Issues -- Energy

Current forecasts call for a million more people in New York City within 20 years. They will all want lights to read by, heat and air conditioning for their apartments, vehicles to get around – and the energy to power it all. The problem is, we are producing barely enough electricity to supply the demands on the system today, new buildings are being constructed with no eye toward where the electricity will come from, many current power plants are spewing far too much pollution into the air, and nobody wants the new power plants we need built near them.

New York needs a comprehensive “Smart Energy” program.

We need to combine efforts in three areas. First, we need to increase dramatically our use of clean, renewable energy sources. Second, we need to institute energy efficiency requirements in all areas. Third, we need to shift people away from individual cars and toward mass transit. Fortunately, significant progress in all of these areas can be accomplished without major disruptions in our daily lives.

Clean, renewable energy sources include solar, wind, water, geothermal and biomass sources. Let’s take them one at a time.

With currently available technology, solar energy is quite simply too expensive to compete; the cost of purchasing and installing solar cells is prohibitive. It is also unreliable – it’s unavailable at night, and practically worthless on cloudy days. With new technologies on the horizon, solar energy may become an integral part of the total energy structure in just a few years. It may never be a major energy source in New York, but it will eventually help.

Wind power is not as expensive as solar, and can be cost-effective. Like solar, wind power is not a completely reliable energy source – it only works when the wind is blowing – but over time wind power can be counted on for significant help in certain places. There are many areas upstate where wind turbines can be erected on underutilized land without disturbing anyone’s view and without disturbing local economies or the environment. As with solar power, wind power will only provide a fraction of our total needs, but it can make a difference.

In certain areas, water power can be cheap, clean and reliable. There is currently a pilot project being carried out in the East River between Roosevelt Island and Queens. Small turbines, anchored to river beds, can provide significant amounts of electricity at extremely low cost. Because they turn very slowly, they are not a hazard to fish (for the same reason, wind turbines are not a serious hazard to birds either). There is nothing to block anyone’s view. The problem is that there are only a limited number of places where water power can be harnessed effectively, especially when most of the best areas are also busy boating lanes. Water power may still be used to make a difference by tapping into ocean currents and tidal flow, but that technology is still in its infancy.

Biomass sources encompass a wide range, including ethanol from various sources and items that are currently waste products. We should, by now, have come to the conclusion that corn-based ethanol as a cost-effective, legitimate source of energy is a mirage; it takes too much energy to create and distribute it. Sugar cane is being used as an ethanol source in Brazil with great success, but domestic production of sugar cane is extremely limited because it requires tropical weather. On the other hand, NYC alone produces 12,000-15,000 tons of garbage every day; much of that garbage can be incinerated to produce electricity, replacing imported fossil fuels and lowering the amount of garbage we dump in landfills both here and in other states. By reducing the amount of garbage we “export” to other states, we will also save a lot of money.

The above power sources, when combined, can add up to provide quite a lot of electricity, but they will not be more than a small percentage of the total we need.
Geothermal heat exchange systems (GHE), however, can make a tremendous difference. The basic concept is simple. Just a few feet underground, the temperature is fairly constant, far warmer than the air in the winter, and far cooler than the air in the summer. Using GHE technology, this temperature difference can be tapped cheaply and reliably.

How cheaply? Without tax advantages, installation of geothermal heat exchange technology can pay for itself in less than ten years – and sometimes as quickly as five years. Furthermore, in addition to providing electricity, geothermal heat exchange can also provide heat directly to homes and apartments, as well as heating water.

A sufficiently large GHE system can also provide electricity to power electric and plug-in hybrid cars, saving drivers enormous costs.

Put all four sources together, and a large percentage of our energy needs, now and in the future, can be supplied at lower cost and with far less pollution. The only thing needed is the political will to make it happen.

The most effective changes will not be in switching to clean, renewable sources; they will be in the area of increasingly efficient energy use. Already, New York City has begun (and only begun) to require that some new government buildings be constructed to more efficient energy use standards. In addition, NYC recently passed a law requiring some large retail stores to keep their doors closed while running air conditioners. New York state needs to take the lead, not only for government buildings, but all new houses, office buildings, manufacturing centers, etc.

In 2004, Texas Instruments announced that they would build their new plant, not in China as originally expected, but in Texas. This was because a team of local officials, environmental designers and engineers created a plant design that used far less energy to operate. The savings in energy use were enough to make the plant economically competitive. As a result, about 1,000 jobs stayed in America, rather than being outsourced to China. New York is falling behind the anemic national job creation rate.

By requiring all new buildings to meet energy efficiency standards, we can bring more jobs to New York – and use less energy.

Finally, our largest single use of fossil fuels is gasoline burned by our cars. In New York City, there is a large system of mass transit, but it is inadequate to meet the needs of an increasing population. Additionally, there are commuter rails and buses serving the city. This system has a lot of room, and a lot of demand, for expansion. Furthermore, other cities in New York state provide far less mass transit than they could – and should, but lack the resources to create or expand mass transit. The state government needs to provide resources, both directly through more funding, and indirectly by gaining federal support.

This three-pronged “Smart Energy” program will dramatically lower our need for large power plants. It will result in lower utility bills for consumers and businesses, less pollution in the air we breathe, and greater job creation.