What about proposals for the future of Michigan energy? Is "green" power production capable of handling the demand for energy that we have? Here, Michigan Environmental Council's Tremaine Phillips answers a few questions about one of the most promising new power sources for Michigan: wind.
The Answer My Friend... Is Blowing in the Wind
One of the most controversial discussions currently taking place in Michigan revolves around wind power and the myth that new wind projects must be accompanied by additional ‘back-up’ energy resources. Wind is often regarded as ‘intermittent’ due to the fact that the wind does not blow all the time and it is more variable than conventional electrical generation resources, such as coal burning and nuclear power generating plants. This discussion is relevant because utilities often are required to maintain a certain level of reserve electrical capacity above their expected summer peak electrical demand (for example, the Lansing Board of Water and Light is required to have a 14% reserve margin). For many utilities, their reserve capacity primarily consists of fast acting natural gas turbines (which have designs similar to that of a jet engine). According to Tremaine Phillips of the Michigan Environmental Council, wind does not require any additional ‘back-up’ power since utilities already have substantial natural gas reserves which can quickly be brought online during low wind periods. So, one of the main concerns about wind power--that back up power would be more difficult-- has already basically been solved.
Additionally, variability of wind power is often very predictable and gradual, while the sudden lose of a traditional large-scale generation resource like a coal fired power plant can be sudden and catastrophic, says Phillips. The benefit of wind is that its production can often be predicted alongside weather forecasts and adjustments can be made well in advance of potential slowdowns in production through those predictions. Also, since wind power is not slated to take up a huge percentage of Michigan's energy production portfolio anytime soon, slowdowns in wind production will not have a large impact on power availability in the foreseeable future.
Looking at Our Current Use of Power
Another aspect of Michigan's power future is to consider the ways in which we currently use the power supply that we have. In my next post I'll talk about the smart grid options for Michigan and for the country; but making our power distribution smarter and smaller is one of the solutions being looked at by many energy experts.
On a more immediate note, what many communities have already done is to encourage consumers to shift the times that they use their most power-hungry appliances. Currently, this model is only in place for industrial customers here in Michigan, but in other states general consumers are charged different rates according to the times during which they use power. I'll include more about this in the next post. Meanwhile, a question for readers: do you think you would shift the times during which you use power-hungry appliances in order to pay a lower power rate?
Comments