Our Energy, Our Future: Issues
AFFORDABILITY
Q: Will reliable electricity become an unaffordable luxury for low-income Americans?
Q: How do we meet national climate change goals without making electricity unaffordable?
In the United States, utility bills have risen about 30 percent. Even without taking steps to curb global warming, rates are expected to increase due to the rising cost of fuel (coal, natural gas, etc).
The downturn in our economy will increase the number of Americans who cannot afford to pay their electric bills. This would prove to be a tremendous step backward from the accomplishments in public power made following Franklin Roosevelt's rural electrification program, which sought affordable electricity for all Americans.
The energy proposals being debated in Congress all entail further increasing the cost of what has become a necessity in American life: reliable electricity.
Ultimately, consumers will be paying the bill for programs to reduce carbon emissions – they should therefore be considered equal stakeholders in policy debates that until now have included only environmental groups and industry.
CAPACITY (Supply of Electricity)
Q: Will we have the power we need in the future?
In the '60s and '70s, the electric industry went through a period of expansion, the result of which was excess generation capacity. Since those years, the demand for electricity has been on the rise and that excess generation (in the United States as a whole) is now gone. To make matters worse, demand for electricity continues to climb, with increases of about 26 percent expected by 2030. Add to that the rising cost to build new generation, and the result is increasing costs which are passed on to the consumer. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) has indicated that by 2015, some regions of the United states may experience rolling blackouts unless new base load generation capacity is built.
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) currently projects that electricity needs will grow 1 percent per year through 2020. This increase will require 112,000 MW of new generation capacity. Looking out further, demand will grow 26 percent by 2030, requiring a total of 258,000 new MW unless energy efficiency measures are taken.
TECHNOLOGY
Q: Will we have the technology we need to supply adequate power in a carbon-constrained world?
Q: How does the country prioritize the limited funds for research and development and set a realistic time-frame for curbing carbon emissions without risking the supply of affordable, reliable electricity?
With technology now available, electric utilities have four options for baseload power generation: coal, gas, nuclear and, in some regions, large-scale hydroelectric. Most renewable resources such as wind or solar provide intermittent power unsuitable for baseload power generation. A report by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on the future of coal states categorically that "coal will continue to play a large and indispensable role in a greenhouse gas constrained world."
Since both coal and gas emit carbon dioxide, goals for reducing greenhouse gases blamed for global warming depend on (1) reducing the carbon emissions, (2) increasing efficiency and (3) remedying the problems that make alternative fuels unsuitable. Each of these approaches will require massive investments in new technology. And in the meantime, bridge technologies must be available so that cooperatives can meet rising demand.
