Can Indiana Meet The Proposed National Clean Energy Standard?

Evansville IN

02 August, 2021

11:53 AM

Description

By Rebecca Thiele, WNIN Aug. 2, 2021 U.S. Senate Democrats have proposed a clean energy standard that calls for getting the country's electricity from sources that don't emit — or can capture — their greenhouse gases by 2035. But that could be a tall order for a state like Indiana. Right now, Indiana only gets 9 percent of its energy from sources like wind and solar. David Konisky is a professor at the O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University. Though the state expects to see nine coal plant closures in the next decade, Konisky said some utilities plan to replace them with natural gas — and it will take strong policy to get them to change their minds. He said the Democrats' clean energy plan is the first national policy that mirrors what's needed to meet the challenge of climate change. "The reason why the proposal is so ambitious is that we have been slow to react to climate change historically, right?" Konisky said. A Senator who helped craft the standard said there would likely be a role for natural gas plants to capture their carbon emissions and store them underground. But Konisky said it's not a well-established technology and hasn't been proven to work on a large scale. Danielle McGrath, president of the Indiana Energy Association, said whether Indiana can help the country meet that ambitious goal all depends on the details of the proposal — few of which have been released at this point. "Whether or not, you know, states' positioning will be taken into account," McGrath said. "If there will likely be a broader horizon, if certain types of resources will be included versus being excluded." McGrath said making the transition affordable for states that rely on fossil fuels will also have to be top of mind for lawmakers. A paper mill will produce one hundred percent recycled products. When you look at what's known as the annual point in time survey, the first thing you notice is that the number of people experiencing homelessness in Evansville is down- way down. COVID-19 infections are surging in southwest Indiana and western Kentucky, as the delta variant spreads. WNIN is the NPR/PBS affiliate in Evansville, Indiana. We serve Southwestern Indiana, Western Kentucky and Southern Illinois from our multimedia facility located on the Ohio River in downtown Evansville. For the past several years, the recognized quality of our local news has placed us among the best small market radio news organizations in the nation.