Appalachian Power says it will increase reliance on wind and solar power to reduce carbon emissions

Appalachian Power announced a plan to reduce carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants over the next 15 years by developing more than a fifth of its energy from solar and wind power, Matt Chittum reports for The Roanoke Times. "At the same time, it anticipates reducing its reliance on electricity from coal-fired power plants from 72 percent of the total to just more than half," while increasing its reliance on natural gas from 14 percent to 23 percent. 

"In the plan, the company acknowledges a potential energy generation capacity shortfall in 2020 due to increasing demand and the shuttering of some coal-fired facilities to reduce emissions," Chittum writes. "Exactly where Appalachian Power will find or produce wind and solar energy remains unclear. The plan describes a bump in those sources in 2016, followed by a much larger leap in 2022."

"Appalachian Voices, a North Carolina-based environmental nonprofit with an office in Charlottesville, praised the move toward renewable energy but questioned why other methods of reducing emissions got less attention," Chittum writes. "According to the plan, Appalachian Power will increase energy efficiency programs from zero to 1 percent of its energy capacity." (Read more)