Nonprofit Boosts Possibilities for Energy Industry

By CATHERINE KOZAK

By Catherine Kozak

The Virginian-Pilot

Within the next decade, instead of the oil rigs some envisioned 20 years ago, there could be wind turbines generating energy off the coast of the Outer Banks.

In a report released this week, the nonprofit Southern Alliance for Clean Energy said that with visionary leadership, the state could use its enormous wind energy potential to create a new industry and alleviate the effects of climate change.

North Carolina also could reduce global warming pollutants by as much as 60 percent by 2030 with a combination of energy efficiency, pollutant capture and long-term planning as well as clean energy.

“Energy prices are going to be going up, and we anticipate they’re going to go up dramatically over this time period,” Stephen Smith, the alliance’s executive director, said in a phone conference.

“Basically, the status quo is not an option. For the well-being of the state, we’ve got to take some

serious measures.”

Smith said that North Carolina’s offshore wind resources will be tremendous once the regulatory hurdles are worked out. “We already see this in Europe, and I think the South has tremendous potential to take advantage of this.”

Brandon Blevins, the alliance’s wind power coordinator, said in a later interview that the federal Minerals Management Service is working to solicit bids to test and research wind turbines in Outer Continental Shelf areas off New Jersey, Delaware and Georgia.

The agency is also studying a lease program for offshore units where wind equipment would be located.

“These are the first steps,” he said.

Wind farm development would also require plans to upgrade and expand transmission lines, otherwise transmission capacity could delay development of the energy resource.

Methane is also plentiful in North Carolina, thanks to its large livestock businesses, said research director John D. Wilson. Just capturing methane would reap much benefit by removing it as a global warming pollutant, he said , but it also could be used to generate electricity or offset other energy uses.

Technology exists to capture carbon dioxide from coal-fired electric power plants and store it underground, Wilson said. At the least, that could buy time by taking the pollutants out of the environment until future technology solves the carbon problem.

Wilson said the report, which the alliance calls “the first comprehensive blueprint for designing North Carolina’s energy future,” projected improvements in engineering but not in scientific breakthroughs in technology. Wilson commented in the conference call and in an interview.

Efficiency measures could slash the state’s energy demand by 25 percent over the next two decades, according to the report, called “Cornerstones: Building a Secure Foundation for North Carolina’s Energy Future.” Improvements in fuel economy of vehicles would significantly increase efficiency. Plug-in hybrids would reduce tailpipe emissions , but the electrical generation would also have to be cleaner. With the help of utility companies, homeowners can be encouraged to do major energy-efficiency projects. Building codes can be revised to require stricter energy efficiency features. Industrial and commercial energy users can also recycle their waste heat, but the North Carolina Utilities Commission would have to establish rules to help the practice to be easier and become routine.

Wilson, an author of the report, said the state has a chance to take a leadership role in the nation by putting innovative energy and pollution-control policies into effect and by encouraging job- creating solutions such as wind farms.

“The Southeast could be the hub of offshore wind development in this hemisphere,” he said. “We could lead that or we could wait and let Texas and the Northeast get ahead of us. And then they’ll lead us.”

The report can be viewed online at www. cleanenergy.org .

Catherine Kozak, (252) 441-1711,

cate.kozak@pilotonline.com

wind energy

In its report, “Cornerstones: Building a Secure Foundation for North Carolina’s Energy Future,” the nonprofit Southern Alliance for Clean Energy said that with visionary leadership, North Carolina could use its enormous wind energy potential to alleviate the effects of climate change.

uE073 capturing methaner

Methane is also plentiful in North Carolina, thanks to its large livestock businesses, said research director John D. Wilson. Just capturing methane would reap much benefit by removing it as a global warming pollutant, he said.

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Originally published by BY CATHERINE KOZAK.

(c) 2008 Virginian – Pilot. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.