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and 252,000 megawatt-hours from other sources.This data can Public Power Generation, be seen in percentages in the chart on this page.It is important by Energy Source,2015 to note,however,that public power supplies approximately 15 percent of electricity to end-users in the United States,but it Non-Hydro only produces approximately 10 percent of the megawatt-hours Renewables Other generated.So,end-use public power utilities as a whole are net 2.1°A 0.1 purchasers of power from other sources(i.e.,investor-owned utilities,independent power producers,joint action agencies, rural electric cooperatives,federal power marketing administra- tions,and the Tennessee Valley Authority). Nuclear`` 17.1%, Coal Challenges Faced by Some of the 39.2% Major Fuel Sources: Coal Gas Some fuel types face challenges not commonly contemplated 24.0% or discussed when referencing such fuels. For example,when most people think of coal,they tend to focus on its emissions of carbon dioxide(CO2)and criteria pollutants(such as sulfur dioxide(SO2) and nitrogen oxides(NOx))resulting from coal tricity generation in 2015.It is a reliable source of"base-load" combustion.However,for utilities that depend heavily on coal, (available most of the time)energy that can expand.However, they must also take into account transportation issues associated the amount of electricity generated from this source will always with coal.Approximately 33.1 percent of the nation's electric- depend on droughts and other hydrologic conditions that im- ity was generated from coal in 2015,the majority of which is pact various parts of the country and world. shipped by rail.A substantial amount of that coal has only one While hydropower is expanding into exciting new areas railroad option,and in most cases,only one viable transporta- like tidal and in-stream,large dams still provide the bulk of tion option available for all or a portion of its shipment.There- the resource,and the impacts of those dams on fish and other fore,a large amount of coal shipped for electricity generation wildlife will continue to be a concern for some stakeholders. is"captive"to a single railroad and the costs of making that Furthermore,as environmental mitigation measures have been shipment are frequently unreasonable,reflecting the monopolis- addressed,hydropower output from these large dams has been tic power of the carrier. For more information,see the American reduced.Also,federal permitting has been and will continue to Public Power Association's(Association or APPA)issue brief, be a hurdle to any new hydropower development,large or small. "Rail Competition and Antitrust Enforcement." With less than three percent of the nation's more than 80,000 Several factors have worked to erode the advantage that coal- dams generating electricity,this is problematic. fired generation has historically derived from its traditionally lower fuel costs.These factors include the cost of compliance Natural Gas with current and proposed environmental regulations and lower Natural gas was responsible for 33.1 percent of total U.S.gen- natural gas prices because of the increased domestic supply of eration in 2015 and 24 percent of total public power generation natural gas discovered in recent years. Coal also faces the major in the same year.Natural gas is used across all sectors,in varying obstacle of its CO2 content and the current lack of technology amounts.The chart on page three gives an idea of the propor- to capture and sequester CO2 on a commercial scale from pow- tion of natural gas use per sector.In 2015,the electric power er plants.The major unknown going forward is the viability of sector accounted for the greatest proportion of natural gas use carbon capture and sequestration or another,unknown technol- in the United States,with the industrial sector consuming the ogy that may reduce the CO2 emitted from coal combustion. second greatest quantity of natural gas. The demand for natural gas in the electric sector has grown Hydropower and will continue to grow.This is partly a result of large Hydropower is the nation's largest source of emissions-free, amounts of natural gas capacity built by merchant generators in renewable electricity,accounting for approximately 45 percent regional transmission organization(RTO) regions because of: of domestic renewable generation and 6.0 percent of total elec- 1) lower capital costs;and 2)faster build time.The increased de- 20 PublicPower.org 202