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'Steel In The Ground': Greening The Grid With The Iutility, Joseph P. Tomain

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

As the United States addresses climate change through carbon reduction strategies, it must focus on the two major parts of our energy portfolio - oil and electricity. Electricity is a central focus because over one-half of all electricity generated is derived from coal-burning power plants, which are notoriously dirty. Other cleaner and renewable sources of electricity, such as wind and solar power, are available. However, over the last hundred years, the electricity industry has been constructed to serve large-scale, centralized and capital-intensive coal and nuclear plants.

There are good economic reasons for building large power plants. Economies of scale can …