Public Service Commissioner Sam Britton spoke to members of the Picayune Rotary Club Tuesday afternoon about the viability of renewable energy sources.

Elected last year to serve as the Southern District public service commissioner, Britton said he’s taken his background in the private sector of finance and applied it to his duties as a public servant regulating utilities.

“The health of the economy is tied directly to electricity,” Britton said.

Part of his duties as public service commissioner include regulating the lucrative electricity services in the district. While some have suggested greater competition in the market would force prices down, Britton said that policy wouldn’t be practical. Instead, his office regulates which electric companies can operate in a certain area.

Eighty percent of the nation’s electricity comes from coal, natural gas and oil, while the other 20 percent is generated from renewable resources, Britton said.

“Just because we have it, doesn’t mean we will always have it,” Britton said.

While he expressed support for decreasing regulations against fossil fuel manufacturers, Britton said renewable resources could also be used in the appropriate time and place.

“Each one has a role,” Britton said, but, “The sun doesn’t shine all the time, and the wind doesn’t blow all the time.”

When speaking to the Rotary Club, Britton said scientific studies are inconclusive about the degree to which fossil fuels affect the environment.

Other counties like Germany, which have poured billions of dollars into renewable energy, are now struggling economically and are returning to traditional energy sources, Britton said.

He said part of the drawback of renewable resources is the inability to store the electricity and use it on demand.

“We want to do this right,” Britton said.

In regards to the Kemper coal plant, Britton said billions of dollars have been spent in order to produce a “clean coal” in accordance with new governmental regulations.

Britton said he disagreed with the policies of President Barack Obama regarding these regulations.

With the election of Donald Trump, Britton said, “the policy on energy in the county is going to change.”

Part of the problem, according to Britton, is the disinformation spread about the effect of the burning of fossil fuels on the environment.

He said it becomes a battle of two sides, where any argument results in both sides calling the other “evil.”

Britton said, “We need to have a serious, real conversation about it.”