charged to their customers to cover the development expenses. Rate increase requests are bad for business if you are a utility. Either state commissions will simply not grant increases or customers will abandon the utility as fast as possible. Everybody wants the power companies to do something but nobody wants to help pay for it.
It would be nice if we could just abandon coal immediately but the engineering obstacles are immense and it will be very expensive. The only way to stop burning coal quickly is to convince the American public to cough up a lot of money. I just don't see this happening very soon.
Gary's comment is right on the money. Everyone wants to do something, but no wants to be the one to pay for it or they figure that some kind of magical technological fix will come along that will solve it and won't cost any extra.
There does have to be a business reason to do something. If the government does not impose costs on Duke and allow them to pass those costs on to consumers there is no way Duke can make a business case to self impose those costs.