Mr Sustainable

The Perry Ohio nuclear power plant is leaking tritium, a radioactive form of water. The radioactive water has been found in groundwater at concentrations more than twice the federal drinking water limit outside of a building where the leak was discovered Monday. 

Thinking about dirty fuels made me recall a bumper sticker that said something like, “When there’s too much solar it’s just called a sunny day.”  Isn’t it time for a renewable energy transition?

Three years after the disaster, the ruptured core of the nuclear reactor is still giving off roughly one million watts worth of heat, according to Fairewinds Energy, a nuclear safety advocacy group based in Burlington, Vermont.  Soils in the surrounding area, and may food crops grown in Japan, have been poisoned with nuclear contamination.  And radioactive water continues to leak out from the crippled nuclear plant.  Can you believe that supporters still sometime trumpet nuclear as “clean power?!”

The fragility of the electric grid was highlighted.  Solar, by providing energy generation at many places around the state (e.g. right on the roof top of your house or business) means you are not at the whim of the grid. 

The cost of climate change, is being felt now, not in the future.  Large storms like SuperStorm Sandy drive home the point that we cannot sit back and let the future happen to us: we must plan now for our future, and in terms of electricity generation this means a renewable energy transition now.

There are many advantages of distributed generation.  Distributed generation strengthens our electric system and provides greater reliability, especially during natural disasters.

The Nordic countries –Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Iceland –as a group exceeded 63% renewable power in 2012.

Germany’s “Renewable Energy Transformation” requires 80% renewable electricity by 2050. It is ahead of schedule, surpassing 26% in the first half of 2012. The RE Transformation has produced over 370,000 jobs; the German economic research institutes say it has been a net benefit to the economy, and the country’s economy is by far the strongest in Europe (world’s 4th largest economy overall, and the largest exporter).

Most European Union countries have ambitious, binding RE targets. High‐Penetration PV in New Jersey and Germany.

New Jersey leads the U.S. in PV penetration. Currently PV penetration is: ~ 4.5% peak generating capacity ~ 1.5% annual energy.

Germany leads the world. German power snapshot: German power: 80 GW peak load and 36 GW min. load 32 GW solar and 30 GW wind generating capacity Solar has on occasion reached 50% of the country’s total load Renewable electricity reached 26% in first half 2012.

Note: A solar power system in New Jersey produces 38% more power than the same system would in Germany!

New Jersey can – and should — establish a requirement of 80% renewable electricity by 2050.

With the EPA’s new coal-fired power plant and air pollution rules, coal power is in trouble. PJM, the nation’s largest grid operator, estimates that 20 GW of coal plants are at high risk of retirement in its territory (New Jersey’s statewide maximum load is 20 GW). New nuclear power is more expensive than solar on a KWH basis, more costly and more risky as an investment, and far more dangerous. Oyster Creek retires in 2019.  Fracked gas drilling injects unknown chemicals into the ground when may have just as bad climate change impacts as coal.  For our future – and the lives and health of ourselves and our children – we must choose solar and wind and start transitioning our energy sector.

The Global Warming Response Act requires an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. However, there is no plan or policy framework in New Jersey that would result in compliance. In order to comply, it is likely that emissions associated with electricity production would have to be reduced by more than 80%. Coal and nuclear are on the wane, natural gas supplied by fracking may have the same greenhouse gas footprint as coal, and thus, the only viable and acceptable alternative are renewables – clean, renewables, like solar and wind.

Until recently, New Jersey was a leader in the United States in renewable energy, and in solar in particular.  New Jersey ranked second in the amount of solar installed, behind only California.  Unfortunately, in the past few years, as a result of failed public policy, New Jersey has lost its leadership ranking and thousand of jobs in the solar industry.  New Jersey needs more solar to regain those lost solar jobs, promote the economy, and reduce the pollution and adverse health effects that come with the burning of fossil fuels.  

New Jersey has fossil fuel and nuclear power plants that are at or near the end of their useful lives and scheduled for closure.  It is a perfect time to commence a transition to a renewable energy future by ramping up solar and wind to take the place of new fossil fuel or nuclear plants. 

Through long-term planning, the entire energy industry can start pointing at incremental milestones that will bring us eventually to an energy sector where most of our electric power is generated by clean, renewable, non-polluting sources. 

We need to establish a requirement of 80% of electricity by 2050 generated by such renewable energy.  By setting this requirement now, we will give every market participant reasonable notice and opportunity to plan and succeed.  And it gives potential investors the incentive to support the effort and commence the transition.

Jon Wellinghof, Chairman of FERC: “Solar is growing so fast it is going to take over everything”

And isn’t that a GREAT thing!

When you take a trip, whether on business or for pleasure, a few simple choices will enable you to travel “green.”

Pick a hotel that is constructed of energy efficient materials and promotes conservation (conserves electricity and water, has a recycling program, etc.). Pick activities that are respectful of wildlife and natural ecosystems.  Select modes of transportation that are easy on energy use.  Many establishments and tourism companies compete for your business by providing earth and health-conscious services.  You can reward them by patronizing their businesses.  You can also do something good in the process!

I am pleased today to feature an article on this topic by Sam Marquit, an independent green contractor:

Effective Eco-Businesses

It is no surprise that as a commercial contractor, who has also worked as an independent contractor, I have had a number of opportunities to personally see the practice of the green initiative. That is, the tangible use of components used to become LEED certified. At this point in time, as I do work on certain work sites, those who are being known for their use of green materials and the implementation of it fascinate me. From my perspective, there is much to be acknowledged than just being LEED certified.

The truth of this is that it is acknowledged in Asia! The Wild Asia Responsible Tourism Awards has recognized communities for being involved in building process as well as growth. In addition to this, focus is put on the culture and character of the community that is being protected. Furthermore, areas that have wildlife and other natural ecosystems are being efficient with known reserves.The result of this can include serving traditional food and having plumbing that features valves that automatically shut off.

The city of Las Vegas, which is a popular tourist destination, has rightly put a strong emphasis in making sure buildings have materials that meet the standards of being LEED certified. In addition to this, the Las Vegas Palazzo Resort was recently recognized as the “Most Eco-Friendly Hotel in America.” Among the reasons why it received the award was that it has an efficient waste recycling program and a number of products that are autonomous. Others seem to be taking notice as current and new green hotels in Las Vegas are trying to achieve sustainability.

However, Las Vegas is not the only city that seeks to be eco-friendly. A number of New York City hotels have sought to become efficient in waste recycling, having products that are autonomous and that seek to diminish the size of carbon footprints. In fact, the Ink48 Hotel has an agenda that enables individuals to share in having the right emphasis in the world called Earthcare.

At the same time, there are many individuals and companies who are taking responsibility in making buildings of various sizes become sustainable. For me, it is a privilege to join in this type of endeavor. Las Vegas has 124,000 rooms in which to stay with about forty million visitors and guests that visit over the course of a year. With this type of factual information, it should be in the thoughts of every worker in the city.

So you want to reduce the amount of electricity you’re using with your household appliances… how to do you do it?

First, take stock of the appliances you have.  If you have an older refrigerator or freezer, it’s quite likely that you’re using much more electricity than you have to.  Improvements in technology have made today’s refrigerators and freezers orders of magnitude more efficient.  For example, you can now purchase a refrigerator that is up to 4 times more efficient than a traditional one.  This will save you money too: according to energystar.gov replacing your refrigerator with an energy star certified one can save you up to $1,100 on energy costs over its lifetime.  Also, if you have a secondary refrigerator or freezer in your basement, ask yourself if you truly need it – it’s typically the oldest and least efficient unit in the house and phasing it out may result in a noticeable reduction in your monthly electric bill.

Second, avoid phantom loads.  A phantom load is electricity that an appliance uses even when it is switched off.  For example, a TV or stereo with a sensor that allows you to turn it on with a remote control continues to operate, and continues to consume electricity, even when it’s off.  Your microwave, food processor, toaster or other countertop appliance may all have clocks or other functions that stay on 24/7 – to power these functions, you are using electricity. I tested a compact stereo recently in the off position and discovered that the device – because of clock and flashing message functions – used almost as much energy (2/3) of the total amount it used when it was on!  That’s a lot of phantom load.  And with all the modern devices in our homes today, and with all of the phantom loads built in to them at the factory, the electric usage and electric bills can really add up. Image how phantom loads continue to use electricity while you’re asleep!  You can eliminate phantom loads by putting your appliance on a power strip that has an on-off button.  Just flip the power strip switch to the off position and all appliances connected will not be able to draw power when they are off. When you want use the device, just flick on the button on the power strip first.

Third, use an appliance energy tester to determine exactly how much energy a particular device uses.  For example, I bought a Kill-A-Watt meter for about twenty dollars.  You just plug it into a wall socket then plug the household device into the front of the meter.  Power flows from the outlet through the meter and into the electric device, allowing the meter to display aspects of the power.  Pushing one of the buttons on the front of the meter allows you to see the volts, amps, watts and watt/hours associated with the device.  I used my kill-a-watt meter at an electronics store to test a fancy new LED flat screen TV I wanted to buy, and when I determined that the TV used less than 60 watts (equivalent to a single traditional light bulb)– fantastic! So I bought it! 

 By using these simple techniques, you an easily reduce your household appliance consumption of energy, and thereby save money, and get the satisfaction of knowing that you’ve done something good for health, the environment and the planet.