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US Energy Secretary defends its stance on nuclear and clean coal

26th October 2017

By: Kim Cloete

Creamer Media Correspondent

     

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US Energy Secretary Rick Perry has defended the US government’s suggested pivot towards clean coal and nuclear energy, saying nuclear and coal producers had been discriminated against in the Obama era.

“Basically, we’re saying the government is going to be fair to nuclear and coal . . . no argument,” Perry told a media briefing at the Africa Oil Week in Cape Town.

“Those two industries were discriminated against over the course of the last administration, and even for a longer period before that. . . Discrimination comes in the form of neglect. . . they neglected to promote them and to talk about them,” said Perry.

He said the Trump-led government had been open about the stance.

“The good news is that we are talking about it. I did this partly to force a debate about the issue. We’re having an open conversation in the world about affordability and accessibility.”

But Perry added that the US was not neglecting other forms of energy, including renewable energy.

“The message is clear out of this administration. We are not picking one above the other. What we would like to see is for it to be as balanced as it can be. Everyone has their interest. The nuclear folks think they are the best.” He said the same went for wind and solar.

Perry said he had asked the Federal Regulatory Commission to address the issue of re-balancing the industry.

“This is about access to affordable power but at the same time allowing technology to be a real friend to the environment. The point is that you can’t have economic growth and affect your environment in a toxic way. They are not mutually exclusive.”

He said the International Energy Agency had recently released a study into global emissions, which showed that, while the US economy continued to grow, it had reduced its total emissions by 3% over the past three years.

Perry said, personally, he was a ‘big fan’ of fossil fuels, but that wind energy had its place.  He said only five countries produced more wind energy than the state of Texas, where he was governor for 15 years.

“Texas moved from almost zero wind energy to between 12 000 and 15 000 MW.”

When asked by Engineering News about the US experience of shale gas, Perry said hydraulic fracturing had ‘changed the world’.

“Twelve years ago, we were told that we had found all the oil and gas and developed all that we could. But, like a lot of things, technology changes the world.”

He said the benefits of hydraulic fracturing unequivocally outweighed the environmental concerns.

“I know it is always easy to scare people about things they don't know about. Children are scared of the dark until a light comes on. We have seen the public scared by people who have political agendas.”

Perry said he ensured practices were safe.

“We watch, we pay attention, we investigate.  I am of the school that if there are risks they need to be minimised . . . but I’m not of the school that we will turn our back on the technology because somehow the world knows better. They tried that once back in history and they were called luddites. I don't want to be called a modern-day luddite.”

Perry said both hydraulic fracturing and directional drilling had roots in the country’s national laboratories, which were also doing some ‘fascinating work’ on small modular reactors.

He added that the greatest threats to US energy supply were cyber security and natural disasters, such as hurricanes and recent incidents of the polar vortex, a large area of cold air high in the atmosphere which cascaded down to the North America, funnelling extremely cold air into the central and eastern US, putting pressure on energy supply. 

Perry ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for US President in 2012 and 2016. In December 2016, Trump announced his intention to nominate the longtime Texas governor as his Secretary of Energy.  He was confirmed by the US Senate in a 62-37 vote in March 2017.

Edited by Samantha Herbst
Creamer Media Deputy Editor

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