250 MegaWatts of Community Action!!!

Breaking News in July:
"Progress Energy is pleased to partner with the '250 MegaWatts of Community Action' campaign and the 9th Annual SEE Expo to help educate consumers about using energy wisely. We are committed to energy efficiency and expanding the use of alternative energy, and Progress Energy is now offering several new and innovative programs to help our customers participate in the energy solution.  Our new programs can help every residential customer and business to cut their energy usage, save money and participate in an expanding emphasis on reducing consumption." Martha Thompson, Progress Energy Western Region.

More new information, link and a PDF download below!

The Goal of 250 MegaWatts

The reason for a goal of 250 MegaWatts is both simple and complex.

Simply put, it's a goal that's the estimated amount of energy that Progress Energy's Western Region states is needed to meet intermittent peak demand (approximately 150 megawatts) combined with the need for required reserve capacity (approximately 100 megawatts).

By demonstrating with our Communty Actions that we don't need peaking power plant capacity, there will not be a need for Progress Energy to build one. Rate increases will be lower and less pollution will be produced.  According to projections for new programs from Progress Energy itself, there are already about 30 to 50 megawatts of savings currently available, from a range of sources, such as grid transmission upgrades, peak demand programs, home weatherization and clean energy systems.

Click here for a PDF download of new Progress Energy programs

More information and another link below.

Please note: Your comments and suggestions for “250 MegaWatts of Community Action” are warmly welcomed! You can email us your thoughts and feedback at info@oursoutherncommunity.org. We look forward to hearing from you as we begin developing a new website for data collection and information sharing. More to announce soon!

The more complicated reasons are that there are many interconnected technical and legal issues that come into play. Regulations, corporate requirements, technical problems with the grid, special interests, environmental impacts creating  'external' costs that local, state & federal taxpayers have to subsidize economic loss of billions of dollars for buying fuels and, hardly least, national security... each are part of this complex issue.

Fortunately, it’s proven that the least expensive power is the power we save through energy efficiency. There's no law to prevent you or your community from saving money and energy.  The Utility Commission does not have to rule on whether or not you can put more insulation in the attic or replace old windows.  Clean energy systems are already more cost effective and better investments than old, dirty technologies. Local capital investments in green building, clean energy and energy efficiency are powerful local economic stimulators, in addition to the economic benefits of avoiding the environmental impact from traditional fueled power plants.

Where do we find 250 MegaWatts?

Simply put... we write down what's happening! To date, no one has attempted to count all the clean energy produced or energy saved through efficiency in any given region.  Have you replaced the windows in your home? Have you installed solar hot water or photovoltaic systems? Have you changed light bulbs to CFL's or – better yet – LEDs?  Have you had an energy audit on your business or home? Have you installed a small scale wind system? Have you shifted your power usage 'off peak'? Has your congregation taken a part in energy savings programs? Have you signed up for a utility company 'peak load control' program? Has your school system built a L.E.E.D. certified new school? These are just a few examples!

To learn more about decreasing your energy use and saving money on your monthly bill through these programs, visit the Progress Energy web site: http://progress-energy.com/environment/energyefficiency.asp   

Several new solar programs are also available to Progress Energy Western Region customers, including a solar water heating research study. Local installers Sundance Power and FLS Energy are part of that study and can work with interested customers to apply for a $1,000 Progress Energy rebate

Let's Face the Facts… We're All in this Together!

Utilities, customers, businesses, energy policies, environmental problems and economics are all interconnected. It's not "us or them", it's all of us.  Cooperation and partnership will solve far more of our problems than spreading misinformation.

The "250 MW of Community Action" campaign is a tactic in a effective sustainable strategy that brings facts to the table in a form we can all discuss and address, from all sides.  Getting a grasp on the facts of any situation is the first step to finding realistic solutions.

Our Energy Industries in Transition

Utilities and energy corporations have traditionally planned for more fossil fuel and nuclear power because that's one way they make money with a no-risk return on investment from taxpayers and ratepayers for upfront construction costs through the Construction Works In Progress programs, and because, until now, projections were that the demand for electricity would continue to rise unabated. It's also because that's the way it’s been done for 100 years, so they know how to do it (by and large) reliably this way.

However, the facts are that those assumptions are no longer valid. The 100th planned ‘new’ coal fired power plant was just cancelled, for example….

"100 Coal Plants Prevented or Abandoned - Movement Sparks Shift to Cleaner Energy and Over 400 Million Fewer Tons of CO2"

Sierra Club, July 9, 2009
http://action.sierraclub.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=115741.0

Intermountain Power’s coal plant in Utah became the 100th new coal plant to be prevented or abandoned since the beginning of the coal rush in 2001. Coming just a week after Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced the city would end coal use by 2020, and announced the same day as a decision by Basin Electric Power in South Dakota to pull plans for a new coal-fired power plant, the Intermountain Power coal plant marks a significant milestone in the shift to clean energy. The demise of the 100 plants has kept well over 400 million tons of harmful global warming pollution out of the air annually. Instead, a smart mix of clean energy solutions like energy efficiency, wind, solar and geothermal has stepped up to meet America’s energy needs. Last year 42 percent of all new power producing capacity came from wind, and for the first time the wind industry created more jobs than mining coal.

Facts prove it's a better investment today to invest in energy efficiency technologies, clean energy production and green building.  Both utilities and private investors are already beginning to harness the free energy of Nature and we are learning to use all energy, no matter the source, more wisely. Instead of ever more expensive, non-renewable, dirty fuels that pollute our planet at great economic and environmental cost, it’s time to work together to transition to a sustainable energy & economic future.

The fact is that corporations providing our power today are motivated by profit. Corporate profits are based primarily on energy sales and capital investments, not a socially equitable or environmentally balanced business plan. It’s also a fact is that we need our power companies. The problem is not with corporations making a profit or with our shared need for energy, the problem is in how power will be generated and how it’s being used.

So, the great opportunity today is to try and work with our utilities in a cooperative manner to help them transition to a profitable new business model, where they are able to make a fair profit through a larger portfolio of energy services, not simply selling energy.

Good News Facts!

Facts show that current energy efficiency technology and simple conservation currently can avoid the need for additional power plants, which in turn buys us the needed time to bring more clean energy 'on line' in a 21st century distributed generating system.

Energy Information Administration Predicts Drops in Electricity, Coal and Oil in 2009:

U.S. Energy Information Administration, July 7, 2009
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/steo/pub/contents.html

Retail sales of electricity in the industrial sector continue to decline, having fallen by 12 percent during the first quarter of 2009 compared with year-ago levels, according to EIA's "Short-Term Energy Outlook." Total consumption of electricity is projected to fall by 2.0 percent for the entire year of 2009. The projected electric-power-sector consumption of about 990 million short tons of coal in 2009 represents a 5.2 percent decline and would be the first time since 2002 that annual consumption would be below the billion-short-ton level. Total consumption of liquid fuels and other petroleum products is projected to decrease by 650,000 bbl/d (3.3 percent) in 2009, including a decline of 280,000 bbl/d (7.0 percent) in distillate fuel consumption and 140,000 bbl/d (8.7 percent) in jet fuel consumption.

As ratepayers and citizens, we have an opportunity now to partner with utilities in a transition to help them make a fair profit for power distribution services, instead of outdated old power generation with all those "external" costs. Since each utility customer uses power, each customer has a vested interest in being efficient and saving money.  Homeowners and businesses are now investing in decentralized power production, another reason there’s less need for additional expensive centralized power plants.

The fact is that a utility’s top priority is the bottom line for their shareholders. This is actually the best news, because there's now more money in 'green' today than in the old, 19th century approach. Arguing with utilities about social justice, morals and a better future for our children has been proven pointless, but offering a new way to profit gets a corporation's attention.

Virtually all the fundamental problems of our current power production systems will be addressed with a transition to clean energy sources, modern grid distribution technologies and energy efficiency technologies while providing sustainable profits for the corporations.

Your comments and suggestions for “250 MegaWatts of Community Action” are warmly welcomed! You can email us your thoughts and feedback at info@oursoutherncommunity.org. We look forward to hearing from you. Stay Tuned!

Thanks,
Ned Ryan Doyle
S.E.E. Expo Coordinator