Energy Alternatives

This piece first appeared in December 11th, 2008 edition of the Pioneer Tribune, a weekly newspaper from Manistique, Michigan. Please visit their website: http://www.pioneertribune.com/

Lately there has been a lot of interest in alternative energy sources. For many years alternative energy has been a drum that has been beat by a lot of environmentalists, but recently there has been more pressure from the public at large to step up the research and advancement of alternative energy sources because we, the people, have been hit hard in the pocketbook by the soaring price of oil.

Saving the environment is a noble idea. Even if you don’t agree with the environmentalist movement per say, few could argue that pollution is a good thing. Doing all that we can to stop or reduce pollution shows good stewardship for the land. It is a bad idea to continue to pump contaminants into the air no matter what the cause of global warming is. To me the need for exploring alternative energy sources is important just because common sense tells me it is the best thing to do.

Saving money is a great idea too. The more that we can save on our necessities, such as food, shelter and clothing, the more money we have for the things in life that we enjoy.

I didn’t include petroleum products with the necessities because they aren’t something that we really need to survive. Mankind has spent most of its existence in the absence of automobiles and central heating. We could get by without these things. While we do have a basic need for transportation, our vehicles are often used for our enjoyment and as a source of status.

When the cost of transportation increases, we need to make up for that increase somewhere, and that somewhere most likely starts with less driving for things that are not necessary.

If cutting out unnecessary driving isn’t enough, we start tapping into the money we use for other non-essentials. If that still isn’t enough, then we start cutting back on the things that we really do need.

The way I see it is that we have allowed ourselves to become so dependant on a single energy source that when the availability of that energy becomes compromised the entire economy of the nation and even the world is affected.

It really is a good time to start looking at other ways to take care of our energy needs. Twenty years ago wind and solar power existed, but when compared to the price of other fuels sources we could hardly justify spending the money on alternative energy development. Now that fossil fuels have seen a tremendous price jump and solar and wind technology has improved and become more cost effective itself, the price of these alternatives looks a little more appealing.

There has been quite a bit of interest in large scale wind generation around the Great Lakes region. While the available wind may not be as great as what is available in the Plains States, the wind that does exist along our shorelines is certainly worth looking into as a potential source of energy. We would be fools not to take a good, hard look.

Some people have said that it would take too long to realize a benefit from alternative sources, but if now isn’t a good time to lay the groundwork for the future, when will we do it? When it’s too late?

Large scale wind generation is an idea whose time has come, but small scale wind and solar power should generation be seriously considered as well. This is an especially worthwhile idea when it comes to new construction or if you plan on living in your current residence for a long time. The initial cost of these systems can be expensive, but over time they will pay for themselves.

An effective system for the north would involve a combination of wind generators and solar panels, a bank of batteries, with a DC to AC electricity inverter, and a back-up generator.
Systems can cost in excess of $20,000 depending on your electrical needs. If your average electric bill is $100 per month a $20,000 system should pay for itself in less than 20 years, even with routine maintenance.

There are perks that come with generating your own power. Any power that you generate but do not use goes back into the electrical system if you are hooked up to the grid. That means that your electrical meter will turn backwards and most electrical utilities will provide you with a credit that can be used to offset the cost of any electricity that you use beyond what you can generate.

The bottom line is that we, as individuals and as a nation, need to start actively looking at our energy alternatives, all of them. We can’t continue on the path that we are on and expect anything to get better. Our government has proven that we can’t count on them to provide the answers, nor should we. We should take a little bit of energy responsibility for ourselves and do all that we can to find that balance between necessary and unnecessary energy use.

I hear a lot of the older generation saying that we just need to start drilling for more oil offshore, under the Great Lakes and in ANWR. I agree that we need to look at these sources too, but saying that it is the only thing that we need to do is foolhardy.

T. Boone Pickens has started a major push for the development of wind power throughout the Plains States (if you’re not familiar with him or his plan, check it out at http://www.pickensplan.com/). Pickens is an oil man who has seen the writing on the wall. He is in his 80s and will most likely never see a return on what he, personally, is investing into wind energy.

He sees the billions of dollars we are sending overseas to buy oil. A fair percentage of this money goes to countries that don’t exactly see the U.S. as friends. If we were to be able to reduce or even eliminate our dependence on foreign oil, we just might effectively cut off the legs of some of those who wish to do us harm.

With the exception of a couple of countries to our south, the bulk of the nations that wish ill upon us are located in the Middle East. There is little that many of these counties have, beside oil, in way of resources, and if the source of funding for global terrorism is curtailed, we may be able to reap the benefit of living in a more peaceful and less fearful world. Spending less on foreign oil might not be the total solution but it would be part of it.

We can’t keep going this way. The time for ALL alternatives is now.