renewable energy

I won't be dwelling on the legal or ethical problems associated with the Solyndra loan guarantee debacle; I'm sure investigators will be sorting that out soon enough. But I did want to clarify a few aspects of this situation, because apparently many folks are viewing this company's troubles as a failure of either public policy or the viability of renewable energy itself. Far from it. As a matter of fact, this story represents a stunning victory. Not only was the precipitous drop in the price of solar panels predictable, it was desired.

When it comes to working from a base of facts about renewable energy in North Carolina, it's a battle of two Dukes. Duke Energy would have us believe their coal-dirty hands are tied and alternatives are impractical. Duke University, on the other hand, seems to suggest that Duke Energy is full of crap.

When you're in a clear-thinking state of mind, download Myths and Facts about Electricity in the South (pdf) and read it cover to cover. You'll come to grip with six myths.

It may not be "free" energy, but it is an unlimited supply:

The company announced last week that Guilford County was one of seven locations being considered for the $1.5 billion project that could use up to 4,000 acres of land and generate up to 400 megawatts of power once complete. Thursday's meeting brought together leaders from Greensboro and Guilford County goverments, the Greensboro Partnership, the Piedmont Triad Partnership, Duke Energy and the state Department of Commerce.

Utility companies Duke and Progress Energy have mounted stiff opposition to state legislation that would increase their state mandate to provide more solar energy. Specifically, their current solar mandate for 2018 is a meager 0.2% of their entire energy portfolio (a benchmark Duke Energy has already admitted to having met) , and many have called for increasing the goal to 0.4%.

On this point, Duke and Progress have been obstinate: they will not commit to doubling their investment in solar power, despite evidence from the NC Sustainable Energy Association predicting that the 1,350 jobs created in the solar industry last year could increase to about 8,350.

Varying shades of green:

ReVenture had asked the N.C. Utilities Commission to declare that the trash and yard wastes the plant will consume, and the gas it will produce, are renewable energy resources.

Blue Ridge opposes the use of biomass, a catch-all term for organic wastes, to make energy because burning it releases pollutants.

I'm going to try to avoid my usual (and probably painful to read) didactic approach to this issue, in the hopes that some of you readers will step up and do some trash-talking.

Don't you just hate it when a bunch of commies put good old American ingenuity to shame. Aren't we the best at everything?

Kristianstad has already crossed a crucial threshold: the city and surrounding county, with a population of 80,000, essentially use no oil, natural gas or coal to heat homes and businesses, even during the long frigid winters. It is a complete reversal from 20 years ago, when all of their heat came from fossil fuels.

But this area in southern Sweden, best known as the home of Absolut vodka, has not generally substituted solar panels or wind turbines for the traditional fuels it has forsaken. Instead, as befits a region that is an epicenter of farming and food processing, it generates energy from a motley assortment of ingredients like potato peels, manure, used cooking oil, stale cookies and pig intestines.

"What's on Tap" is a weekly round-up of stories and links that may be interesting to Drinking Liberally patrons.

Join us every Tuesday evening from 5:30 p.m. onward at Tobacco Road Sports Cafe, 222 Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh. Happy hour specials end at 6 p.m. You can find more information about us on Facebook or our home site, and follow us on Twitter - @RaleighDL.

This week: Giving to high quality charities; Raleigh gets more electric car charging stations; drive-thru marital aids; and redesigning the traffic light. Come on in, the egg nog's fine!

According to a new study released by Oceana:

Offshore wind power in Atlantic waters could supply nearly half the current electricity generation of the East Coast and create up to 200,000 jobs or more, an environmental group concludes in a study released Tuesday.

Delaware, Massachusetts and North Carolina could exceed all their current energy needs through offshore winds, while New Jersey, Virginia and South Carolina could achieve 64 percent or more of their energy needs.

But going from "could" to "is" requires vision and leadership that has (so far) been lacking on the energy front.

It's not just a consolation prize:

In a rare show of bipartisanship, a group of Democratic and Republican senators introduced legislation on Tuesday that would require utilities nationwide to generate at least 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources like wind, solar and biomass by 2021.

“I think that the votes are present in the Senate to pass a renewable electricity standard,” Mr. Bingaman said in a statement. “I think that they are present in the House. I think that we need to get on with figuring out what we can pass and move forward.”