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Appalachian Power signs long-term wind energy pact
American Electric Power subsidiary Appalachian Power has signed a long-term power purchase agreement for renewable wind energy with Beech Ridge Energy, a subsidiary of Invenergy Wind.
Through the 20-year agreement, Appalachian Power will purchase all of the output -- between 100 and 147 megawatts -- from the first phase of the planned 186-megawatt Beech Ridge Energy wind project currently under development in Greenbrier County, W.Va.
The wind farm is expected to be on line by March 31, 2010. The agreement is subject to approval from the Public Service Commission of West Virginia and extension for 2009 of the federal production tax credit for renewable energy. Pricing terms are confidential.
"Wind and other renewables are becoming an integral part of the diverse power generation mix necessary to meet our customers' electricity needs," said Michael G. Morris, AEP's chairman, president and chief executive officer.
"Adding these renewable generation resources, along with our plans for new baseload generation using clean coal and other technologies, positions us to continue to meet our customers' needs while also reducing our carbon footprint."
The new agreement is part of AEP's voluntary plans, announced in 2007, to add 1,000 megawatts of new wind energy by 2011 as a component of the company's comprehensive strategy to address its greenhouse gas emissions. The addition of wind capacity to AEP's energy portfolio avoids an increase in greenhouse gas emissions that would otherwise occur if AEP used traditional fossil generation to meet growing customer demand.
"The agreement with Beech Ridge Energy brings our long-term renewable-energy purchase commitments up to 422 megawatts in the year since we established our 1,000-megawatt goal," Morris said. "We have additional requests for proposals out for up to 600 megawatts of renewable energy, so we are well on the way to meeting that goal.
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What could be more abundant and cheap than wind energy in Appalachia without the pollution? It sure isn't coal. American Electric Power subsidiary Appalachian Power has signed a long-term power purchase agreement for renewable wind energy with Be... more -
BioSolar reveals secrets of less costly solar power
BioSolar surprised attendees at the SPIE Symposium on Solar Applications and Energy in San Diego by revealing that materials derived from cotton and castor beans compose the company's proprietary BioBacksheet, a protective covering, traditionally made from expensive petroleum-based film, used in the back of virtually all photovoltaic solar cells.
"Until now, this information has remained highly-guarded over the past 18 months as BioSolar established academic and industry credibility," said BioSolar Chairman and CEO, Dr. David Lee. "Now that our technology is strongly protected both domestically and abroad, we are able to share this exciting news with the public."
While not revealing core proprietary or patent-pending elements of the intellectual property, BioSolar's Chief Technology Officer, Dr. Stan Levy, divulged in his presentation that the bio-based components are a composite of cellulosic material derived from cotton, combined with an arcane nylon (nylon 11) derived from castor beans.
Dr. Levy detailed the procedures and results of the company's 18-month product development effort to engineer the BioBacksheet from non-food, plant-based materials. He provided an in-depth look at the science and applied technology behind the unique bio-sustainable formulation and state-of-the-art manufacturing processes used to create the company's BioBacksheet product.
The two sustainably sourced components are combined utilizing the company's proprietary manufacturing process.
"We have demonstrated that functional photovoltaic backsheets can be produced from renewable resources," said Dr. Levy.
"We believe that the BioBacksheet is a viable alternative to backsheets currently in use. Not only is this product produced from sustainable and renewable resources, but is expected to be more cost effective than the current backsheets." BioSolar surprised attendees at the SPIE Symposium on Solar Applications and Energy in San Diego by revealing that materials derived f... more -
10 family homes powered by single kite
"A traditional childhood pastime could provide a breakthrough in renewable energy, after successful experiments in flying a giant kite at one of Europe's top research centres.
Scientists from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands harnessed energy from the wind by flying a 10-sq metre kite tethered to a generator, producing 10 kilowatts of power.
The experiment generated enough electricity to power 10 family homes, and the researchers have plans to test a 50kW version of their invention, called Laddermill, eventually building up to a proposed version with multiple kites that they claim could generate 100 megawatts, enough for 100,000 homes."
"Ken Caldeira, a climate scientist at Stanford University's Carnegie Institution, has estimated that the total energy contained in wind is 100 times the amount needed by everyone on the planet. But most of this energy is at high altitude."
The rest of the article is really interesting, I'd definitely recommend reading it. (The video's bearable, but by no means spectacular) "A traditional childhood pastime could provide a breakthrough in renewable energy, after successful experiments in flying a giant... more -
T. Boone Pickens water rights grab, video recap
The Pickens Plan, Boone’s plans for water in west Texas. He has been buying up water rights so that his wind farm can pump water to Texas. WATER, the new oil for this oil man? The Pickens Plan, Boone’s plans for water in west Texas. He has been buying up water rights so that his wind farm can pump water to T... more
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Zero consumption construction
ERIC DOUB knows the difference between talking about building a green home and living in one:
more than 2,600 energy-conscious visitors have traipsed through his model home in the last two and a half years.Four years ago, Mr. Doub, the owner of Ecofutures Building in Boulder, Colo., was one of a growing number of builders intent on designing environmental sustainability into new homes and retrofitted projects. But clients willing to go all out for energy-efficient design and materials were scarce. And on a personal level, certain restrictions in the north Boulder development in which he and his wife, Catherine Childs, lived with their two young children hampered his ability to practice what he preached.
Then Ms. Childs discovered a large lot nearby where they could build their dream house — a house to prove that comfort, and even touches of luxury like a hot tub, did not have to be sacrificed to do right by the environment.
The $1.38 million project (including the land purchase) became a huge financial gamble. Mr. Doub had to cut loose 10 employees — 40 percent of his work force — and Ecofutures took on debt for the first time. But by late November 2005, the family was able to move into the five-bedroom, two-story model home they named Solar Harvest.
It used available technology and, when possible, salvaged materials. Mr. Doub bought 12 used solar panels to heat water for the heating system; the 6,000-gallon underground hot-water tank came from a dairy farm.
Some of the biggest benefits came from choices that did not cost money per se, like having the front of the house face south to take maximum advantage of the sun. But other choices, like installing superinsulated windows and solar electric roof panels, added 8 percent to the cost, Mr. Doub said.
It did not take long for the gamble to begin paying off. In its first year, Solar Harvest fed enough energy into the local power grid during sunny spells to offset the cost of all the power it used other times. A copy of the $8.45 check that Xcel Energy, the utility, sent to settle 2006 accounts sits framed on the dining room table.
Mr. Doub especially enjoyed the tour he offered to 15 local land-use officials one day in early February 2007, when the temperature outside read just about zero. As usual, the indoor temperatures ranged in the high 60s despite the lack of any heat source other than the water tank and air circulating from the tightly insulated sun porch.
Even better, the home began attracting clients like Ronald M. Abramson, the president and chief executive of NexGen Energy Partners, an investment group focused on renewable energy projects, which Mr. Abramson recently moved from Maryland to Boulder. He worked with Mr. Doub for six months to develop plans for a 7,000-square-foot home for him and his family on a stretch of prairie near Lyons, not far from Boulder.
“We wanted to build the most environmentally responsible home in the country,” Mr. Abramson said.
Mr. Doub’s design for the Abramsons includes a combination of wind and solar power that is expected to generate 80 percent more energy than the house will require when it is finished early next year. And, with strict attention to the materials used and their environmental impact, the Abramsons think they can balance their carbon dioxide emissions and reductions.
Carbon neutral or not, the Abramson home is the first to meet new Boulder County regulations that set a sliding scale of permitted energy use, based on size. At the top of the scale, all new homes of more than 5,000 square feet must be energy neutral, generating as much as they use. County officials credit Solar Harvest with drawing support for the new regulations. ERIC DOUB knows the difference between talking about building a green home and living in one: ... more -
Al Gore's Ten Year Energy Challenge
A momentous challenge calling upon us to have the same spirit that birthed this nation and make no mistake about it, this is just as much an issue of Democracy as it is an economic, environmental, or national security issue. However, as usual, all we see on blogs and in the media by the usuals is bickering about whether climate change is "natural" or not when we already know that most of the effects on our planet we are seeing are a result of human behavior.That has been debated ad nauseum, and is why this country will wind up at the back of the pack when other countries pass us up regarding coming into the 21st Century. We are stuck in first gear still while the rest of the world is in drive.
We have been getting our oil from the Middle East and now will we get our solar panels from there too because we in this country are so myopic and politically polarized to the point that we cannot even concede one damn point? The alternate energy market is just waiting for a boom in this country. Employment in this country would soar and with investment, we would get the economic shot in the arm we need to avoid economic collapse while saving ourselves. Many say (even people in his own party) that Mr. Gore made this proposal at the wrong time with gas prices being so high... to that I say, WHAT?
This was the absolute right time to come out and tell people the truth that they are being lied to and duped by big oil and coal. This was exactly the right time to come out and tell people that they have a CHOICE and that they have the power in this next decade to put those choices into motion. That they have other options for energy that can be cheaper than what they are using now. Of course the oil and coal companies and special interests and their minions are not too happy about that, but I say, screw them. They have done more harm to this planet and economy with their pollution and wars than any alternate energy being instituted could do. It is time for them to see that their way is not the best way for the continued sustainability of this planet and work to make amends for what they have done.
The Earth as it stands now is going through changes in climate that are too exacerbated to just be natural and the cost of ignoring it far exceeds the cost of implementing changes to avoid it. What price do you put on a human life? That has been confirmed by the IPCC, NASA, the National Academy of Sciences, The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, and thousands of other studies and scientists' reports from around the globe. It is a known fact also that for YEARS scientists in possession of these facts have been gagged by our government to keep quiet about it, because the very thing Mr. Gore stated must be done is something they don't want to do because they believe it will ground their gravy train.
More at the link. A momentous challenge calling upon us to have the same spirit that birthed this nation and make no mistake about it, this is just as m... more -
Gore calls for carbon-free electric power
Former Vice President Al Gore said on Thursday that Americans must abandon electricity generated by fossil fuels within a decade and rely on the sun, the winds and other environmentally friendly sources of power, or risk losing their national security as well as their creature comforts.
“The survival of the United States of America as we know it is at risk,” Mr. Gore said in a speech to an energy conference here. “The future of human civilization is at stake.”
Mr. Gore called for the kind of concerted national effort that enabled Americans to walk on the moon 39 years ago this month, just eight years after President John F. Kennedy famously embraced that goal. He said the goal of producing all of the nation’s electricity from “renewable energy and truly clean, carbon-free sources” within 10 years is not some farfetched vision, although he said it would require fundamental changes in political thinking and personal expectations.
“This goal is achievable, affordable and transformative,” Mr. Gore said in his remarks at the conference. “It represents a challenge to all Americans, in every walk of life — to our political leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators, engineers, and to every citizen.”
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Click on the link for the full article. Former Vice President Al Gore said on Thursday that Americans must abandon electricity generated by fossil fuels within a decade and r... more -
2000 Watt Society
There is a great article in The New Yorker about the 2000 Watt Society.
Combined with alternative energy sources, the 2000-Watt Society could stop global warming without ruining the enjoyment of our lives. In the words of project director Roland Stulz: “it’s not starving, it’s not having less comfort or fun. It’s a creative approach to the future.” There is a great article in The New Yorker about the 2000 Watt Society. ... more -
Hydrogen Economy - Earth will run out of water
If we do decide to go to a hydrogen based economy, where hydrogen becomes our sole source of energy, there is one tiny problem.
Hydrogen is the only gas that is able to escape our atmosphere and dissipate into space. When this happens, water that is used to produce hydrogen gas will disappear from our the planet and will never be able to be replaced. Given a system wide leakage factor of two or three percent, and the huge amount of water that will be required to create the hydrogen/oxygen mixture that will power fuel cells and hydrogen engines, it will only be a mater of time until all the earth's water is gone. If we do decide to go to a hydrogen based economy, where hydrogen becomes our sole source of energy, there is one tiny problem. ... more -
Californians are climate trendsetters
More current news on sustainable energy science and policy from TouchArt's friend Bill Brown up in Taos at New Mexico Global Warming and The Climate Change Project.
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Greetings, All -- The article below describes poll results recognizing California's policy innovations and citizen's attitudes about fighting atmospheric pollution and climate change.
The poll "...shows broad public understanding that fixing climate change goes hand in hand with energy stability and economic prosperity."
"Californians understand that clean energy combined with energy efficiency measures, which the state has pioneered for decades, mean their total energy bill will go down..."
Note the reference to California Assembly Bill (AB) 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act.
According to Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ab-32], "The Bill (AB 32), authored by Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez (D-Los Angeles) and Assembly Member Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills), was agreed between Schwarzenegger and Democratic legislators on August 30, 2006. It requires that by 2020 the state's greenhouse gas emissions be reduced to 1990 levels, a roughly 25% reduction under business as usual estimates. The California Air Resources Board, under the California Environmental Protection Agency, is to prepare plans to achieve the objectives stated in the Act."
-- Bill Brown
www.nmglobalwarming.org
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From TouchArt.net and One Earth Blog at www.OneEarthBlog.Blogspot.com More current news on sustainable energy science and policy from TouchArt's friend Bill Brown up in Taos at New Mexico Global Warm... more -
BioSolar focused on petroleum-free solar cells
BioSolar has been cited in recent news media reports exploring the increasing demand for bio-based solar cell components, which will help the entire industry make photovoltaic solar cells more financially viable by substantially lowering the cost of the cells through the use of petroleum-free materials.
In this week's CLEANTECH column in energy trade publication California Energy Circuit, (CLEANTECH: Making Solar Power Fossil Free), energy correspondent William J. Kelly discusses the concept of life-cycle testing - utilizing the entire life-cycle of a product and its components to determine its total carbon footprint - noting that solar cells generate 0.04 kilograms of carbon dioxide per kilowatt of electricity generated.
The article goes on to note that clean energy researchers see that level declining dramatically due to improvements in the materials used to make the solar cells.
"This article recognizes that BioSolar's BioBacksheet is quickly becoming a driving force in a shift to replace plastic petroleum-based solar cell components with environmentally-friendlier fossil-free ones derived from plant-based products," said Dr. David Lee, CEO of BioSolar.
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Solar power is peace. BioSolar has been cited in recent news media reports exploring the increasing demand for bio-based solar cell components, which will h... more -
nearly-free energy from water — is this for real?
Stories like this are popping up every day. One of these ideas is bound to push us into a better direction.
Blacklight Power, a company founded by a Harvard medical doctor called Randell Mills, says it can push hydrogen atoms into a state that most scientists deny exists.
The company claims that energy this atomic push releases can create electricity for a single cent per kilowatt hour, less than any known process, including burning cheap, dirty coal. The company says it can do so with a non-polluting, self-perpetuating process that mostly feeds itself with common water. Stories like this are popping up every day. One of these ideas is bound to push us into a better direction. ... more -
Darn Those Gas Prices!
With gas prices approaching a record $5 a gallon, Crystal Fambrini talks to a consumer watchdog and meets several LA drivers who are just plain fed up. With gas prices approaching a record $5 a gallon, Crystal Fambrini talks to a consumer watchdog and meets several LA drivers who are j... more
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Scientific Assessment Of Climate Change Impacts On The USA
Some more good news for Earth Day 2008 from our friend Bill Brown in Taos, New Mexico at www.nmglobalwarming.org
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"Greetings, All -- The USA federal government's Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) released a new report yesterday on the impacts of climate change on the United States. While providing information on trends and projections for the future, the report also states how climate has already changed throughout the USA because of the impacts of human activity on our planet.
The CCSP reiterates what has long been known to science: The primary reason for climate change is human-generated increases in greenhouse gas concentrations.
The CCSP was authorized by federal legislation known as the Global Change Research Act of 1990. This Act spawned collaborative federal research and later the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), through which the USA has made a total investment of almost $20 billion during the past thirteen years -- the world's largest investment in scientific research in the areas of climate change and global change. "The USGCRP, in collaboration with several other national and international science programs, has documented and characterized several important aspects of the sources, abundances and lifetimes of greenhouse gases; has mounted extensive space-based monitoring systems for global-wide monitoring of climate and ecosystem parameters; has begun to address the complex issues of various aerosol species that may significantly influence climate parameters; has advanced our understanding of the global water and carbon cycles (but with major remaining uncertainties); and has developed several approaches to computer modeling of the global climate."
The Summary of the 271-page document begins:
"Over the past several years, our understanding of global environmental change and our ability to estimate its future effects has improved significantly. In order to summarize the key conclusions of this research, the U.S. Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) has undertaken a national scale “Scientific Assessment of the Effects of Global Change on the United States.” The conclusions in this assessment build on the vast body of observations, modeling, decision-support, and other types of activities conducted under the auspices of CCSP. It draws on findings from previous assessments of the science, including reports and products by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), CCSP, and others. Together with CCSP’s 21 Synthesis and Assessment Products, this is arguably the most comprehensive assessment to date of the effects of global change, and especially climate, on the United States. This fact sheet summarizes the key findings of the Assessment."
To download the Summary and/or the Full Report, or simply to learn about the history, quality and scope of the USA's Climate Change Research Program, see: http://www.climatescience.gov/
The CCSP considers this a landmark document, representing summary work of its almost two decades of research. Please take the time to read the Summary even if you do not wade through the full report.
-- William M. Brown
Sage West Consultants & The Climate Project
Energy Science, Law, Architecture
Taos & Arroyo Hondo, New Mexico
Email: nmglobalwarming@yahoo.com
Web: http://www.sagewestconsultants.com
Web: http://www.theclimateproject.org
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from your friends at TouchArt.net and OneEarthBlog.blogspot.com Some more good news for Earth Day 2008 from our friend Bill Brown in Taos, New Mexico at www.nmglobalwarming.org ... more -
US BLM Announces Environmental Analysis Of Solar Energy Development
More news about how you can influence government policy on sustainable solar energy development from our friend Bill Brown up in Taos, New Mexico at www.nmglobalwarming.org
"Hello, All -- In addition to the recent agreement between the Western Governor's Association and the U.S. Department of Energy regarding clean energy development and transmission, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management enters the picture as managing agency of vast tracts of our American Western landscape.
Today's press release below says, "During work on the PEIS [programmatic Environmental Impact Statement], the BLM will focus attention on the 125 applications already received for rights-of-way for solar energy development, while deferring new applications until after completion of the PEIS. The 125 existing applications are for land covering almost one million acres and with the potential to generate 70 billion watts of electricity, or enough to power 20 million average American homes."
BLM public scoping meetings will be held around the Western USA -- in 8 western cities listed near the end of the press release -- from June 16 through June 26, 2008, and written comments are due by July 7, 2008.
See http://solareis.anl.gov/ for more information.
Note that concentrated solar power (solar thermal) installations -- wherein reflectors heat liquid to run turbines -- can require significant amounts of cooling water (as much water as coal-fired or nuclear power plants require per megawatt of energy produced) whereas solar photovoltaic power installations require virtually no water."
-- Bill Brown
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From TouchArt.net and OneEarthBlog.blogspot.com
" More news about how you can influence government policy on sustainable solar energy development from our friend Bill Brown up in Taos,... more -
U.S. House Passes Renewable Energy Tax Credit Extension
Message on May 21, 2008 from our friend Bill Brown up in Taos, New Mexico with www.nmglobalwarming.org
Greetings, All -- Today the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that attempts to continue production and investment tax credits for clean energy.
The concept faces opposition in the Senate and veto threat from the Bush Administration.
-- Bill Brown
www.nmglobalwarming.org
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from TouchArt.net and OneEarthBlog.blogspot.com
for Earth Day is everyday.
Write, call, email and lobby your congress people to support this bill to continue production and investment tax credits for clean energy.
And please remember to turn off the lights and switch off your power strips when not using electronic devices. We are all part of the problem and can each be part of the solution.
Go to the link below to find contact information for your senators and congress people.
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.t...
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Photo "Clouds over Santa Fe" by Jacques Paisner Message on May 21, 2008 from our friend Bill Brown up in Taos, New Mexico with www.nmglobalwarming.org ... more -
Energy's Water Demands Worrisome
Add another requirement to the clean-energy checklist: low water usage. Two Virginia Tech researchers released a study this week examining the water-use requirements for 11 different energy sources, ranking them in terms of efficiency.
One of the most important aspects of the study was to raise awareness of the role water plays in energy production, said Rachelle Hill, a recent Virginia Tech graduate who co-authored the study.
"We need to do more research and really study what goes into energy production, not just what comes out," Hill told United Press International.
And a lot of water goes in. According to the study, U.S. thermoelectric power plants consume 136 billion gallons of water per day, averaging out to 25 gallons for every kilowatt-hour produced. Water is used in almost every aspect of energy, from the cooling and cleaning of machinery to the production of steam to turn turbines. And as energy demand rises in coming decades, so will the amount of water required to produce it.
Water usage has become a major concern in recent years because supply has dwindled, said Eric Evenson of the U.S. Geological Survey, a federal science agency.
An ever-growing population has increased water usage in a number of sectors, leading to shortages in some areas, Evenson said, and policymakers should examine any strain on supply.
"Any one factor, like water needs for energy, or for public supply, or for agriculture ¿¿ bears on the quantity of overall water availability," he said.
And energy has a big impact, said Mike Hightower, a member of the Energy-Water Nexus National Lab Team, a group of scientists from a number of national laboratories researching the issue.
"In the United States on a daily basis, about 40 percent of our fresh water withdrawals are for energy production," said Hightower, a technical staff member at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque.
While much of the water used in energy production is not consumed but returned to its source and later reused, the energy sector's reliance on water's availability could cause problems down the road, Hightower told UPI.
"Even if you don't consume a lot of water, if you use it, you need it day in and day out to operate," he said. If a drought occurs, "then water levels lower, you can't withdraw any more and that's going to impact your energy supply." Add another requirement to the clean-energy checklist: low water usage. Two Virginia Tech researchers released a study this week exami... more -
Senate Bill Would Set Climate Policy Backwards
There's an important story in yesterday's edition of E&E (as always, $ub. req'd) about two alternatives to Lieberman-Warner that have recently been floated in the Senate. One comes from Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) and the other -- not so much a bill as a "set of principles" -- from a coalition of the nation's biggest and dirtiest coal companies. Together they serve as an excellent primer on the conservative movement's latest approach to climate change.
What do they want?
1 No mandatory caps or a safety valve. Voinovich's bill ditches cap-and-trade entirely, at least for a three-year evaluation period. He and the coal companies would both institute a "safety valve," which would prevent the price of carbon from exceeding a specific threshold. (Policy-wise, that's about as bad as no cap at all.)
2 Incentives. When conservatives don't like incentives, they call them "pork." When they don't like the recipients of the incentives, they call them "welfare." On global warming, though, fossil interests see an historical chance to attach themselves more securely to the public teat, so "incentives" it is. Voinovich's bill is called the "Incentives-Based Alternative Climate Policy Act," and it amounts to a laundry list of handouts and tax breaks for individual industries and technologies (think nuclear power and carbon capture and sequestration). This is "green conservatism" of the Gingrich variety: all carrots, no sticks.
3 Preemption of state efforts. Many state governments are not as sclerotic, polarized, and compromised as the feds. They present the real danger to Republicans' corporate sponsors. Remember states as "laboratories of democracy"? That's a notion conservative federalists love when they aren't in power. In power, they need control consolidated at the federal level, so fossil interests can do more targeted lobbying. If passed this would, at a stroke, eliminate the majority of good climate policy that's been passed in the U.S., in deference to much weaker policy.
4 Inaction pending Chinese and Indian policies. Conservatives claim that carbon caps in the U.S. will drive jobs and capital to developing countries unless those countries also implement caps. The practical effect of this would be to deprive us of our one truly powerful means of persuading China and India to act. There's an important story in yesterday's edition of E&E (as always, $ub. req'd) about two alternatives to Lieberma... more -
Drawing On The Sacred Winds
Through utility-scale projects, the Great Plains tribes are creating healthier lands along with new local economies.
The Rosebud Sioux turbine paved the way for the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota to commission a 65-kilowatt turbine in 2005.
Photo by Bob Gough
For many tribal peoples, the winds are holy, bringing renewal, warmth and strength. And tribal lands are rich in wind. The wind energy potential on reservations nationwide exceeds 535 billion kilowatt-hours annually — enough to power more than 50 million homes annually.
Much of that resource is found on the northern Great Plains reservations. Indeed, the prairie winds and the Missouri River are inextricably tied to the culture and history of the Great Plains’ two-dozen tribes. Despite these gifts, the reservations never had the size or the moisture needed to sustain agricultural economies. Their richest bottomlands were flooded behind federal dams on the Missouri to generate electricity for everyone in the region except the tribes. But today, tribal leaders are drawing on the winds to forge a renewable energy economy — and the next chapter in a tradition promoting self-reliance and harmony between humankind and nature.
Since 1995, a coalition of Great Plains tribes known as the Intertribal Council On Utility Policy (COUP) has worked to generate jobs and new revenue streams through tribal-owned wind energy projects. These utility-scale turbines are arrayed along federal transmission lines that carry hydroelectric power from the mainstem Missouri River dams. That allows the tribes to sell surplus power to the Western Area Power Administration where it’s especially needed. (WAPA markets and transmits electricity from federal hydroelectric power plants.) As persistent drought throughout the West has reduced federal hydropower production nearly 50 percent, WAPA has filled the shortfall with lignite coal-fired electricity — significantly increasing greenhouse gas emissions near tribal lands.
Nationally, reservation households are 10 times less likely to be electrified than other U.S. households. Those households that are electrified pay a higher portion of their incomes to power energy-inefficient structures. The COUP intertribal energy vision
begins with making tribal housing more affordable and efficient through better design and retrofitting. The tribes can use energy audits, weatherization projects and local natural materials like straw bale and earthen plasters to create local jobs, save energy and money, and enhance the quality of life. But even with greater energy efficiency, small wind and solar projects are expensive, especially for tribal communities, where unemployment may be 50 percent.
In large-scale projects, however, the tribes have the opportunity to invest as a community in vibrant renewable energy-based economies. Through the Intertribal COUP’s phased wind-development plan, tribal communities will help meet America's growing energy demands, while becoming locally self-sufficient and generating revenues to help fund smaller community projects. Such projects include installing solar or wind systems at tribal schools facing increased utility costs and at tribal residences located too far from the local power lines to be able to afford expensive interconnection costs on top of monthly utility bills. Through utility-scale projects, the Great Plains tribes are creating healthier lands along with new local economies. ... more -
Obama and Clinton pushing coal to get votes!
In states like Pennsylvania, where voters will cast ballots this Tuesday, and in West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana and Montana — upcoming primary states — coal sways voters.
While increased mechanization has produced a dramatic decline in coal industry employment, the numbers remain substantial. There are 47,000 coal workers in Pennsylvania and West Virginia and 21,000 in Kentucky, according to the National Mining Association. The three states are the country's biggest coal producers after Wyoming.
Both Obama and Clinton have rallied environmentalists with their promises to develop windmills, solar power and other renewable energy sources and order mandatory reductions in greenhouse gases from power plants to counter global warming.
It's an energy policy that would seem to target coal, which produces half the country's electricity but also nearly 2 billion tons of carbon dioxide, the leading greenhouse gas, each year.
Instead, "clean coal" has become the mantra of both candidates. Some environmentalists are not too happy with that.
"They keep using the term 'clean coal.' That's really an oxymoron," snaps Brent Blackwelder, president of the environmental group Friends of the Earth. "They absolutely are pandering the coal industry's propaganda that clean coal is the hope of the future. There's no such animal as clean coal."
Not all environmentalists are as critical, acknowledging that coal will remain an integral part of the country's energy picture. The two Democratic presidential aspirants' support for coal is outweighed by their strong push for renewable fuels and — unlike President Bush — their call for mandatory, economy-wide action on climate change.
"How they finesse things on the margin is up to them," said Cathy Duvall, the Sierra Club's national political director, as long as they also "talk about moving away from conventional coal ... and putting money into and investing in a renewable energy economy that will provide jobs."
Obama, by representing Illinois, a top 10 coal producing state, has a little more experience at it than Clinton. Fifteen months ago, he joined Republican coal-state Sen. Jim Bunning of Kentucky in calling for loan guarantees and tax breaks for coal-to-liquid processing plants.
Environmentalists protested and he modified his proposal to include a requirement that such plants have carbon-capture technology and produce 20 percent less greenhouse gases than conventional diesel fuel refineries.
In reality, there is little difference in the broad energy agendas of Obama and Clinton. In states like Pennsylvania, where voters will cast ballots this Tuesday, and in West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana and Montana — upcomi... more
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