Houston Democrats

Three Democratic senators, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Daniel Akaka and Daniel Inouye both from Hawaii, voted with 48 Republicans to endorse drilling. Seven Republicans crossed over to join 41 Democrats and Senator James Jeffords, the independent from Vermont, in opposing the measure. They include John McCain of Arizona, Norm Coleman of Minnesota, Mike DeWine of Ohio, Lincoln Chaffee of Rhode Island, Gordon Smith of Oregon, and Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe both from Maine.

The idea of drilling in the Alaska wilderness was touted as a way to directly ease the high cost of oil, which has risen to a new all-time high to above $56 per barrel. However, Senator Cantwell of Washington, among others, said it will take at least 10 years before any ANWR oil will be sold, and even then it will have only a minimal impact on the price of gas.

No one really has any idea of how much oil actually lies beneath the surface of ANWR. Only one pilot well was drilled and the results of that project have remained secret. In 1998, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) used seismic studies to determine that between 5.6 billion and 16 billion barrels of technically recoverable oil lie beneath the surface of ANWR. The United States consumes 7.3 billion barrels a day, which means the supply of oil that we’re talking about could supply the US for as little as 9 months to slightly more than 2 years, which obviously won’t have any significant impact on the long-term supply of oil.

According to the USGS, even at today’s high oil prices, only about 7 billion barrels of oil could profitably be brought to market. Even at peak production, which would be about 1 million barrels a day in 2020 or 2025, ANWR would only supply 4% of the nation’s projected energy demand, which means the US will still be highly dependent on foreign energy supplies.

What we really need is more conservation, alternate forms of energy, not greater supply.

Even some modest measures to increase energy efficiency would do wonders without endangering the integrity of the Alaskan wilderness. Just by making light trucks as efficient as ordinary cars (the SUV loophole), we could save 1 million barrels per day. Additionally, by raising fuel-economy standards to 40 miles per gallon, we would save 2.5 million barrels per day. Other measures including tax credits to aid car manufacturers to produce fuel-efficient cars, or to develop a more aggressive biofuels program to replace some of the gasoline we use would further improve our energy standing. Promoting renewable energy generation is another obvious method for cutting our dependence on foreign fuel sources.

Renewable energy also makes sense for security purposes. Here are some facts I learned from Karl Rabago, President of the Texas Renewable Energy Industries Association (TREIA) at the Second Annual Texas Environmental Leadership Conference in Houston in early March. Interest in constructing new nuclear plants is growing again because they can produce large amounts of electricity without producing harmful greenhouse gases. Here's a comparison of building a new nuclear plant to constructing a new wind farm.

To build another nuclear power plant similar to Comanche Peak
- Energy generation capacity 2,300 MW
- 20 years to construct from time license is issued, not including planning and design
- Cost about $12.5 billion
- Water cooled
- Radioactive waste
- Security challenges (If one of the two reactors is attacked there is an immediate loss of at least half of its energy generation capacity.)
- No other land use possible around reactors.

To build a new wind farm (in order to meet Texas' renewable energy mandate for 2007 - likely to be achieved in 2006):
- Energy generation capacity 2,000 MW
- About 9 years to construct from start to finish
- Market cost $2 billion
- No water needed
- No wastes
- Hard to target (1,400 units spread across state. A terrorist would have to hit them all to shut down the entire system)
- Still possible to use land surrounding generators for ranching or farming.

There are currently three sets of bills in the Texas House and Senate that promote increasing the amount of renewable energy generated in Texas to varying degrees. I have arranged them in order of increasing renewable energy achievements. They are paired with their companion bill.

Some vocabulary:

Distributed renewable energy – sources of energy connected to the electricity grid at the distribution level, such as a solar panel on your roof, solar thermal electrical heating systems, small wind powered generators, biomass, geothermal energy heating systems (all sources of energy with the ability to be constructed on a small scale for a building or home)

Competitive renewable energy generation zones – locations to receive special consideration with respect to transmission service due to the location’s potential for cost-effective renewable power development

A megawatt (MW) – In Texas, a megawatt provides enough electricity for a year to power three to four hundred homes (Source).

HB 1671/SB 533 Rep. Hunter (R-Abilene), Sen. Fraser (R-Horshoe Bay):
- Calls for an additional 5,000 MW of generating capacity from renewable energy by January 1, 2015
- Total renewable energy generation shall be 5,880 MW by January 1, 2015
- Calls for 10,000 MW of renewable energy to be installed by January 1, 2025
- Calls for a minimum of 500 MW of renewable energy generating capacity from non-wind sources
- Calls for identifying competitive renewable zones
- Calls for a report to be filed no later than January 1, 2007 evaluating competitive renewable zones, establishing the cost of additional electrical transmission service improvements, and the impact of additional renewable energy generation has on system reliability.

HB 1798/SB 836 Rep. Swinford (R-Amarillo), Sen. Duncan (R-Lubbock)
- Calls for an additional 10,000 MW of generating capacity from renewable energy by January 1, 2015
- Total renewable energy generation shall be 2,880 MW by January 1, 2009, 4,880 MW by January 1, 2011, 7,880 MW by January 1, 2013, and 10,880 MW by January 1, 2015
- Calls for a minimum of 500 MW of renewable energy generating capacity from distributed energy resources
- Calls for identifying competitive renewable energy generation, specifically areas suitable to develop at least 1,000 MW of energy a year
- Calls for the construction of electrical transmission lines and distribution service providers in partially developed competitive renewable energy generation zones in order to bring renewable energy to the market

HB 2692/SB 1075 Rep. Gallego (D-Alpine), Sen. Zaffirini (D-Laredo)
- Calls for 20% of all energy produced in Texas to be generated from renewable sources by January 1, 2020
- Total renewable energy generation shall be 2,280 MW by January 1, 2007, 2,880 MW by January 1, 2009, 10,880 MW by January 1, 2015
- Calls for a minimum of 500 MW of renewable energy generating capacity from distributed energy resources of which 100 MW will be installed small-scale projects (public buildings, houses, businesses, etc.)
- Calls for the establishment of a renewable credits trading system to provide an incentive for the further development of renewable energy
- Calls for identifying competitive renewable energy generation zones and for the consideration of designating new zones each year, specifically areas suitable to develop at least 1,000 MW of energy a year
- Calls for the implementation of marginal pricing tax to maximize the benefits of renewable energy technologies (benefits to the environment, reliability benefits, economic benefits, security benefits)
- Calls for the interconnection of existing and future renewable energy generators to the existing power grid in order to bring renewable energy to the market

View the complete text of the bills at Texas Legislature Online.

Isn’t it funny how the version written by two Democrats makes the greatest achievements in renewable energy generation?

Since HB 1671/SB 533 proposed by Rep. Hunter and Sen. Fraser only proposes a total of 5,000 MW by January 2015, and the amount includes the nearly 2,880 MW that Texas is required to have by 2009, it does not set that high of a goal. The other two bills will require 10,000 MW of renewable energy generating capacity 10 years sooner in 2015 instead of 2025. The main issue holding the production of renewable energy up at the moment is getting the electrical transmission lines to the areas where wind and other renewable energy is produced. These areas are typically in remote areas of West Texas that are not near the existing electricity grid. Therefore, either HB 1798/SB 836 or HB 2692/SB 1075 make much greater achievements towards renewable energy.

The latest news from Texas Renewable Energies Industry Association.

Projections Show 2009 Requirement may be Reached this Year
Texas is expected to meet a 2009 mandate three years early by sharply increasing the use of renewable energy to generate electricity. The Texas electric restructuring law of 1999 required an additional 2,000 megawatts of renewable generating capacity in Texas by 2009.

Developers have added 1,190 megawatts on-line since the law was passed, and projects adding 486 megawatts are either under construction or have been officially announced. Transmission agreements have been finalized for another 720 megawatts. Developers are expected to push hard to get new projects on-line by Dec. 31 because federal renewable energy tax incentives expire at the end of this year.

Renewable energy uses several sources, including wind, landfill gas, water (hydro), biomass and solar. In Texas, wind power currently accounts for 96 percent of renewable generating capacity added since 1999. At this time most wind generators are located in an area of west Texas comprising Crane, Crockett, Pecos and Upton counties. Most of the new and planned projects are in a corridor about 100 miles wide along I-20 from Abilene to west of Odessa.

The current law encourages the construction of renewable energy projects, reduces air pollution from fossil fuel generation and responds to Texans' willingness to pay more for clean energy. However, a key issue in expanding the use of renewable energy from West Texas is the ability of the transmission system to move power from generation sources to customers at a reasonable cost.

Approximately three percent of the state's total electric generating capacity comes from renewable energy. In Texas, a megawatt provides enough electricity for a year to power three to four hundred homes.

More sites with information:
http://www.infinitepower.org/
http://www.treia.org/info.htm (provides links to other Texas organizations, government agencies, and education and research organizations)