Recently, I read an article on a coal burning plant set to be torn down near Laughlin, Nevada. The plant stopped producing power in 2005 after an environmental group brought suit against the plant for its polluting ways. The demolition of this plant is seen as a major win for environmentalists throughout the southwest because simply closing the plant did not ensure that it would not go back into operation. The article was intriguing but it was the comments following that made me realize a shift taking place in our society.
Typically the comment section of azcentral.com solicits mostly off-base, uneducated statements (another blog topic entirely), and I feared the worst with this article. But to my surprise there was no complaining about environmentalists but rather a resounding call for the coal plant to be replaced with nuclear or solar energy; definitely a step in a new direction. Of course what will go in its place is the consideration of our energy companies, but it is refreshing to see our society pushing for something better.
Many times our country has started and stopped its search for a better way to produce energy. Nuclear plants have opponents at every turn and options such as solar and wind have promised greatness only to leave consumers with high dollar equipment and very little to show for it. It's no wonder people have such a bad taste in there mouth; but with rising oil prices, increasing populations requiring greater amounts of power and the recent push for environmental responsibility, a perfect storm is in motion and finally we are asking the right questions.
Little by little change is occurring. Land is being purchased for eventual commercial renewable energy sites and people are starting to understand that nuclear power is not dangerous but rather a clean and efficient way to provide energy to the masses. Whether the answer is nuclear, solar, wind, bio-fuels, reduced-emission coal plants or all of the above, an answer to cleaner energy is right over the horizon. We just need to keep demanding a better way.
- Posted by Nicole DePue
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jenniferfranklin
You’ve made a reasonable observation. Though it might be worth stating that just as important as new generation is energy conservation, improved efficiency etc. Up-rating current plants, regardless of their method of generation is also no-lose situation. Right now with the recession the power demand is actually not there, and most new plants of any type have been scrapped or delayed.
Coal technology isn’t stagnant either, with various scrubbing techniques to reduce emissions. If carbon is a serious issue, which I believe it is as of yet unproven and largely overblown, there is also carbon sequestration being developed. Oil & natural gas plants are typically much smaller peaker plants and so their impact is largely overrated, from a power standpoint. NG is actually very clean in comparison to coal, but just happens to be expensive (and potentially dangerous if you consider liquid natural gas transportation).
Solar is great in the SW. That’s about it. Wind is a giant eyesore and little help to baseload power. Hydro is typically opposed by environmentalists due to its destruction of habitats, but regardless of that, just about every river that can be dammed has been. Bio-fuels are typically a very poor way to generate power due to the vast resources required to create the fuel (the whole movement was basically a sham to provide subsidies to farmers). There has been some research into using algae however, but I don’t believe it’s ready for large scale power generation. Geothermal is ideal but there are few good locations for it.
Nuclear is extremely reliable and cost effective, but requires a large upfront expenditure that could bankrupt the utility building it if it goes over cost by significant amounts. There is also no means to deal with the waste yet, thanks to Harry Reid & his ilk, along with Jimmy Carter & Gerald Ford banning reprocessing (which Reagan lifted, but there has yet to be any progress in the area out of fears of nuclear proliferation).
The best way I can think of is to keep using everything. Energy diversity is a very good thing. The biggest issue is everyone wants cheap electricity, but they also don’t want the generation source to be anywhere near them. Something has to give.
By: Mike on June 12, 2009
at 1:27 pm