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2007 ENERGY TOUR: Day 14 July 8, 2007 Solar 2007 in Cleveland, Ohio was today. This convention and trade show focused on renewable energy and solar energy in particular. There were lots of free public classes and an exhibition hall with vendors and exhibitors. We observed many interesting things. First, the interest in renewable energy crosses all lines of politics and profession, and the interest in solar energy is moving forward very quickly. People understand that the sun is the cleanest and most reliable thing we have to use and are excited about the possibility of harnessing that energy for practical use. There are many, many vendors selling products that harness some of the suns energy. Another thing we observed, sadly, is the fragmentation and "in fighting" among some of the industry players. As usual, the allure of a dollar tends to have much more power than the desire to make the world better (and, therefore, potentially generating many more dollars). This is true for both the people in the industry and people in government. Don't get me wrong, I believe in making money and encourage people to be paid for their ingenuity and products ideas. What I don't think is OK are frivolous law suits and other unethical measures some people take to squash out the competition and budding companies with better technologies. We can't depend on the government to bring about the change in energy sources, even industry can't bring about the changes we need. Only the people can, we must demand better, cleaner, greener, safer energy and quality products that will improve our lives and the lives of future generations.  One of the recurring points of discussion was how the renewable energy industry is having challenges in working with the public utilities. The main reason for this is that the utility companies view renewable energy installations as competition instead of as energy resources. One idea that has not been embraced by utilities but loved by renewable energy enthusiasts is to put solar panels on large industrial, educational, and agricultural buildings (any building with a large surface area roof). The potential energy production from this type of solar installation is enormous and could be pumped back into the utility grid. Generally these ideas have been stopped because the utility companies don't want to allow this to happen. Power companies have a lot of investment in their old technologies and are very reluctant to change. There are also many regulations restricting them from investing in this type of "experimental" energy generation themselves. In order to keep up with the world's ever growing energy demand they will either have to invest in more old technology or start using renewable energy.  The best way to do this would be to work with smaller, existing companies and individuals already using renewable energy to power their businesses and homes. This could be done through net metering. Net metering could become a valuable tool for utilities by helping them extend their services to rapidly developing areas without the often difficult and controversial struggles for transmission line right of ways. This type of distributed generation would also serve to make the power grid more secure. Most net metering laws don't even require the utilities to pay the people for the excess energy that they pump into the grid, so it is almost inconceivable that they would not want this "free energy." And even where the utilities are required to pay for the excess energy it is usually at the wholesale rate for energy, in which case they could still make a profit just as they are now, by marking it up and reselling to utility consumers. Big industry and government are always slow to change and it is up to the people to tell their utility companies and lawmakers exactly what they want, and we need to do this in large numbers, this is what will bring about change.  In the US we have really streamlined and made efficient the infrastructures of coal power and fossil fuel, which have resulted in the creation of many specialized businesses and jobs, and these new renewable energy technologies, are disrupting because some jobs will be lost, and others will be created. Because there is so much infrastructure, money, and jobs that are connected with old technology it is difficult for us to change. Our world is changing and there are some big changes yet to take place. Change is always difficult, but change for a better and cleaner world will be worth it. We enjoyed our stay in Cleveland very much; it is a beautiful city with a lot of great art and activity. Another great thing about Cleveland is they have a very user-friendly recycling program. There were recycling bins in accessible places and signs showing you where you could recycle. There is more to come about the convention. For the next several days we will share with you what we learned.  |
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