The director of the West Virginia Petroleum Council says there’s no magic bullet when it comes to energy sources in West Virginia. Jack Harrison says all are needed.
Harrison says some people want to make the current situation a battle between natural gas and coal but that’s not the case, and shouldn’t be.
"I think coal is going to continue to play a vital role in our energy mix and natural gas will as well," Harrison recently told MetroNews.
The price of natural gas is currently at record lows and more and more utility companies are talking about converting from coal to natural-gas at their power plants because of EPA regulations. Coal is struggling, particularly the market for steam coal. There have been hundreds of layoffs in recent months.
Harrison says what’s happening with natural gas is good for the state and its residents but it won’t mean the death of coal.
"We’re looking at a mixture of things (when it comes to the nation’s energy future)," he said. "I think in the past we’ve tried to pick winners and losers and no one wins in that situation."
Harrison’s group, Just Beneath The Surface, held a rally last weekend in Charleston that drew about 3,000 people.