NRG’s coal plants on their way out?

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NRG’s CEO David Crane believes the utility system as we know it today faces a “mortal threat” from green microgrids, political pressure and cheap natural gas.

And that may not be a bad thing if it translates into cheaper and more sustainable energy for the end consumer, which may or may not be the case. New York has some of the highest electricity prices in the nation.

Nonetheless, Bloomberg Businessweek has this fascinating article that offers some rare insight into Crane’s mind.

Why does this matter in Western New York?

NRG owns the coal-fired power plants in Tonawanda (Huntley) and Dunkirk, which is seeking permission to burn natural gas instead. The future for the CR Huntley coal plant in Tonawanda is more uncertain right now, but Crane leaves the reporters with the belief that he wants to close NRG’s 16 coal- and oil-fired plants “sooner rather than later.” This doesn’t mean that the Huntley plant isn’t next in line for a natural gas conversion.

“Natural gas is already wiping out coal, and it’s going to wipe out most nuclear,” he says. “There will be only a handful of nukes that we’ll need to keep running as base load plants.”

This is coming from a CEO, who the articles notes, has spent about $1 billion in solar and green technology, drives an electric car Tesla Model S and bought his son a Nissan Leaf. He also has concerns about global warming.

Here’s a story I did on the area’s worst greenhouse gas polluters, which provides some more detail on the struggles of coal-fired power plants. All three local coal plants are running well below capacity, and the one in Somerset was in bankruptcy until a group of bondholders purchased it.

Not all in the industry share Crane’s outlook.

Read the complete article to get a full picture of what industry experts are seeing in their crystal balls.