Rethink coal plant opposition

Your article on "Emissions costs increase risk of coal investments" (Feb. 27) stated that because of this, U.S. utilities have canceled 20 large coal-fired power plants, and 36 have been delayed. Coal plants are base-load facilities that provide electric power to consumers on a 24/7 basis. Solar and wind are only intermittent producers of electric power.

One of the unintended consequences of the fight against coal is that there will be more blackouts and brownouts in the future. When this happens, consumers will react by purchasing hundreds of thousands of small gas- or diesel-driven electrical generators for their homes and will burn coal and wood directly in their stoves and fireplaces for heat and for cooking. The carbon emissions from this reaction by consumers will far exceed the carbon emissions from the modern, efficient coal-fired power plants that are now being canceled.

Richard Stauffer

Murray