Saturday, October 18, 2008

New Energy Economy in the Making

As the fossil fuel powered regime in Washington counts the number of days it remains in power, states and private companies are rushing to develop clean alternative fuel sources of wind, solar and geothermal. Clearly green energy is the way forward because it addresses both major challenges to our national security: greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on foreign oil. Even once oil rich Texas sees the future. The state has passed California as the leading generator of electricity from the wind. Texas has nearly 6,000 megawatts of wind-generating capacity online and a staggering 39,000 megawatts in the construction and planning stages. It will have enough wind generated electricity to satisfy the residential needs of 24 million Texans and export electricity to nearby states. Other prairie states where wind is abundant are emerging as powerhouses. The Titan Wind Farm in eastern South Dakota will be the world's largest at 5,000 megawatts or about five times current state consumption. Plans are to deliver electricity to Illinois and the industrial heartland through a transmission line across Iowa along an abandoned railroad right of way. Colorado billionaire Philip Anschutz is developing a 2,000-megawatt wind farm in south central Wyoming. He already has secured the rights to build a 900-mile high-voltage transmission line to California. With this investment, the door will be opened to developing scores of huge wind farms in Wyoming, a wind-rich state with few people.

Solar power is developing rapidly as photovoltaic cells increase in efficiency and decrease in cost. Nellis AFB generates 14MW with its array in the Nevada desert. PG&E has contracted for 800MW of photovoltaic power or about the same power output of a large coal fired plant. Right here in Stump Town metro, the world's biggest solar cell plant has just opened. When fully operational the plant is expected to employ 400 technicians. A newer method using reflecting mirrors to heat a liquid, solar thermal power is also gaining ground rapidly. Ten solar thermal plants are under development or construction in the US. In the next three years the US will go from 420MW of solar thermal generating capacity to 3500MW.

There are 97 geothermal plants now under development and they are expected to double our geothermal generating capacity. As of now the US has about 3,000 MW of capacity generated by the Earth's interior heat. We are the world leaders in on-line geothermal capacity. All the new, efficient and clean energy production needs a national grid worthy of this revolution in the way America powers itself. The current grid is an obsolete patchwork that is highly inefficient and vulnerable to breakdowns. A national grid with capacity for private investment must be carefully planned and executed to maximize the full potential of renewable energy.

For full report go to Earth Policy Institute's website:
http://www.earthpolicy.org/?Updates/2008/Update77.htm