Opinion
Opinion

Why Should We Keep New Mexico’s Remaining Coal Plant in Service? It’s Essential.

Why Should We Keep New Mexico’s Remaining Coal Plant in Service? It’s Essential.
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Commentary

Shut down New Mexico’s last remaining coal plant (Four Corners Generating Station), environmentalists say, and replace it with renewable energy. But coal is a practical fuel, affordable and dependable. Being generically against coal is no more useful than being generically against electricity. Electricity demand is rapidly rising. Electric vehicles, new AI data centers, and a growing economy simply mean we need more power. And we need reliable power.

Jim Constantopoulos
Jim Constantopoulos
Author
Jim Constantopoulos, PhD, is a professor of geology and the director of the Miles Mineral Museum at Eastern New Mexico University.