The Trump administration has announced plans to build two new coal plants in the US, one in West Virginia and one in Alaska, with a total cost of over $18 billion. The plants will be equipped with carbon capture technology, which is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Cost and Feasibility

However, experts have raised concerns about the high cost of building coal plants with carbon capture technology, which could be as much as $10 billion for a single plant. This is more than double the cost of building a natural gas plant with carbon capture, and more than four times the cost of establishing new solar power.

The cost of the power generated by these plants will also be higher than other forms of energy, making it less competitive in the market. Energy data analyst Seth Feaster said, “My baseline reaction is these plants will never get built. The cost of that power is going to be far higher than the other forms of energy that are out there, including gas, solar and wind.”

Reliability Concerns

Additionally, there are concerns about the reliability of coal plants. Two recently built coal plants, Comanche Unit 3 in Colorado and Sandy Creek in Texas, have experienced severe mechanical issues and outages, leading to increased costs and reduced reliability.

Phil Wagner, associate director of research and analysis at energy consulting company McCloskey by OPIS, said, “If it can be done, it’s going to be put on natural gas plants first. They’re already lower cost; they’re already 40% of the power grid. It’s less carbon to capture.”

Original reporting: KRDO (Colorado Springs metro) — read the source article.