About
Not So FastTM
Not So Fast is a public awareness campaign sponsored by CONSOL Energy advocating for a more measured, analytical, and moral approach to our nation’s energy policies. The campaign aims to educate citizens, corporate leadership, and U.S. policymakers about the economic and societal consequences of moving away too quickly from fossil-fuel-based sources of energy, like coal, in favor of intermittent sources like wind and solar power. These unintended consequences underscore the many challenges of a renewable energy future and the need for an orderly and realistic transition over decades to come.
Analysis vs. Narrative
A Balanced & Rational
Approach to Energy
As a global technology leader, our nation’s energy policies should be based on rational, objective, and thoughtful analysis. Our energy sources should be proven, dependable, and affordable. They should be able to stand on their own in the free market and provide power to millions at scale. These critical public policy issues should be openly and earnestly addressed by responsible legislators and energy experts.
Still, the current narrative goes like this—the world must replace fossil fuels with alternative forms of energy before it’s too late. But are we rushing too fast to an uncertain energy future? Are we abandoning the most reliable, abundant, and affordable source of power ever deployed – namely, coal? Is there a continued, beneficial role for coal and other fossil fuels to play in meeting society’s needs moving forward? As you will discover throughout this website, a new narrative is beginning to surface—Not So Fast.
Why Coal Still Matters
Our energy security, economic vitality, and the basic human rights of developing nations around the world deserve serious and careful deliberation. An energy policy that respects the value of coal as the through-line of progress and prosperity stands as a central theme of such a discussion. Many of the timelines being proposed by policymakers to remove coal and other fossil fuels from society are proving to be unrealistic, especially when you consider the following realities.
Our National Security & Energy Independence
- In times of high energy demand such as periods of extreme weather, renewables like wind and solar are intermittent and unreliable forms of power, especially compared to storable and dispatchable energy sources like coal that can provide months of dependable, on-site energy and quickly adjust to fluctuating demand. [1]
- The U.S. is becoming increasingly dependent on foreign countries for key minerals and components to build and maintain the massive infrastructure required to realize a “net-zero” world. [2]
- Many of these countries do not share our workplace and environmental standards.
- The U.S. has the most abundant coal reserves of any country in the world, so to the extent we can develop innovative ways to sustainably use this valuable domestic resource, it will go a long way toward mitigating our dependence on foreign nations.
Human Rights & Global Poverty
- Coal remains essential for meeting the basic needs of billions of people around the world. Denying these populations affordable energy would have severe ethical and moral consequences.
- Developing nations simply cannot experiment with renewables as their primary means of power, so without continued access to coal, petroleum, and natural gas, millions will be condemned to needless poverty.
- These societies have a right to realize the immense benefits of fossil fuels—benefits that far outweigh the consequences of not utilizing fossil fuels as a proven and essential driver of economic development.
- Greenhouse gas emissions are prevalent all over the world, across all sectors of the global economy. Therefore, climate challenges demand innovative and economy-wide solutions.
Building a Renewable Energy Infrastructure Requires Coal & Other Fossil Fuels
- To build the massive infrastructure needed for renewable power generation, an enormous amount of materials and energy will be required. For example, steel is indispensable to the production of wind turbines. On average, one megawatt of onshore wind capacity requires hundreds of tons of steel and concrete, which require hundreds of tons of coal to produce.[3]
The Free Marketplace of Ideas
- Appropriate measures must be adopted that allow energy-intensive sectors most vulnerable to cost increases from unilateral domestic policy changes to maintain global competitive positioning.
- Maintaining fossil fuels as part of a diverse mix of sources of electricity promotes competitive pricing and incentivizes electricity providers to pursue fuel sources that are not only affordable but can also stand on their own without being artificially propped up.
- The magnitude of investment required for economywide decarbonization is substantial. “Green” alternatives and advanced technologies rely on taxpayer subsidies to be economically competitive with their traditional counterparts.
- Renewable energy must stand on its own in the free market and be able to reliably meet the demands of our economy, which arguably depends on energy more than any other factor. This requires substantial investment, infrastructure buildout, and the commercialization of new technologies that are currently in the experimental stages of development.
Products Created with Coal
- Coal is a building block of modern life. From essential materials including steel and cement, to components of water filtration and fertilizers that provide clean water and food, and the electricity that reduces global poverty—all are produced with the assistance of coal—either for its carbon, an upstream material, or as a source of heat in the manufacturing process.
- Promising R&D efforts are focused on other opportunities within the coal value chain, such as the prospect of taking advantage of coal’s unique chemistry for use as a feedstock to innovate advanced materials.
- Coal is now being used in the development of high-performance materials in aerospace, our military, battery storage, building materials, and other high-technology applications.
CHECK THE FACTS
- NMPP Energy: Understanding the Term ‘Dispatchable’ Regarding Electricity Generation
- IEA: The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions
- Center for Strategic & International Studies: Building Larger and More Diverse Supply Chains for Energy Minerals (Page 1)
- U.S. Department of Energy: Solar Photovoltaics – Supply Chain Deep Dive Assessment (97% of world’s production of silicon wafers occurs in China, a country with documented human rights violations and an unpredictable trade relationship with the United States. See pages iii and iv)
- U.S. Department of Energy: Wind Energy – Supply Chain Deep Dive Assessment (see Figure 4 on page 15 – US imports of Wind Specific Equipment).
- IEA: Energy Technology Perspectives 2023 (Page 107 – Figure 2.10, negative trade balances for U.S., page 82 – U.S. imports 2/3 of its PV modules, page 108 – U.S. is a major net importer of refined minerals and aluminum….by contrast, U.S. is a net exporter of fossil fuels, other similar references throughout report.)
- Katie Sweeney, National Mining Association, Congressional Testimony: Unleashing American Energy, Lowering Energy Costs, and Strengthening Supply Chains
- Gulhan Ozbayoglu, Comprehensive Energy Systems: Energy Production from Coal (2018) 788-821. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-809597-3.00341-2. (Chapter 3.19.1.1.2, page 791. 0.77 tonne of coal per tonne of steel translates to 83 tonnes of coal in steel per MW of onshore wind capacity. Chapter 3.19.1.1.3, page 792. 0.2 – 0.45 tonne of coal per tonne of cement translates to 82 – 184 tonnes of coal per MW of onshore wind capacity. Total tonnes of coal per MW of onshore wind capacity = 165-266 tonnes of coal)
Get Involved
We need every voice to join in this effort. Here’s how you can play your part.
1
Contact your U.S. representatives and be heard on this issue.
2
Enhance your energy knowledge.
3
Share this website: theCOALhardtruth.com
4
Join us on social media.