At this week’s Republican National Convention in Cleveland, the GOP doubled down on its commitment to coal -- calling it “an abundant, clean, affordable, reliable domestic energy resource.”
Coal can get cleaned up. But it comes at a steep price. And that price can make it hard for even the most ardent supporters to get behind carbon capture and sequestration in practice.
Earlier this month, the New York Times published an investigation on the Kemper Power plant, a carbon capture and sequestration project supported by the stimulus that is billions of dollars over budget and still not in service. Securities regulators are investigating the use of government funds, ratepayers in Mississippi are suing Southern Company, and now a whistleblower has released thousands of documents showing that Southern Company covered up its problems and lied about timelines.
This is the latest blow to the clean coal industry – which detractors say will never materialize. This week, we'll talk about what Kemper means for the future of carbon capture and sequestration in the U.S.
Later in the show, we'll provide some context to an FBI investigation into the 2014 Arizona Corporation Commission elections. And we'll end with a discussion about NextEra's failed bid to acquire Hawaiian Electric Industries.