Current Electrical Generation (USA)
(55% Coal, 22% Nuclear, 10% Natural Gas,
10% Hydro-power, 3% Everything Else)
Current Electrical Generation (USA)
(55% Coal, 22% Nuclear, 10% Natural Gas,
10% Hydro-power, 3% Everything Else)
The graph at the right shows where the electricity in the USA comes from. Nearly 2/3rds of that power is from fossil fuels. The next biggest chunk is nuclear power.
The amount of electrical energy used in the USA (and worldwide) increases over time. In order to supply that electricity, new power plants are constantly being built.
Electrical power is going to get generated and used. It needs to come from somewhere. The number of choices that we have for electricity is limited. We're using almost all the available hydropower resources, so until new power generation technologies become available... we have three choices: Coal, Natural Gas, and Nuclear Power.
Conservation is not relevant to energy policy. Electricity is a commodity, with a price, and if people want to spend money to buy electricity they're not going to be stopped by people telling them to conserve.
Over the past 30 years, a number of new technologies have been introduced that increase the overall level of energy efficiency. Some of them, like florescent light bulbs have been widely adopted. As a result... it's cheaper to light businesses. Now they can leave their lights on overnight to deter theft and reduce insurance premiums. Overall energy usage has continued to go up.
The question isn't "Should more power plants be built?"; More power plants will be built. The question is: "Which power plants should be built?"