Freudenthal says replacing coal with wind “Ain’t going to happen”
In response to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s recent comments that the offshore wind energy resource in the United States could potentially provide 25% of our electricity and replace the need for coal-fired power generation, Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal balked, telling reporters: “Ain’t going to happen.”
At an impromptu press conference in Cheyenne on Wednesday, Freudenthal said Salazar’s comments were a “dumb thing to say,” and said he hoped Salazar would learn the wisdom of “not making gratuitous statements.”
Wyoming is the biggest coal-producing state in the U.S., producing more than 450 million tons of coal in 2007, or nearly 40 percent of the country’s coal.
Freudenthal is a Democrat, (some might refer to him as a “DINO”, a Democrat In Name Only) and his environmental politics are not exactly in lock step with the majority of the party. His positions on wolf eradication and supporting the use of snowmobiles in Yellowstone National Park, are two such examples of him going against the majority of his own party.
However, by not fully recognizing “clean coal” and carbon capture and sequestration projects in his remarks about offshore wind power, it was Salazar that was somehow going against the grain of the Obama administration, according to Freudenthal. Freudenthal added that the importance of coal in the nation’s energy mix is a reality, ‘despite any creative hypotheticals by those in the Beltway.’
So let me get this straight. Secretary Salazar spent the first fifty years of his life in Colorado, was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006, served a short two-year stint and was tapped by President Obama to be Interior Secretary in late 2008. At what point in that timeline did Salazar become a Beltway insider? Was it in the two years before he became Interior Secretary, or has it been in the three months since?
Image: rpeschetz via flickr under a Creative Commons license
About Timothy B. Hurst
Gee people visiting Yellowstone by snowmobile in the winter shouldn't be a political issue. The snowmobiles are all regulated and guides are required leading them through the park to see the beauty and majesty of the park with no lasting impact on the park.
In fact there are motorcycle engines in snowmobiles that aren't allowed in the park as a snowmobile but there is no second thought in allowing those same engines to tour the park in the summer in a motorcycle so it makes you aware that banning snowmobiles isn't about protecting the environment.
As someone whose extended family are mostly coal miners in Wyoming, I can say that they don't care where their paycheck comes from. If a wind turbine manufacturer moved into town and offered a job that pays the same, with the same benefits, and was less stressful, they'd all start doing that. I think Governor Dave is rightfully worried about jobs in his state, but should stop listening to the execs at Peabody and Rio Tinto and start listening to the coal workers themselves.
YNP4-
Sounds like you are familiar with the snowmobiles in Yellowstone issue. Then I shouldn't need to explain to you about winter inversions and how they trap exhaust from snowmobiles close to the ground and the valley floor, creating major air pollution problems.
As far as newer cleaner-burning snow-machine engines being lumped in the same category with the traditional engines, you are absolutely right. So, while I disagree that it is not about protecting the environment, I agree that the rules could be rewritten to be more adaptive and allow some motorized use.
Dave-
I think you're right. I also think Freudenthal is using a scare tactic that has become popular among many of the entrenched energy interests – and that is saying something along the lines of: "wind and solar simply can not replace coal right now" – and no one is arguing that. But what Salazar (and he's not even the best example because Salazar is clearly in the camp of supporting carbon and capture research) and others are trying to do is create a place for renewables as legitimate parts of our energy mix.
David is right. Wind farms will not take jobs and money away from Wyoming's economy. There is still a large demand for coal. At worst, wind farms will only transfer the coal jobs to healthier environments. There's one proposed for White Mountain (http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Wyoming-Wind-Energy/73644966868), and research indicates it will create more than 300 jobs (permanent and temporary) and more than $50 million in direct tax revenue.
Better yet, it creates a more sustainable economy. While the state may run short on coal, there will always be wind.