Dr. Michael Craig: Increasing power plant pollution

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AMERICA IS USING MORE POWER THAN EVER… AND THE MASSIVE DEMAND FOR MEGAWATTS IS STRAINING THE NATION’S ELECTRIC GRID.

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THAT’S RIGHT. FOR ABOUT FIFTEEN YEARS, THE U.S. WAS USING ABOUT THE SAME AMOUNT OF ELECTRICITY EVERY YEAR. FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS, IT EVEN WENT DOWN.
BUT STARTING LAST YEAR… ELECTRICITY USE HAS JUMPED TO A NEW HIGH. AND THAT TREND IS NOT SLOWING DOWN.
DOCTOR MICHAEL CRAIG IS A PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN… WHERE HE STUDIES ENERGY… AND HE EXPLAINED THE FACTORS BEHIND THE COUNTRY’S NEW HUNGER FOR POWER.

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Duration:0:58
Super: Dr. Michael Craig, University of Michigan Professor
One is electrification, which is people buying electric vehicles or induction stoves or heat pumps instead of using gas for their heat. They now use electricity. So all these new devices that take our energy consumption and use electricity instead of some other fuel. Another factor there is the growth of large loads, like data centers, but also reshoring of industry to a lesser extent. These are very large, concentrated new consumers of electricity adding to our demand. And then finally, we have climate change happening. It’s a smaller factor than those other two. But it’s also, as temperatures increase, we’re seeing more and more electricity used for space cooling or air conditioning. And that’s also contributing to rising electricity demand. And going forward, we expect all three of those things to continue to drive electricity demand more and more so that at the high-end scenarios, we have like 50% growth in demand by 2050.

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DOCTOR CRAIG SAID THAT THERE ARE MANY TYPES OF POWER PLANTS MEETING THIS SURGING DEMAND… INCLUDING AN UPTICK IN THE MOST POLLUTING TYPE… COAL POWER… DUE TO PRO-COAL POLICIES FROM THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION.
BUT HE ALSO SAID THAT SOLAR AND WIND POWER PLANTS HAVE GOTTEN SO CHEAP TO BUILD… THAT OVER THE LONG TERM… THEY WILL LEAD THE WAY… IN AMERICA’S NEW ERA OF ELECTRICITY USE.