Paul earned his B.S. and an M.S. in electrical engineering from the University of California-Berkeley and is a registered professional engineer. He has worked in the energy industry for more than 25 years, developing and implementing advanced energy technologies. As research director for Pacific Gas and Electric Co. he pioneered methodologies used in the design, maintenance and control of energy delivery systems. As a consultant he has provided guidance to utilities and the vendor community, nationally and internationally.
My wife Charla and I have been visiting our daughter and her new baby in Southern California. During morning walks I’ve been listening to local talk-radio which has been fascinating and a bit disturbing: particularly when the topic is energy.
Seems like there are a lot of energy myths and legends in the talk show mix. I’m not referring to true urban myths, such as the conspiracy myth about a local mechanic whose invention to triple gas mileage was nefariously suppressed by the big oil companies. Most folks recognize those kinds of tales as nonsense. At least I hope they do.
Far more troublesome are those half-truths, urban “sort-of-myths” - beliefs that are almost true, but not quite. Here are three from last week’s top ten.
Sort-of myth #1 - Wind, solar and other alternative energy sources can eliminate dependence on oil.
To some degree true, but in general, not true, unless we’re talking about moving mostly to electric transportation. The transportation sector uses about 70 percent of our petroleum, domestic and imported. Less than 10 percent is used for power generation. The biggest barrier to replacing the fossil fueled automobile is lack of acceptance by the American driver. (see also Oil Dependence, Renewable Energy and the Politics of Ignorance: More Wind and Solar Won’t Cure Oil Addiction )
Sort-of myth #2 - Wind, solar and other alternatives can replace coal.
These intermittent resources can certainly replace much of the energy provided by coal fired plants. But solar and wind still require stabilizing base generation, usually fossil (oil, coal, natural gas) or nuclear. How much conventional base generation is needed? Depends on whom you ask, but probably more than 30 percent of the total generation mix.
Sort-of myth #3 - Smart grid technologies enable #1 and #3
Partially true. Smart grid technologies may indeed make more efficient use of distributed and customer owned wind and solar. However, Smart Grid won’t resolve the intermittency issues unless, at some point in the faraway future, the grid is so large and inter-connected with dispersed generation that it provides sufficient spatial and time diversity.
It's even more disturbing that these "sort-of-myths" aren't just urban. They apparently echo around the government halls in Washington D.C. More than ever, our nation desperately needs clear thinking at every level, from Joe Sixpack to the President.
Yes, indeed, let’s go flat-out on wise investments in alternative energy and new technologies. But let’s do it in a coordinated, focused way that makes sense.
Let’s not let muddle-headed half-truths guide national energy policy.
Source: http://intelligentenergyportal.com/article/urban-energy-myths-top-three
