Via U.S. News & World Report: 

After touring one of the few recently built coal-fired power plants in the U.S., Energy Secretary Rick Perry says they’re important for the country’s future.

Perry says a stable baseload of electricity is important and this technology provides “the ability to deliver a secure, economical and environmentally good source of energy.”

He says coal belongs in a diverse U.S. energy portfolio that includes renewable solar and wind power.

The Longview Power 700-megawatt plant in northern West Virginia first produced electricity in 2011. It reports higher efficiency burning coal and lower emissions than other U.S. coal-fired plants, with about 70 percent less nitrogen oxide, 78 percent less sulfur dioxide and at least 90 percent fewer particulates.