Colorado Energy Policy

[Fredrick Lindner]

Hello

 

Prior to one of our local energy providers coming to speak with our group I wanted to give some of our members some understanding of energy policy and how electricity gets to your homes.  First let me provide some of my background.  I studied chemistry, chemical engineering, and civil engineering in three different University’s programs.  I have an associate’s degree in science and focused a lot of my attention to alternative energy generation such as fuel cells and remote energy generation systems.  I also have a firm grasp on the resources used to provide energy.  Coal and gas is a large available resource yet it is finite.  We could see policy changes in 20-50 years as demand grows exponentially in the United States.

 

To provide the first step in understanding energy policy, electricity must be generated from a man made source by transferring one form of energy into another form into electricity.  This can be done by burning a fuel source, capturing radioactive energy, chemical transmission of electrons from anodes to cathodes, capturing wind and water energy to turbines etc.  Allowing a free market system to develop the path of least resistance is usually the easiest way to get cheap reliable energy, however due to huge demands our energy policy is complex.

 

Some of the issues to cause concern:  Electricity cannot be stored, once it is created it needs to be transmitted and used or it is wasted.  You can however use the electricity to store kinetic energy like pumping water to the top of a tower.  Electricity is difficult to transmit over long distances as you are shoving electrons through and around a metal.  The science is similar to pumping water down a hose.  The longer the hose the harder it is to pump.  DC current limits your lines to hundreds of feet where AC can reach miles.

Here is an online resource to view AC transmission for our local energy.

http://www.ask.com/wiki/Electric_power_transmission

 

In Colorado we are limited to fewer energy options.  Our largest source is from coal and we currently import massive amounts of coal from sources hundreds of miles away.  It is cheap and the energy transfer is fairly efficient.  However there are always a potential for problems when you don’t have fuel readily available.  What if the rail road has problems and no coal can reach us?  Now we get to the debates.

 

Natural gas is local, in great supply, and burns clean.  However it is slightly higher in cost.  Solar power is endless as the sun is not going anywhere; however it is not reliable during cloudy days or night time.  Wind has similar problems.

 

Your local energy company will soon be coming to you and telling you that they will be adding diversity to their fuel and source electricity generation.  They will tell you that it will not cost you anything because the business model includes tax deferments and government subsidization so your bill will not get any larger.  As pure money expenditure for the energy companies, it is a great move.  They are developing a diverse and wider range of energy to the high demands of your local economy.  Yet the hidden costs are raised significantly when you include the tax loss, government involvement, and budget problems at the federal level.

 

My opinion includes the information of many of these models.  Logically an energy company should never supply a high ratio of solar and wind power due to its fluctuating nature.  You could see 3-5% of future electricity transmission coming from these sources.  The company will need to supply constant and steady energy at all times.  As newer technologies and cheaper production from China comes to bear on market values this number could increase to 8-10%.  The idea of supplying some fuel diversity from local sources like gas also has benefits to local economies.  I anticipate that in the next 20 years more roof tops will have solar panels and you will see natural gas generation stations.  Like a portfolio our energy needs will increase and the source of generating that energy will become more sophisticated.  Coal will still be king but we will have a diversified range of energy provided.  The only way to save money in the future will be to save energy at a household level. 

 

Finally, our energy lifestyles are taken for granted with little regard for how it is used.  Try an experiment on a weekend sometime during a 24 hour period.  Unplug every appliance in your home and remove every single light bulb.  Leave your fridge plugged in because that would just be grouse.  Live a day with a minimal use of power or where you have to plug something in to use it.  Get an idea of what/how easy your life is when you can use electricity vs. not using it.  Know exactly where you are spending your money on energy and gain some perspective on how much you use and where.  Don’t worry about how clean you are now living but how much you are saving on your energy bill.  If you spend 200-500 dollars in a one month period, you could save up to 1,000 to 4,000 dollars in a one year period!  That would cover a couple of semesters of college for my daughter or buy a trip to Disney Land.

 

I hope this helps

Fredrick Lindner

[Fredrick Lindner]

-correction, stored energy is potential energy, not kinetic

[Fredrick Lindner]

 Second hour of the Mike Rosen Show 6-2-2011.  The Colorado PUC lawsuit on Renewable Energy mandates of 30% and in-State protectionism against getting energy from an outside source from Excel.  Some of the topics that I covered in this discussion were brought up but did not include the 12 billion dollars of extra costs for less efficient energy paid by you and I.

 

http://www.850koa.com/pages/mikerosen.html

 

 

[Cathy Mitchell]

Fredrick Lindner said:

 Second hour of the Mike Rosen Show 6-2-2011.  The Colorado PUC lawsuit on Renewable Energy mandates of 30% and in-State protectionism against getting energy from an outside source from Excel.  Some of the topics that I covered in this discussion were brought up but did not include the 12 billion dollars of extra costs for less efficient energy paid by you and I.

 

http://www.850koa.com/pages/mikerosen.html

 

Fredrick, thanks for keeping us updated. Does anyone else have comments to add on this subject? This seems like one of those topics that does not get much attention, but affects all of us.