Last
week, at the coal industry whine fest, WV Division of Energy director
Jeff Herholdt seems to have spent his time cringing among the
corporate alpha males, ever faithful to their every whim.
In Ken
Ward's Gazette story, Herholdt finally comes clean about the purpose
of the WV Alternative and Renewable Portfolio Standard:
Herholdt assured coal industry officials that the
state's "alternative energy portfolio" requirement would
have very little impact on coal production or use.
"This is not bringing in the other energy
sources," Herholdt said. "We're not <co
>incentivizing renewables with this portfolio."
Herholdt said that many other states are saying
they won't want coal-fired power, and having an "alternative
portfolio" standard on the books is as much as public relations
effort by the state as anything else.
and
"We're the only state that has an alternative
portfolio standard that would be met with 100 percent coal,"
Herholdt said.
Gosh.
Ya think? Finally, a WV government official drops the "all
of the above" BS that Manchin has blathered since he introduced
his ARPS bill in the 2009 legislative session. And
I have been saying exactly what Herholdt revealed for years now.
In
a 2011 story over at Grounded, Pam Kasey came
to the same conclusion:
If anyone thought having a renewable energy
portfolio standard in West Virginia would mean more wind or
hydroelectric or solar generation facilities in the state, they were
wrong.
As the last of six utility plans for compliance
with the 2009 Alternative and Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard are
under review for approval by the Public Service Commission, the
results are basically in.
The major utilities will meet the state's
requirements through 2025 with no new generation.
So when
a politician tries to tell you that the ARPS is "WV's cap and
trade" (as did many Republicans in the 2012 election) or that
the ARPS will lead to a renewable renaissance in WV (as did many Democrats)
just remember Mr. Herholdt bragging about how WV can meet all of its
ARPS targets "with 100 percent coal."
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