Public Power - June 2008 - (Page 18)

Climate Change Solutions technologies from the Department of Energy. After the department rescinded its investment in FutureGen—its clean coal project in Illinois—it agreed to pour more money into carbon capture and storage technology at multiple integrated gasification combined-cycle coal plants. The Department said it will request $648 million for its Office of Fossil Energy’s advanced coal technology research, development and demonstration program for fiscal year 2009, a $129 million increase from its 2008 request. Despite such investments, the Environmental Protection Agency estimates that only a small amount of carbon capture and sequestration technology will be built in 2020, leading to the displacement of most traditional fossil fuels only by 2040. “Fossil fuels will peak in 2010 and slowly decline until 2050,” said an EPA analysis, released in March, of America’s Climate Security Act of 2008—now the most likely climate change legislation to pass through Congress. Also released in March was an even less optimistic report by the Electric Power Research Institute. Electricity Technology in a Carbon-Constrained Future predicts no carbon capture and storage technology will be ready before 2030. It would be optimistic to assume a large amount of generation will have CCS by 2015, said Lock, who manages municipal utilities in Colorado—a region that will be extremely reliant on such technology when it is developed. Complications include issues with not only capturing and sequestering, but also scrubbing the coal and transporting the gas. Complex infrastructure is needed to put the gas in a place where it can be safely—and legally—injected. This is one of the many reasons utilities are expanding their reliance on renewable resources. Utilities in the Midwest and West are increasing their use of wind and solar generation. For instance, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, led by task force member Jan Schori, recently signed a contract to build 1,500 solar-powered homes near Rancho Cordova, Calif. The Salt River Project, managed by task force member Richard Silverman, aims to meet 15 percent of its energy through sustainable resources by 2025. To help with this task, SRP signed a 30-year contract in July 2007 to purchase 49 MW of geothermal energy from Southern California. Powering communities with clean generation—like nuclear and hydro power— is equally important, said Grantham- Because of these and other uncertainties, utilities have started to abandon planned coal plants. Richards. “I want to ensure that there is recognition of the value of hydroelectric resources and that many public power systems are owners of such facilities or recipients of federal hydro power and that in the future, consideration should be given to the expansion of hydroelectric resources whenever possible.” For utilities, especially those located in areas where hydroelectricity or developing new nuclear is impossible, recognizing the importance of taking energy efficiency measures and educating consumers about the value of demand-side management is paramount. “It is time for the utility industry to move beyond customer satisfaction,” said Schori, speaking at a conference in Washington, D.C. earlier this year. “Now we need to ask them to understand more fully the impact their energy use has on the grid and on the environment.” “We need to engage them and help them, and get them to help us work on local air quality issues and lower greenhouse gas emissions, she said. SMUD spent $34 million on energy efficiency initiatives last year and will spend PUBLIC POWER Bill Gallagher, retired CEO and now director of special projects for Vermont Public Power Supply Authority, is chairman of the CEO Task Force on Climate Change. Photo by John Whitman 18 JUNE 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Public Power - June 2008

Public Power - June 2008 Contents Perspective 10 Questions Finding Common Ground on Climate Change Solutions A Patchwork Approach to Renewable Energy Whose Grid Is It Anyway? The Little Utility That Could Benchmarking Customer Service Can Prairie Hay Power Your Town? Storming the Control Room Investing in the Smart Grid Coming of Age: Superconducting Cables Community Broadband Economic Development Customer Service Human Resources For Governing Boards Safety Parting Shot

Public Power - June 2008

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