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Santee Cooper Board Meeting Next Monday

There will be a Santee Cooper board meeting next Monday, August 24th.

It is open to the public. Santee Cooper will discuss a revision to their plan to build the Pee Dee coal plant and will vote on whether or not to raise rates (in part) to pay for it.

Please come and find out what Santee Cooper is up to!

Follow the Santee Cooper board here.

Read the meeting agenda here.

Michigan's Energy Efficiency Opportunity

Reports by Crains, Bay City Times and Gongwer from yesterday's telepresser on the NRDC report, A Green Energy Alternative for Michigan. Reports compiled by Progress Michigan..

http://www.mlive.com/mudpuppy/index.ssf/2009/08/another_report_says_michigan_g.html

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20090811/FREE/908119986

STUDY: ENERGY EFFICIENCY COULD SAVE $3 B. OVER 20 YEARS

A new report out Tuesday says just by turning off a few more lights, using a few more yards of insulation and practicing other common sense acts of energy efficiency Michigan consumers could save $3 billion in electricity costs over the next 20 years.

Synapse Energy Economic, a consulting firm on energy and environmental issues, was hired to review Michigan's energy plan by the Natural Resources Defense Council in Chicago.

The report: A Green Energy Alternative for Michigan, is "a deep analysis" of the state's projected electricity demand, the liabilities associated with air and global warming pollution, as well as the opportunities offered by clean energy technologies for job creation, industrial investment, and resilience in the face of changing circumstances.

While he seemed to favor alternative fuels over fossil, wind topping them all, author David Schlissel said the best way to provide for the state's power demands is actually an aggressive energy efficiency program.

Based on demand that is decreasing now and then projected to go flat, energy efficiency, combined with 27,000 giga-watt hours of power from clean energy technologies can fulfill the state's power needs, the report stated.

The report's conclusions are contrary to the 21^st Century Energy Plan submitted to the Public Service Commission in 2007, which didn't take the recession into account. The new report found demand will actually have decreased by about 10 percent over two years by the end of this year.

"It's a sad reflection of the economy, but it's also an opportunity for the state to expand the types of energy it uses without having to worry about meeting new energy demands," said Mr. Schlissel.

But Jeff Holyfield, spokesperson for Consumers Energy disagreed, saying one can't just look at Michigan's demand during a recession and base future needs upon it.

"We've seen demand drop during hard times before but it rises after and keeps rising," he said. "We can't use the drop in demand to delay new power plants because there's such a long lead time to get them going. If you wait until you really need the power to start building it, then you're too late."

The report also reviewed plans by Consumers Energy, including its projections that building a new coal fired plant will have a positive environmental impact because it will replace older, less efficient plants.

The timing of the report coincides with the closing of the public comment period for the new coal-burning plant Consumers is planning to build near Bay City.

Anne Woiwode, state director for the Sierra Club, said she expects there will be about 5,000 comments against the coal plant.

"It's very clear that it's time for Michigan to move beyond dirty coal," she said.

But Mr. Holyfield said he'd expect that just as many people probably commented in favor of the Bay City project, which is set to be generating about 830 Megawatts per hour of power by 2017, enough power to fuel a city of 535,000 people.

In sum, said Mr. Schlissel, despite what Consumers Energy repeatedly says, there is no such this as "clean burning coal."

"The new plants are less dirty for some criteria pollutants, but they still emit mercury, small particulates, CO2 and five other greenhouse gases," he said.

Overall, Mr. Holyfield said, he agrees with the report that everyone could be doing a better job at energy efficiency and demand side management (lowering peak usage amounts).

In fact, in Consumer's updated plan, wind and other renewable energy power sources are blended with "clean coal," since it burns 10 to 15 percent cleaner than in years past, taking a well rounded approach to energy use the way the report does, he said.

But, Mr. Holyfield says he stops short at saying that simply by aggressively maintaining efficiency and using alternative fuels to fill in the gaps, the state would be able to provide enough power.

Scott Simons, spokesperson for DTE Energy, agreed.

He said even though his company offers a slew of incentives for customers to trim back their energy usage, trade in their energy guzzling appliances for new ones and use alternative fuels, "there will always be a need for fossil fuels or nuclear power. The wind doesn't blow all the time and the sun doesn't shine at night," he said. "But we still need energy, especially on those 80 degree days when people are cranking up their air conditioners."

Both utility officials said they plan to use wind primarily to meet the renewable fuel standard of 10 percent by 2015, adding that even if they wanted to invest more in alternative fuels, at a cost of about three times what fossil fuels cost, it would be prohibitive for most consumers.

But a mix of energy efficiency programs and wind energy usage could be good news for the economy if a study conducted by the University of Massachusetts is accurate.

According to Ms. Woiwode, the university compared how many jobs a $1 million investment would bring in coal, wind and in energy efficiency, and energy efficiency won by a long shot, with 17 jobs created for every $1 million invested, compared to 6.9 jobs in coal and 13 in wind.

As for what policymakers can do, the report said they "are on the cusp of making important decisions regarding the state's energy future."

Establishing the renewable mandate was a good start and making the 21^st Century Energy Plan was also laudable, although that plan is already out of date and needs revision, the report concluded, adding that the state is also still too reliant on coal power.

Electricity Prices Plummet

A fascinating article from today's Wall Street Journal. Below I have exerpted some of the more interesting segments. Does Santee Cooper management read the Journal?

Slack demand for electricity across the U.S. is leading to some of the sharpest reductions in power prices in recent years, offering a break for consumers and businesses who just a year ago were getting crunched by massive electricity bills.
...

The falloff in demand represents a reversal of what has been one of the steadiest trends in business. For decades, the utility sector could rely on a gradual increase in electricity demand. In 45 of the past 58 years, year-over-year growth exceeded 2%. In fact, there only have been five years since 1950 in which electricity demand has dropped in absolute terms.
...

"There's more supply than demand and prices are really low so it doesn't make sense to build anything," says John Shelk, president of the Electric Power Supply Association in Washington, D.C., a group that represents power generators.

Many electricity markets throughout the country have implemented demand reduction programs that give consumers a further incentive to reduce power use. The 13-state PJM Interconnection market has been one of the most aggressive -- and has seen one of the steepest price drops.

A new report from the region's official market monitor found a strong correlation between falling prices and an increase in demand-reduction programs. In the PJM market, energy users can collect money through an auction process for pledging to cut energy use in future periods.

In May, PJM conducted an auction to ensure it will have the resources it believes it will need in 2012-13. About 6% of the winning bids came from those who pledged to cut energy use by a total of 8,000 megawatts in that future period.

Read more at The Wall Street Journal

Harrell: Focus on Alternatives

From Monday's Post and Courier: (note that coal does NOT appear in Harrell's list of SC-specific alternatives...)

Just imagine how our economy and way of life could change if the billions of petrodollars we send to unfriendly oil-controlling countries were instead pumped into our own domestic energy industries. A viable alternative energy — produced by Americans and controlled by Americans — will allow our economy to grow, take away the best weapon terrorists have, and protect American lives.

Prosperity follows energy, and we will need more energy in the future if we intend to grow our economy. But we have become a nation dependant on dwindling fossil fuels. This is partly because of a lack of energy alternatives, but in reality, it is because we have lacked the determination to develop them.

The good news is that in South Carolina, we are now actively pursuing this goal of energy independence. Along with nuclear, biomass, hydroelectric, solar and wind energy, hydrogen has emerged as a promising new energy source. Since the only byproduct of hydrogen energy is pure water, it is proving to be one of the cleanest energy sources being pursued. And right here in South Carolina, we are leading the country and the world in the race to develop hydrogen technology. Teaming up with private industries and our research universities, we are making substantial headway in developing this technology.

Industry is getting involved in this new opportunity and that is attracting more private interest and investments — investments that will create sorely needed jobs and grow our economy. Already, we are seeing real-world applications of hydrogen fuel cells in the market. Bridgestone Firestone Manufacturing in Aiken is converting its entire forklift fleet to run on more efficient and cost-effective hydrogen fuel cells. Television stations are using hydrogen to power some of their cameras. It is even being used to power the scoreboard at USC's baseball stadium.

This effort to move our country beyond foreign oil will take leadership and a willingness to break from the status quo ideas about energy. I am confident that the people of South Carolina have this ability and have the vision to see the thriving economic engine that rests just over the horizon.

Read the rest in the Post and Courier.

Navy Admiral Warns Us to take Climate Change Seriously

From the pages of the Post and Courier, Retired Vice Admiral of the Navy, Dennis McGinn tells us that "It is vital that America maintain the economic and physical security that has allowed us to become the world's leading nation for good on every front. With vision and bold action now, we will ensure that the 21st Century does not turn out to be more violent than the 20th."

How? By addressing climate change:

America's long-term prosperity, quality of life and, in a very real sense, our national security, demand that we immediately add climate change to the considerations guiding national security policy, and that both our civilian and military sectors act decisively to help stem the tide of environmental damage.

The U.S. must take a leadership role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Other nations are moving ahead and the U.S. must not only join but be in the forefront of this effort. America's military forces can contribute to national solutions as a technological innovator and early adopter.

Our Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines can not only increase their mission effectiveness but can become more "green" and show the rest of us how to follow suit. The numerous military bases here in South Carolina can be among the innovation trend-setters.

We also must put a true cost on carbon emissions and wean ourselves from overdependence on overseas oil sources — for which the high price of access has been entanglement in dangerous regional conflicts.

Read more of the Admiral's argument underlying the deep connection between the threat of climate change and our nation's national security. Consider why utilities like Santee Cooper are on the side of weakening our nation by knowingly building another costly coal plant that will significantly contribute to global warming. If its not good for the U.S.A., how can it be good for S.C.?

World's Foremost Business Experts Back Efficiency

From the New York Times:

The biggest opportunity to improve the nation's energy situation is a major investment program to make homes and businesses more efficient, according to a study released Wednesday by the consulting firm McKinsey. An investment of $520 billion [21% of what we have spent so far bailing out Wall Street banks, which is $2.5 trillion--P.M.] in improvements like sealing ducts and replacing inefficient appliances could produce $1.2 trillion in savings on energy bills through 2020, the study found.

The report said such a program, if carried out over the next decade, could cut the country's projected energy use in 2020 by about 23 percent, a savings that would be "greater than the total of energy consumption of Canada," Ken Ostrowski, a senior partner in McKinsey's Atlanta office, said at a forum in Washington on Wednesday. It would also more than offset the growth in energy use that would be expected otherwise.

"The scale is vast if we can put together the means to pursue it," Mr. Ostrowski said.

McKinsey's report is the latest in a series of reports that have concluded that energy efficiency should be the nation's priority resource, capable of meeting the majority of the nation's future energy needs.

The same has been shown to be true in the Southeast and in South Carolina. Until Santee Cooper develops and implements an robust energy efficiency program (right now it's programs are anemic and unproductive), efforts to build an expensive, dirty coal plant should be opposed.