Posts Tagged ‘renewable energy’

Smart Grid - Can we Trust it?

November 10th, 2009

News reached us two weeks ago that many South Dakotans are going to get a first peak at smart grid technology. That opportunity became a reality through stimulus money being awarded to several South Dakota utilities, enabling them to purchase smart meters for residential homes. 

The goal for the smart meters, which track electric consumption on a real time basis, is to provide customers and utilities with the information needed to better manage electricity usage. 

Today, however, we learn that some individuals fear this technology will be an intrusion into their personal lives and won’t help achieve the goal of saving money through conservation.  That observation comes from a Sioux Falls Argus Leader story titled “Smart meters touted for ability to help conserve, but critics are skeptical.“  

I understand the privacy concerns, and I do think more thought needs to go into the rules governing how the information is stored and used.  But as SD Public Utilities Commission Chairman Dusty Johnson states in the Argus Leader story, it’s the job of the PUC to protect consumers, and I trust them in this regard.

Other reasons to support Smart Grid

In addition to the argument that smart meters will help reduce consumption, I’d like to offer a few other reasons I think the benefits of smart grid technology outweigh the concerns over privacy. 

First, I hope that putting smart meters in people’s homes will help people better understand how our electric system works.  Generally, the system is a mystery to Americans.  How is the energy that reaches our home produced? Why is energy during peak demand more expensive?  What can be done to increase the amount of renewable energy in production? 

Second, I believe that investing in smart grid technology will help rebuild an archaic grid system.  As one energy expert writes “Basically, we’re talking about a 19th century system from the days of Edison and Westinghouse that uses 20th century equipment in an effort to keep up with a 21st century economy.” (See “Electronomics: Why We Need Smart Grid Technology and Infrastructure Today”)  That just a recipe for disaster.

Third, I see increased development of renewable energy sources (like wind energy) because of smart grid technology. We know that the intermittency of wind energy creates a barrier for the industry.  With better management software being developed as a part of smart grid technology, we should expect to see renewable energy sources becoming a bigger part of the energy mix. 

And finally, I hope that this initial investment in smart meters will be the first step in producing a microgrid system that turns consumers into producers by using smart grid technology to produce more energy locally.  Back in July, Fast Company published a great article on this subject titled “Why the Microgrid Could be the Answer to our Energy Crisis.”  The vision in the article may be a bit utopian, but I believe it’s a vision worth reaching for.   

So, what’s the connection here to rural communities?  Obviously, rural communities stand to benefit from increased renewable energy production.  And all consumers, will benefit from reduced electricial usage.  I’m sure there are other benefits, as well as risks.   I would invite others to share their thoughts as I continue to learn about this subject. 

Photo Credit:  Beige Alert - Flickr

 

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Posted in In the News, Rural | Comments (0)

Climate change: Every situation creates an opportunity

October 20th, 2009

In honor of my good friend Joe Bartmann of the Sioux Falls Green Project visiting me in Howard (SD) yesterday, I wanted to share a post related to the green movement in rural places.  Amazingly, an article titled “Climate Change and Rural Communities in the US: a Draft Briefing Paper” fell into my lap thanks to a tweet from the Rural Assistance Center.  The subject and the fact that it was produced by one of my favorite rural organizations, the Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI), make commenting on it almost mandatory.      

Admittedly, I haven’t studied the nuances of climate change legislation before Congress as much as I should.  In reading the document, I was alarmed to learn that the Secretary of Transportation had proposed a “vehicle miles traveled” (as opposed to a fuel tax) as a way to reduce pollution and increase revenue for our highways.  Residents of rural states undoubtedly cringe at the negative impact such legislation would have on their pocketbooks.  Luckily, the measure was quickly abandoned by the Obama administration, but it shows that we should be paying closer attention.

 As I read through the descriptions of potential measures intended to help our environment, I can say that I support some of them, and oppose others.  What was most interesting to me, however, was the last section titled “Opportunities for rural communities.”

It offered four potential areas of opportunity for rural communities to consider.  An overview of these opportunities include:

In Miner County, SD, we were early adopters of three of the measures:  renewable energy production, green jobs, and rural-urban collaboration.  The forth(carbon sequestration) is one that I still don’t know much about, let alone understand how rural communities can take advantage of. 

I’m not sure if the cap and trade legislation before Congress will pass or not.  But this article has made me more aware of why I need to pay attention to the issue.  Thanks RURPI. 

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Spinning Green: Energy and Dollars

October 17th, 2008

Wednesday some colleagues and I attended the opening ceremony for a new wind farm on a ridge just south of Wessington Springs, SD. The Wessington Springs Wind Farm includes 34 towers and will produce 51 megawatts of electricity. Officials said they have about one month of work left to get those turbines spinning.

According to keynote speaker SD Governor Mike Rounds, here’s what that will mean:

It was really interesting to hear about the process of completing the wind farm from Chris Shugart, project manager with Babcock & Brown (B&B is the other primary partner in this project). He said three ingredients are required to look at building a wind farm:

  1. You need plenty of wind (most rural South Dakota communities have that covered),
  2. You need high voltage power transmission lines (a major line runs right through the Wessington Springs site),
  3. And you need a group of partners to fund the project (construction for this project was about $100 million).

Chris, along with one of the project landowners and other local officials, also talked about the local economic impact the project will bring. Landowners receive annual lease payments, construction crews are in the area spending money, property and other tax revenues spill into local entities, and–at least in this case–new families are moving into the community as long-term workers at the wind farm.

I don’t know any details about the land leases in this project, but we’ve heard numbers like $6000 or more per tower per year in other parts of South Dakota. If you know about the local economic impacts of wind, please share in the comments!

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