Benchmarks

In a recent speech during a visit to Toronto, Vice President Dick Cheney gave a sneak peak at the Bush administration's energy policy. As head of an energy task force that has been working since January to develop the foundation for meeting America's energy needs in the 21st century, Cheney dared to utter what has, in recent years, been a four-letter word in energy and environmental policy circles-coal. Relatively cheap and abundant, coal still provides the cornerstone of the U.S. electric generation system, accounting for 43 percent of installed utility capacity and 56 percent of total utility generation. However, increasingly stringent environmental regulations, higher capital costs, and longer construction lead times have steered power plant developers away from coal and toward alternative fuels-primarily natural gas-to power new generating facilities.