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Mar 6, 2009 03:33 PM | 16
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D–Nev.) yesterday introduced legislation that would give the feds the authority to build so-called "green" power lines to carry renewable energy, such as solar, wind and geothermal, from remote sources to the nation's electric grid. Under the measure, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) could step in if states fail to install lines—deciding where to place them and who should pay the tab. This move comes just two weeks after a federal appeals court in Richmond, Va., upheld a state's right to nix a federal transmission line project.
The proposed Clean Renewable Energy and Economic Development Act of 2009, would give President Obama the authority to declare "renewable energy zones" that have great potential for generating electricity from renewable sources but currently lack high-voltage transmission lines to bring that power to consumers, the Associated Press reports.
In introducing the measure, Reid noted that new stimulus package includes $11 billion for smart grid technology and expanding transmission to include renewable rich areas. It's no secret that the legislation would be a boon to Reid's home state's economy. "Nevada and other parts of the desert southwest have enough solar energy potential to power our country seven times over," Reid said in a statement. The bill would also gives states the right to tap into any renewable lines passing through their borders.
But building a smart grid is easier said than done, according to a report issued last month by the Center for American Progress (CAP), a Washington, D.C., think tank headed by John Podesta, former President Bill Clinton's chief of staff. One obstacle, according to study author and CAP senior fellow Bracken Hendricks: the inability of the current high-voltage transmission grid to access these renewable energy resources.
Image ©iStockphoto.com/ Forest Woodward
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16 Comments
Add Commentso we are going to scar the earth some more.. typical.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisso we are going to scar the Earth some more... typical.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisFor the last 50 years at least, the movement of electric power across the country has been stopped by the regional power companies who wish to capture lower cost producers for their own grids and prevent additional power supplies to inflate the value of the energy that they produce. They do this by charging high fees to hook up to their grid lines, or claim that their lines don't capacity. They also prevent new line builders from crossing their right of ways. A federal law that forces them to hook up and wheel the power (well with in their capabilties) or at least make them allow crossing of right of ways would help create a true national electric grid.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe best solution would be a trans national grid like the Interstate Highway system owned and operated by a federal system like TVA or Bonniville that would buy and sell power and transport it from coast to coast. Most likely HV dc lines as is used to connect LA and Bonniville. Such lines would be very useful to connect very large base power producers and solve imbalance problems of region to region caused by wind and solar power production. This also would protect regions from total outages due to local system crashes. Producers and users would benefit from stable and fair prices.
Since they are going to build a new electric grid, why not put it under ground along the highway grid that we already have? Since all roads lead to a home or business, this would make it easier to hook into and easier to fix if there is a problem. Putting the new grid underground along the highway would also prevent trees or man made objects from knocking out the power in the winter when you need the power the most. If you are going to rebuild something that is as disfunctional as the power grid is now, why not do it right and prevent all those future problems? It can get mighty cold in the winter when your power goes off.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHeck, why not just go wireless with microwave or RF?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBecause it costs 5 to 10 times as much to build it underground as it does above ground. (Think excavation)
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThere are still lots of problems about renewable energy. The green power such as solar, wind and geothermal have limitations. In some zones, the resource of solar or wind are very rare, so if these zones want to use the green power we have to build many lines to carry it. To build these lines will require a high cost. They would rather develop the bioenergy than cost so much to build the lines which can not solve the energy problem fundamentaly. Bioenergy should be provided more supports.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAlternative current is very wasteful. Perhaps we should only transmit direct current?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBioenergy, at least from row crops, aka soybean biodiesel or corn ethanol are definately not the answer. Consider the following: One can get about 50 gallons of biodiesel per acre per year from growing soybeans. There are about 480 million arable acres in the USA. Plant everyone of them in soybeans and you can produce about 2.4 billion gallons of oil per year. the problem is we need about 60 billion gallons per year.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt is a simple fact that photosynthesis is just to inefficient. That's why are are using up a couple of hundred millions of years of fossil hydrocarbons in a couple of hundred years. Solar PV, Solar thermal, and Wind are the long term answers to sustainable energy.
Wouldn't it be easier and cheaper to just transmit the energy as light through fibre optics after concerntrating it with lenses? When it gets to it's destination it can then be broken up into different wavelengths with a prism and the various types of wavelength used. Heat utilized for heat, visable light for lighting and the rest converted to electricity? Results would be less line loss, cheaper transmission lines, much more efficient among others.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThere are various materials can be made into bioenergy resources, such as straw, weed, and so on. And also there are still lots of agriculture wastes have not been used, which can be our major resources of energy in the furture potentially.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe amount of the agriculture wastes is so lagrge that can absolutely meet our demand of the energy, but nowdayes people only burn them in the very simple way, it is a great waste, no mention that it also will pollute our environment . So the goverment should provide more finacial supports to develop the bioenergy technology, especially to the agriculture wastes bioenergy. The problem of the bioenergy currently is not the amount of materials but the more advanced ecnology which can reduce the costs substantially.
There are various materials can be made into bioenergy resources, such as straw, weed, and so on. And also there are still lots of agriculture wastes have not been used, which can be our major resources of energy in the furture potentially.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe amount of the agriculture wastes is so lagrge that can absolutely meet our demand of the energy, but nowdayes people only burn them in the very simple way, it is a great waste, no mention that it also will pollute our environment . So the goverment should provide more finacial supports to develop the bioenergy technology, especially to the agriculture wastes bioenergy. The problem of the bioenergy currently is not the amount of materials but the more advanced ecnology which can reduce the costs substantially.
Bob M : The idea you proposed is unavailable. Need we build some safety systems along its route if you transmit the light directly? If not, the situation will be very dangerous. Consider the following: when you are at the neighborhood of the light transmission path, the dazzling light could hurt your eyes, and the heat could burn your arms, also there is a possibility that the light could be hold up by other object, such as vegetation and birds. There are too much situation that we could not expect.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIf you build some systems, then the cost could be higher than green power lines mentioned in the article.
I think that goes against the whole green concept because by setting up the power lines actually destroys the environment more think of all the metal that has to be mined and smelted and then there is the fact that somewhere around 70% give or take, of energy transported long distances is wasted. Green power should all be locally generated. Everyone should generate as large a percentage of power right at their houses. IE solar panels and perhaps a wind turbine on a chimney that shouldn't be used for fire.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisJust like a bunch of polititions, spend 11 billion dollars on (green elec), produced some where and delivered to where ever. Almost all of these people are lawyers and when it comes to tech they are dumb as a box of rocks. Once you get to talk to your leaders when they can't give you a speech off a teleprompter, if you are truly listening it will be a truely terrifying experiance.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI have spit the hook of ecotalk and cabonspeak from fools that have no true idea of what they are preposing. It is like exploring the sun, we do that at night when it is safe.
Europe has been in a recession for the last 12 years- gee about the same time they started selling carbon cr.
France has used nuclear for a long time, about 80 percent of their elec. is from the atom. Ceramic encapsulation is a promising nuke waste disp.
Mass production of nuke components, would bring doun the high cost of making a plant. We build these plants one off- that is just not rational.
Just like a bunch of polititions, spend 11 billion dollars on (green elec), produced some where and delivered to where ever. Almost all of these people are lawyers and when it comes to tech they are dumb as a box of rocks. Once you get to talk to your leaders when they can't give you a speech off a teleprompter, if you are truly listening it will be a truely terrifying experiance.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI have spit the hook of ecotalk and cabonspeak from fools that have no true idea of what they are preposing. It is like exploring the sun, we do that at night when it is safe.
Europe has been in a recession for the last 12 years- gee about the same time they started selling carbon cr.
France has used nuclear for a long time, about 80 percent of their elec. is from the atom. Ceramic encapsulation is a promising nuke waste disp.
Mass production of nuke components, would bring doun the high cost of making a plant. We build these plants one off- that is just not rational.