| An alternative way for Indiana to avoid California-style energy
chaos
Utility-industry spinmeisters seem to be working overtime these days in a quest to convince the public, the Legislature and the media that there is a simple answer to Indiana’s looming energy crisis. Build more power plants they say. More plants equal more electricity equals no crisis. In their drive to frighten and persuade the public, those who would profit at public expense from the build-and-burn energy model invoke the specter of California. Here’s how one Indiana paper fed its readers the company line: “California hasn't constructed substantial new electric generation plants in 10 to 15 years, so it did not have an ample power supply to meet increasing demand when the energy crisis began.” Simple, but wrong, in more ways than there is space here to correct. There is no single explanation for California’s ongoing energy “crisis.” But a simple fact is that since the state deregulated its investor-owned electric plants in 1996, California electric companies have abandoned what had been a model approach to energy efficiency and conservation. Rather than reducing demand when it is cheaper than increasing supply, the deregulated power producers have targeted rising demand as the key to raising profits. And not surprisingly, demand for electricity in California skyrocketed after the focus shifted under deregulation. California is experiencing an energy crisis. But it’s not simply one of inadequate supply, as the utilities would have the public and media believe. It’s in part a crisis of inefficient demand. An alternative way for Indiana to avoid California-style energy chaos was proposed last month by a multi-state coalition of environmental groups, including the Environmental Law and Policy Center, Citizens Action Coalition and Indiana Clean Energy Campaign. Their “Repowering the Midwest: The Clean Energy Development Plan for the Heartland” is a blueprint for developing clean energy options that would diversify energy sources, reduce pollution, increase efficiency, promote economic development, and help stabilize electric rates in Indiana and nine other Midwestern states. Unlike the build-and-burn, produce-and-consume approach advocated by the electric companies, the Clean Energy Development Plan proposes a balanced energy portfolio to meet future challenges. It calls for: Aggressive implementation of tried-and-true energy efficient technologies, such as high R-value insulation and “Energy Star” appliances, and new efficiency technologies, such as smart thermostats and compact fluorescent bulbs. These technologies can be employed by business, residential and government consumers, saving money and avoiding wasteful energy use. The Clean Energy Development Plan estimates that energy efficiency can save Hoosiers $731 million in electricity costs by 2020, reduce electricity demand by 17 percent by 2010 and 29 percent by 2020, and eliminate the need for 15 large power plants by 2020. Deploying renewable resources and efficient generation technologies to help reduce the need for polluting power plants, provide jobs for working Hoosiers, create new markets for Indiana farmers and improve electric system reliability. If every Hoosier home had solar panels on the roof, there would be no need for new peaking power plants to meet demand during hot, sunny summer months when air conditioners run full bore. And by reducing the amount of electricity that must be carried over distribution lines to Hoosier homes, solar energy contributes to system reliability. Good jobs would be produced if Indiana were a leader in the production and installation of clean energy technologies like solar panels, wind turbines and fuel cells. The state’s agricultural community would find new markets if Indiana utilities co-fired their power plants with crop residues and energy crops like switchgrass. And farmers could earn additional income from their land by renting land to wind turbine energy producers. The Clean Energy Development Plan is a comprehensive, professional, scientific report that explains how the Midwest can produce enough electricity to meet its needs while simultaneously reducing pollution and encouraging economic development. The technologies it calls for are here today and can be implemented immediately. All it would take is a commitment to a clean energy future for Indiana.
Grant
Smith,
The report can be viewed online at www.repowermidwest.org.
More information is available from Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana,
1-800-201-1210.
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