A U.S. Department of Energy proposal aims to change the prevailing form of electric transmission transformers within three years, a move that will result in the closure of Cleveland-Cliffs Butler Works.

The department is motivated by higher transmission efficiency from amorphous metal transformers, said to result in a 0.23% reduction in U.S. carbon emissions.

AMTs have a higher initial cost than grain-oriented electrical steel-based transformers. U.S.-made AMTs are only available from one small South Carolina factory. U.S.-made GOES-based transformers only come from Butler Works.

The department has concluded short-term risk is worth long-term gain.

More than 1,300 Cleveland-Cliffs employees will be affected, as well as thousands more jobs at Butler Works and in Butler.

Butler Works was refined over decades to make the highest quality electrical steel in the world. Repurposing the plant is unlikely, whether over three years or 10 years, as was counter-proposed.

The entire United States, but especially those communities impacted, need answers to these key questions. If AMT technology is so efficient, why are utility providers not making the transition? How dependable will the mostly foreign supply chain be? Is energy security less important than carbon reduction? Will the transition to renewables reduce the benefits of a more efficient transformer? Should nonelected officials impose an arbitrary standard to meet a climate goal?

I’m a Butler native and former Butler Works process metallurgist, and a career oil field service company executive.

John Newcaster, Palm Desert, Calif.