Energy Risk & the End of Coal?

Energy Risk & the End of Coal?
What does the closing of coal fired power plants mean for baseload power?

The shale gas revolution has resulted in unprecedented low natural gas prices. Increasingly, power operators have been turning off their coal fired power plants in order to switch to the abundant natural gas. The risks of brownouts and perhaps even blackouts on weekdays challenged by extreme weather loom as a growing risk that could trigger a backlash against emissions regulations, renewable sources of electricity and competitive power markets.

Is there enough natural gas that is findable and deliverable to plug most of the gap created by the projected closure of 25.5 gigawatts (GW) of U.S. generating capacity between now and year-end 2015? That's the big question The Energy Collective brought together in our newest webcast to explore. Among others, we discussed:

• What are the origins of this? Why are we closing 25 Megawatts of generating capacity in just three years?
• How much new natural gas can fill the gap?
• Is there even enough natural gas pipeline capacity available?

Branko Terzic is currently Executive Director of Deloitte Center for EnergySolutions and the Regulatory Policy Leader in Energy & Resources for Deloitte Services LP.He is a member of the National Coal Council, advisory body to the President, and formerChairman of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN ECE) Ad Hoc Groupof Experts on Cleaner Electricity Production and a former Chairman, CEO and President of Yankee Energy System Inc. and Yankee Gas Services Company (Connecticut). Earlier he was a Commissioner on Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and State of Wisconsin Public Service Commission. He has a BS in Energy Engineering and honorary Doctor of Sciences in Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Bradford Radimer is the Director, Risk Control at NRG Energy, Inc. with over 40 years of energy industry experience. At NRG, Brad is responsible for designing and managing enterprise wide risk policies, policy compliance and transaction confirmations. Brad is also Co-Leader of the team that wrote the CCRO Risk Management Standards for Energy Market Participants. Prior to joining NRG in 2007, he was the Director, Trading Operations for PSEG Energy Resources & Trade LLC. Brad holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from Farleigh Dickinson University.

Jim Pierobon is a career-long energy marketing communications pro who has created and managed marketing programs and campaigns for multi-national companies, trade associations, government agencies and non-profits at transformational stages of the growth. He's been instrumental in helping clients and employers exceed their business development goals and currently owns a networked marketing consultancy, Pierobon & Partners LLC, with colleagues in Houston, San Francisco and New York City. He blogs at TheEnergyFix.com.