Vol. 4, No. 24
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October 15, 2007
Nevada's Online State News Journal
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COPYWRITING
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Debate On Energy And
Its Sources Steams Up
Coal Needs To Go, But
What Replaces It?
The general consensus among scientists, ecologists, and many within the public sector agree that coal fired energy plants are dinosaurs and need to be replaced; there is no consensus on what that replacement might be. Nevada seems to be working against the idea that coal needs to be replaced, with three very large coal fired plants in the planning stage and very little movement toward replacing coal with any other form of production.
One man with tremendous clout at the national level, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is also Nevada's senior senator and he has vowed to stop the development of the three new plants, two in White Pine County and one in Lincoln Country. Speaking at a gathering in southern Nevada recently, Reid offered an open challenge to Nevada's primary energy company, Sierra Pacific Resources (SPR) and its CEO Michael Yackira. Reid said that the argument used by SPR that an intra state transmission line will only be built if their coal fired power plant is built is a case of smoke and mirrors, a case of "switch and bait."
Yackira responded immediately by saying SPR does not engage in "switch and bait or bait and switch." Yackira however did not say the proposed transmission line was separate from the coal fired projects. Nevada currently purchases over half its power from out of state, but the addition of three 1500 megawatt coal fired power plants actually have little to do with Nevada's power needs according to most in the industry. The plants are planned because Nevada, unlike its neighbors does not have air pollution laws dealing with coal fired power plants. The plants can be built here but not in Utah, Arizona, California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, or New Mexico. Most of the power would be distributed out of state.
Reid says the only thing Nevada would get would be "more dirty air, more horrible weather, more illness." Reid backs the further involvement of the state's leading energy producer in renewable resources such as wind, solar, and geothermal. Two major solar plants in southern Nevada are almost reaching capacity at this time, large geothermal plants in northern Nevada have been producing enough energy to fulfill the needs of every home in Reno, and there is tremendous research going on currently dealing with wind potential in the Silver State.
Nevada Solar One in southern Nevada is the first large commercial solar production plant in the Silver State developing 64 megawatts of energy by concentrating solar energy through tracking mirrors, heating mineral oil that moves through tubing and heats water to drive standard turbines. The relatively new system is being refined regularly, has been used successfully in the Mojave Desert areas of southern California, and producers have been able to lower the cost of production considerably.
Another type of solar power production comes from photo voltaic cells that track the sun as well, but the energy is developed immediately through the cells. An 18 megawatt plant is almost on line now at Nellis Air Force Base, developed by the SunPower Corporation. Look for other solar plants to come on line in the next few years. One of the problems that was faced by Nevada Solar One was financing because of the low economic picture offered by Sierra Pacific Resources following the Enron debacle. SPR has much better economic ratings today, and financing may be easier to get.
In line with Reid's comments on bad air and illness the byproducts of coal fired power plants in Ely, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is looking toward changing its standards as far as ozone in the atmosphere, and Ely would be out of compliance at this time. Interestingly, it isn't because of power plants in Ely; it's pollution coming north from Las Vegas and the southern California areas near Los Angeles. If the coal fired plants are built in White Pine County, the air will be that much worse according to federal officials.
One fear among many is the effects the coal fired plants would have on Great Basin National Park one of Nevada's beauty spots. Other than the ozone creeping into the county, White Pine County has been honored more than once by national groups such as the American Lung Association for its clean air. Those that have visited Nevada's National Park are blessed with some of the most pristine countryside in the state, and the cleanest air.
Something that doesn't get a lot of play from the Nevada press is the planned proliferation of nuclear energy in this country. According to the nuclear power industry, some 30 new nuclear operations are expected to either be on line or be in the building stage within the next three years. For almost 30 years the industry has not made many strides for the development of nuclear plants mainly from the problems that created the Three Mile Island disaster. The industry seems to believe that memories of that disaster have dulled enough that the general public will accept new nuclear energy plants.
It appears that the current administration supports this concept, has offered tax credits of as much as 1.8 cents per kilowatt hour for the first 6,000 megawatts generated by plants, has offered risk insurance, and is guaranteeing multi-billion-dollar loans to nuclear companies. While major questions dealing with the waste product, that is high level nuclear waste, and safety are not answered, the industry is bragging about its pollution free production. There are many that believe the resurgence of nuclear power would not be taking place without the "massive -- you could say unprecedented -- federal subsidies," the words of Tyson Slocum of the group Public Citizen.
Slocum says the nuclear plants do produce less greenhouse gasses than coal, but what they do produce is far more deadly, high level nuclear waste. Most of the plants that are being planned are along the east and southeast coast of the U.S. There are already 31 states that have either nuclear power plants, or have high level nuclear waste on the ground. Some have been saying for years that research should have started years ago to recycle the waste into a useable form and continue to reuse the product.
The Department of Energy (DOE) recently issued a report that indicated that a 100 square mile area of southern Nevada could produce enough solar energy to supply the country. Senator Reid uses that report when he demands that energy companies in the Silver State quit using coal and spend their ample resources on developing renewable energy sources. It is pointed out regularly that Nevada is one windy state, and while wind energy has built in problems, it is a source that has been developed and is a regular source of energy in many places in the west and mid west.
The idea of changes in our climate, in our atmosphere, in our way of life are coming because of how we pollute the air, those changes will come over a long period of time, and can be reduced or even reversed based on how we use resources at our disposal. The worldwide use of king coal adds millions of tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere annually, and other resources are available, almost as economical, and far less detrimental to our health. Nevada can't change the world, that doesn't mean it has to add to the problem.
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