Opinions
Task force got it right on coal
After months of study, a majority of the task force made two recommendations: For the near term, add an additional coal power plant locally. For the long term, expand efforts to encourage energy efficiency.
May 31, 2006
by Ted Higgs
in News Leader
I was privileged to be one of 17 Springfield residents selected to serve on the Power Supply Community Task Force. After months of study, a majority of the task force made two recommendations: For the near term, add an additional coal power plant locally. For the long term, expand efforts to encourage energy efficiency.
These recommendations were not made lightly. We exhaustively scrutinized generation types and fuels. We looked at coal, coal gasification, fuel cells, hydroelectric, wind, solar, natural gas and nuclear. We found that compared with coal, the other fuels are unavailable, unproven, not reliable, or much more expensive. Nuclear power is very controversial and requires a lengthy permitting and approval process.
We also found that purchasing the electricity we need from an outside source or partnering with a remote supplier is risky. The most serious problem is the lack of transmission capacity to move power dependably from a remote location to Springfield. When the power does get to town, it will cost more than power that could be produced right here at home.
Conservation is not a magic bullet. Programs to encourage efficiency are the right thing to do. But the fact is, in Springfield we cannot save our way out of the need for more power. Any doubts about that were removed earlier this year. The findings of the Austin Energy study clearly showed we can save more power — but not enough to avoid new generating sources. Building "green" will take time.
To do nothing is clearly irresponsible and not an option. Springfield will continue to grow. We all will continue to buy newer, more novel gadgets, most of them powered by electricity. Let's not forget that the utility's ability to provide us with energy diminishes as more time goes by with no action. Low-cost, dependable electricity will be replaced with higher- cost, less dependable power.
I stand behind the findings of the Power Supply Community Task Force and the need for another local coal generating plant.
Ted Higgs, Springfield, was a member of the Power Supply Community Task Force.
These recommendations were not made lightly. We exhaustively scrutinized generation types and fuels. We looked at coal, coal gasification, fuel cells, hydroelectric, wind, solar, natural gas and nuclear. We found that compared with coal, the other fuels are unavailable, unproven, not reliable, or much more expensive. Nuclear power is very controversial and requires a lengthy permitting and approval process.
We also found that purchasing the electricity we need from an outside source or partnering with a remote supplier is risky. The most serious problem is the lack of transmission capacity to move power dependably from a remote location to Springfield. When the power does get to town, it will cost more than power that could be produced right here at home.
Conservation is not a magic bullet. Programs to encourage efficiency are the right thing to do. But the fact is, in Springfield we cannot save our way out of the need for more power. Any doubts about that were removed earlier this year. The findings of the Austin Energy study clearly showed we can save more power — but not enough to avoid new generating sources. Building "green" will take time.
To do nothing is clearly irresponsible and not an option. Springfield will continue to grow. We all will continue to buy newer, more novel gadgets, most of them powered by electricity. Let's not forget that the utility's ability to provide us with energy diminishes as more time goes by with no action. Low-cost, dependable electricity will be replaced with higher- cost, less dependable power.
I stand behind the findings of the Power Supply Community Task Force and the need for another local coal generating plant.
Ted Higgs, Springfield, was a member of the Power Supply Community Task Force.
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