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Tuesday, 20 February 2007 16:45 |
By JIM GENARO
A controversial proposed power plant in Woodfin could be unnecessary if Buncombe County residents and officials begin a campaign to promote energy conservation over the next two years, speaker Ned Ryan Doyle told a group of about 100 concerned citizens at the North Asheville Library on Feb. 13.
Doyle was one of several speakers at the forum, which was sponsored by the Mountain Voices Alliance Clean Energy Task Force to provide residents with information about Progress Energyís proposed diesel-fuel burning power station that is scheduled to begin operating in 2009.
Progress claims that the plant is necessary to supplement the countyís energy needs during peak-demand times, such as summer afternoons, when air-conditioners are most commonly used.
Progress currently buys energy from out-of-state companies during such times, but its contracts to do so are set to expire in 2009.
The
Buncombe County Board of Commissioners already approved the planned
Woodfin plant last month, granting Progress a 50-year contract to lease
a county-owned former landfill site for $1 per year.
However, Doyle
told the assembly that the plant would not even be necessary if
residents engaged in ìefficiency to reduce the baseload of what energy
utilities are providing for us.î
This
demand-based approach would have the added benefit, he said, of getting
consumers engaged in the systems that support their lifestyles.
ìLetís make us take part in this whole energy infrastructure,î Doyle said. ìItís all part of our problem.î
Rather than the
current energy-rate structure, which links charges to energy
consumption, Doyle suggested a system in which everyone pays a flat
rate for access to the grid, so that utility companies do not have an
incentive to discourage conservation.
He then opened the forum to the audience for a period of questions and answers.
ìPut on the hat
of a Progress Energy C.E.O.,î a man suggested. ìWhatís the argument for
building a new plant ... other than money?î
Doyle answered
that without a financial incentive, there was no need for it. However,
he added that profits are a legitimate concern for Progress officials,
who ultimately must answer to their stockholders.
However, another
man, who identified himself as having once worked for the nuclear power
industry, said that power companies do not even have to generate more
power to increase profits.
ìYou donít have to sell more energy ó you just have to build more power plants,î he told the audience.
When power
companies build new facilities, the legal caps on how much they can
charge for electricity increases ó regardless of whether the facilities
ever actually get used, he added.
ìDo you know of
any incentives that have been placed on power companies in North
Carolina that would give them an incentive to develop green energy?î a
woman asked Doyle.
| | Ned Ryan Doyle |
He replied that
the state does have a Green Power Program, but that the amount of
funding it receives is so small that it has virtually no effect.
However, Doyle
added, 22 other states have developed effective programs to promote
sustainable energy production and ìvirtually all of them are working
out extremely well.î
At that point, a
man in the audience contested Doyleís claims that solar- and
wind-powered electrical plants are viable. He said that San Diego, one
of the sunniest cities in the country, ìcanít figure out how to make
solar work.î
ìThere is no
single silver bullet to it all,î Doyle replied. He disputed the manís
claim about solar power, saying, ìSolar and wind works great everywhere
in the world ... the barriers are political and economic, not
technical.î
A man in the
audience asked about the commissionersí vote to approve the project. He
noted that they had all voted in favor of it after hearing more than
two hours of citizensí comments ó nearly all in opposition to the plan.
ìIs this a steamroller?î the man asked.
ìThere are legal proceedings going on to see what, if anything, went wrong,î Doyle answered.
He noted that
the commissioners had been negotiating the deal for more than two
years, unbeknownst to the public. The commissioners have argued that
these proceedings did not violate the stateís sunshine laws ó which
require transparency in government negotiations ó because the meetings
never involved a quorum of the board members, Doyle said.
Nonetheless, he added, ìThis was a done deal before it ever got to the public.î
Next, Progress
must apply to the Land-of-Sky Regional Council for a clean air permit
and then to the state Utilities Commission, Doyle said. If Progress
clears the two hurdles, construction of the plant can begin.
A man asked
about the viability of wind turbines in Western North Carolina, given
the noise and visibility issues that make them undesirable to many
people.
Doyle replied
that the region is ideal for wind power generation. He cited a study at
Appalachian State University that determined that even if utilities
were to exclude any area with houses nearby and all scenic views along
the Blue Ridge Parkway, they could still build enough windmills to
generate eight times the amount of electricity currently used in the
region.
A man in the audience expressed optimism about the chances of being able to stop Progress from building the plant.
ìWe have already
stopped them from building a couple of things,î he said, including a
proposed nuclear reactor in Sandy Mush that Progress had planned.
However, he added, the company is ìnotoriously sleight-of-hand.î
A man who
identified himself as a Woodfin resident said, ìI think we need a plan
to stop this plant ... whatever it takes. Then, this gives us time to
develop alternatives.î
In reply, Doyle
noted that in the two years before Progressí contracts for purchasing
extra power expire, Buncombe County could eliminate the need for this
supplemental energy through conservation and setting up solar panels.
He added that
solar is most effective between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. ó the same times
that demands on the power grid are at their highest.
A man said that
Progressí claim about the need for a new plant has ìa false sense of
urgency attached to itî because the company will still be able to buy
supplemental power ó just not at the same price they have been paying.
Doyle
acknowledged that this was the case, but added that from the
perspective of Progressí stockholders, the increased costs do represent
a form of urgency.
A man then
raised his hand and said that after watching a documentary about global
warming, he had been convinced that it is a genuine threat. He asked
what he and his family could do to fight the problem. ìWhat specifics
do you think I should do?î he asked Doyle.
Doyle replied that the most important action to take is ìthe least-sexy option: energy efficiency.î
Steps such as
converting to compact fluorescent light bulbs and caulking windows and
doors to prevent heat loss can make a huge impact, he said.
He also encouraged audience members to investigate issues of climate change and energy efficiency for themselves.
ìI challenge you, the more skeptical you are, look up the facts ó prove me wrong,î he said.
Following
Doyleís presentation, Heather Rayburn, a spokeswoman for MVA, noted
that the organization started as an effort to look into the issue of
steep-slope development. Attending meetings of the Board of
Commissioners was an eye-opener for her, she said.
ìI thought someone was out there looking out for my interests, but I found out theyíre not,î Rayburn said.
She learned that
ìthereís no real community planî for development in the county. ìThe
only people theyíre listening to is the vested interests.î
She linked the countyís energy-production problems to the broader issue of development in the region.
ìWe canít keep
feeding this frenzy for energy,î Rayburn told the audience. ìWe canít
keep building these giant houses that suck energy.î
A moment of
levity came when someone in the audience suggested turning off a set of
bright, overhead lights that were shining on Rayburn.
Mocking an earlier questioner, Doyle shot back, ìWait a minute, thatís just not technologically feasible!î
The lights were turned off and the audience erupted in laughter.
Returning to the
issue of the Woodfin plant, Rayburn said that during the meeting at
which the commissioners approved it, they admitted that ìthey did not
consult with their environmental advisory committee. I almost fell out
of my chair when I heard that.î
She added that
air pollution should be a paramount concern, given the impact it has on
tourism ó an industry which brings $110 million to the county each year.
Citing a study
by the Environmental Protection Agency, Rayburn said that visibility in
Western North Carolina is about 27 miles, compared to 93 miles that
would be visible without man-made air pollution.
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