Lindsay Morris, lindsaym@pennwell.com

Any time a renewable energy or natural gas advocate proclaims that gradually switching entirely to renewables or gas is the answer to the future of power generation, I can’t help but stifle a chuckle. If there’s anything the power industry has taught me over the last couple years, it’s that electricity is reliable and sustainable when it comes from a number of sources – not just one or two.

I like the way Keith Trent, group executive of Duke Energy, put it in this interview: “Play a diversity card; don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”

I admire what Duke Energy is doing. Currently, they have two coal projects, two natural gas projects, and 770 MW of wind under construction. That’s what I call a diversified portfolio.

Any utility that is leaning hard on low natural gas prices at this time is rolling the dice of chance. The energy industry has seen this scenario time and time again – gas prices plummet and there is a rush to build natural gas plants. But when prices escalate again, the plants ended up being run as peakers instead of base load.

Investment in some natural gas power isn’t a bad idea. And retiring a coal plant and switching to combined-cycle natural gas could help avoid a lot of rigmarole with the EPA. But don’t be surprised if the EPA decides to enforce more regulations on natural gas over time. Anyone who’s read five minutes worth of energy news in the last year knows that hydraulic fracturing is receiving a good deal of scrutiny.

New coal shouldn’t be completely out of the question. While the permitting of plants such as Sandy Creek has been met with great opposition in recent years, the environmental community should be the first to admit that the coal power of the future is not the coal power of decades past. Rules recently mandated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency seek to ensure that the coal of the future is as clean and environmentally harmless as possible. Coal is – cover your ears, Sierra Club – not going away. But it is becoming increasingly cleaner.

The clean, inexpensive (over the long haul) power that is nuclear shouldn’t be abandoned either. With the recent NRC grant to Southern Co.’s Plant Vogtle, it’s looking like the time is finally approaching to rebuild the supply chain for nuclear in the U.S. Plant Vogtle marks the first new nuclear commercial construction project in the U.S. in more than 30 years. Yes, the public may still have some apprehensions about the safety of nuclear post-Fukushima. But the NRC has taken extensive measures to ensure the safety of nuclear in the U.S., launching a task force to perform both a short- and long-term review of all nuclear power plants in the U.S. 

I would be remiss if I didn’t include the need for renewables in the future generation mix. Renewable energy is undoubtedly important. But in order for it to be successful in the U.S., it must continue to receive some government support until grid parity is reached. The potential expiration of the Production Tax Credit at the end of 2012 could be hugely detrimental to a wind industry that has seen great momentum as of late.

I applaud utilities that are seeking to add more renewables – as well as other forms of generation – to their portfolio. If the proverbial eggs are all in different proverbial baskets, then potential mishaps in electrical power generation will be more likely to be avoided.