In case you missed it, a study by the Wyoming Mining Association on the economics of coal in the Powder River Basin concluded, not surprisingly, that the natural resource will be an essential part of the nation’s energy future even as the country moves toward cleaner power sources,.

A University of Wyoming professor who worked on the study spoke to the AP’s Bob Moen about it.

“The point I’m trying to raise is to think of PRB coal as a strategic asset for the country rather than a liability as many believe because of the CO2 problem,” professor Tim Considine told AP’s Bob Moen. Considine recently conducted a study for the Wyoming Mining Association on the economics of coal in the Powder River Basin.

Approximately 50 percent of electrical generation in the United States is powered by coal, but the Obama administration and Congress are pushing cleaner energy sources such as wind and solar to reduce the nation’s carbon dioxide output. Coal-burning power plants emit large amounts of carbon dioxide, the greenhouse gas that scientists say contributes to global warming.

The WMA study determined that coal from the prolific Powder River Basin will maintain low electricity costs because it’s cheaper than wind, solar and nuclear sources and less volatile than natural gas.

Considine told Moen that, “If you look at the true cost of wind power and solar power, it’s way up there,” he said. “So there’s a huge gap between the marginal cost of electricity from solar and wind and coal. As society eventually comes to grips with the real costs of restraining carbon dioxide emissions, the value of PRB coal will be appreciated and embraced to maintain political support for costly experiments with carbon-free energy,” the report said.

The UW professor said he was confident that researchers will be able to find a solution to capturing and storing large quantities of CO2 produced by power plants. Even with the additional costs associated with capturing and storing CO2, coal should still be priced competitively with the growing low carbon energy sources, Considine concluded.