Republicans seek FERC comment on coal/nuke remark

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Republicans in Congress on Friday asked Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Jon Wellinghoff to explain his recent comments that new coal and nuclear plants may be unnecessary.

In a letter, Joe Barton (R-Texas), ranking member and former chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, asked Wellinghoff to provide the committee with documents or analysis concluding there may not be any need for new nuclear or coal plants.

A spokeswoman at FERC, which has jurisdiction over the interstate transmission system, could not comment on the letter because she had not seen it.

She could not say how Wellinghoff would respond but noted that he is a proponent of renewables, energy efficiency and a smart power grid.

On at least a couple of occasions over the past few weeks, Wellinghoff has said renewable energy like wind, solar and biomass and energy efficiency could provide enough power to meet the nation's future energy needs and that new nuclear and coal plants might not be necessary.

In answer to questions in the past, Wellinghoff has said the cost to build and operate renewable energy is in line or even lower than traditional baseload power sources like coal and nuclear.

It costs about $2,000 per kilowatt to build a conventional coal plant, an estimated $3,500/kW for an advanced integrated coal gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant with carbon sequestration, $3,300/kW for an advanced nuclear reactor, $1,900/kW for wind and $6,000/kW for solarvoltaic, according a report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Wind and solar power, however, are usually only available about a third of the time, while coal and nuclear are baseload sources of generation, which means they operate around the clock.

The Energy and Commerce Committee is reviewing the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, which promotes renewable sources of energy, efficiency and places limits on greenhouse gas emissions, among other things.

In evaluating the proposed legislation, Barton, who is regarded as a global warming skeptic, said in the letter the committee needs to determine the availability and cost of renewable energy to ensure Americans have access to reliable, efficient and affordable power.

Even though wind is the nation's fastest growing source of power, EIA, the U.S. Department of Energy's statistical arm, still expects coal to continue to provide the largest share of electric generation for years.

Coal and nuclear together currently provide almost 70 percent of the nation's power, while renewable energy provides just 8 percent (6 percent from hydro and about 2 percent from other renewable sources like biomass, municipal waste, wind and solar).

To meet expected growth in demand, EIA in its 2009 Annual Energy Outlook expects coal to fuel 47 percent of generation in 2030, down from 49 percent in 2007. Overall, EIA expects electricity from coal-fired plants in 2030 would be 19 percent higher than in 2007.

(Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Christian Wiessner)