Like many states, Arizona has established a renewable energy portfolio standard basically mandating that our investor-owned utilities produce a certain portion of generation load from renewable sources. Whether it be from wind, solar or geothermal, Arizona hopes that one day 15 percent of the total generation comes from those green sources.
It won’t be easy. We are a coal state. And we have the big Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station west of Phoenix. That means energy rates are low. And they are, comparatively speaking.
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The gap between what it costs to generate renewable energy versus the traditional generation sources is still pretty wide. To convert overnight would be a shock to the systems of every ratepayer in the state. But it’s getting closer all of the time.
The U.S. Department of Energy says energy prices will go up an average of 4.8 percent per year. Because renewables don’t use fuel their prices don’t go up at all. Tucson Electric Power, for example, would pay a wind or solar developer a 20-year flat contract. It would not take too long for the line representing the cost of green energy to cross the line of the traditional, carbon-backed generation due to rising fuel costs.
Now, with that said, I would prefer we not pursue renewable energy solely to cut down on green house gases. I am not an adherent of Al Gore’s over-the-top doomsday scenario about the evils thrust upon us by carbon-based generation facilities. I AM concerned we give Middle Easterners too much power by basically allowing them to hold us hostage charging whatever they want for oil. We should pursue renewable energy to reduce our reliance on foreign sources.
Utility-scale wind and solar power will allow us to limit the amount of fuel oil used in homes in the northeastern U.S. and allow us to use natural gas in vehicles instead of power plants.
Unlike a lot of green producers, I do not think we should shut down every coal plant or board up every nuclear generating facility. We need them too. We need a balanced approach; one that phases in green energy, while continuing our efforts to acquire new sources in this country.
We need to build more nuclear power plants. We need to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and off U.S. shores. To not do these things prevents us from becoming more independent. And it keeps prices up.
The policies of the radical environmental movement keep prices high, and opportunity low. The United States got great, not by denying ourselves opportunity by placing restrictions on ourselves, based on dubious claims. We got great, because we were able to utilize our resources in a way that expanded growth and opportunity for all.
We can take the message from Teddy Roosevelt and become “conservationists.” It can’t hurt to get smarter by conserving and investing more heavily in renewables.
Renewable energy is not the all to end all. It is not as reliable and costs more than traditional sources. But it could become a much bigger player in our national policy if it’s positioned as a supplement to our energy needs.
With technological breakthroughs in solar and wind energy generation devices prices are dropping and one day will be on par with traditional carbon-based sources. Until that time comes we need to explore all of our energy options or we risk losing our independence to folks who we have very little in common with.
Contact Mike Boyd at azmboyds@aol.com. Boyd is currently vice president of development for Western Wind Energy Corporation. He has worked as a consultant and lobbyist and served on the Pima County Board of Supervisors from 1992-2000, was Pima County Recorder from 1988-1992 and worked for KVOA 4 and KOLD 13 as a news anchor and reporter from 1984-1988.
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