“Improbable” Transformation is Underway

By Janet Gellici, CAE, Chief Executive Officer, American Coal Council

In June of this year, I had the opportunity to participate in a National Women’s Leadership Summit in Anchorage, Alaska, hosted by The Louisiana Center for Women & Government and chaired by Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA). I was invited to speak on a panel that posed the question – Is it possible to replace American energy that comes from fossil fuels?

It was quite obvious to me that the answer is, in a word, “no.” In preparing my presentation, however, I realized that not everyone finds the answer to this question to be quite so obvious. There were, in fact, a number of women at the Summit who believe that renewable energy resources can and will replace coal, oil and natural gas ~ some even believe that this will happen in the near term; that conservation and efficiency initiatives will preclude the need for fossil energy in the future; and that all sources of biomass and biofuels are carbon neutral.

I’d say the folks that believed these things were in the minority at the Summit. In fact, I was impressed by the pragmatism of those in attendance ~ especially those who lived and worked in Alaska ~ regarding the need to balance developmental and environmental objectives. In that sense, Anchorage was the perfect setting for the Summit. The surrounding mountain peaks, pristine water and abundant wildlife, co-existing with Alaskan residents’ efforts to thrive in an at-times challenging environment, were very visible reminders of how important it is for us to address our national economic, energy and environmental goals in concert.

I noticed that those not necessarily sharing these more pragmatic perspectives were also cynical about our ability to develop and deploy clean coal technologies. They doubted the value of these clean energy investments for job creation, for the advancement of U.S. export trade, and for our national security.

Oscar Wilde once noted that the world seems divided into two categories ~ those who believe the impossible and those who do the improbable. Although a promising source of supplemental electricity, how is it possible that renewable power which comprises less than 1% of our energy can be considered a practical replacement for coal? Although its contribution to meeting demand will likely provide a cost-effective and immediate benefit, how is it possible that energy efficiency can stem the burgeoning requirement for electric power?