The Power and Transportation Future - Hydrogen and Fuel Cells: Advances in Transportation and Power - page 282

generated power. The EIA estimates that from 2001 to 2025, about 75 gW
of new coal plants will be built. Over 90% of the coal plants are projected
to be built from 2010 to 2025. The EIA forecast also predicts that existing
coal plants will be used more often. From 2001 to 2025, the EIA estimates
a 40% increase in coal consumption for power generation. This could in-
crease U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 10%.
The rising demand for natural gas already affects North American
supplies and has pushed up prices. Canada is an important source of our
imported natural gas, but it has little capacity left to expand its production.
While not as energy-intensive a process as liquefying hydrogen, cooling
natural gas to a temperature of about -260°F and transporting the result-
ing liquid has an energy penalty of up to 15%, according to the Australian
Greenhouse Office. From a global standpoint, it might be better to use for-
eign natural gas to offset foreign coal combustion than to import it into the
United States in order to turn it into hydrogen to offset domestic gasoline
consumption.
The projected growth in global coal consumption could be an even
bigger CO 2 gas problem than the projected growth in U.S. coal consump-
tion. By 1999, there were over 1,000 gW of coal power generating capac-
ity around the world. About one third of this is in the United States. From
2000 to 2030, more than 1,400-gW of new coal capacity may be built, ac-
cording to the International Energy Agency of which 400-gW will be used
to replace older plants.
These plants would need to use carbon capture equipment or their
estimated carbon emissions could equal the fossil fuel emissions from the
past 250 years. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is an important research
area but widespread commercial use may be years away.
Many of these plants may be built before CCS is ready and we will
need to use our electricity more efficiently to slow the demand for such
power plants, while building as many cleaner power plants as possible.
Natural gas is far more cleaner for this power than coal. Generating hydro-
gen with renewables may be needed in order to avoid building coal-fired
plants. More electricity from renewable power would reduce the pressure
on the natural gas supply and reduce prices. The United States could have
essentially carbon-free electricity before 2050 with hydrogen fuel playing
a key role.
Some studies indicate that higher carbon savings can be achieved by
displacing electricity from fossil fuel power stations. Abundant renewable
power and the practical elimination of CO 2 emissions from electricity gen-