If we ever do pass a new Energy-Climate bill, I hope that someone reads the small print about renewables. It might read something like this. "The manufacuturer is not responsible for Acts of God such as extended periods of no wind, extreme high or low temperatures, and prolonged overcast days, etc. While a new energy and climate bill will move us towards renewables we should not relegate existing forms of electric power generation to the junk yard.

Proponents of the new energy and climate bill touted it as "the most important energy and environmental legislation in the history of our country," Indeed it seems to be the first step in steering the U.S. away from foreign oil and towards a path of clean American energy. Now if only the weather cooperates.

It's really easy to get caught up in the political debates and forget about the realities of electrical energy generation. Things like reliability really do matter. The new debate on Energy and Climate reminded me of when I bought my first sail boat. I was a purist back then and the idea of using the wind and not paying for gasoline was appealing.The realities of sailing came later. They included drifting aimlessly in the Gulf Stream for days praying for wind. Setting a sea anchor in 15 foot seas and being eaten alive by salt water mosquitoes and no seeums in Biscayne Bay Florida. Boy those were the days. It didn't take us long to break down and buy a small outboard motor for those times when the wind did not blow and when we needed to get to port to avoid severe weather.

There is no silver bullet
Whenever people have relied too much on a single source of power they have exposed themselves to increased risks. This largley due to the weather which all forms of power generation directly or indirectly depend upon. A few examples will clarify what I mean. The people of the Pacific Northwest are blessed with tremendous hydroelectric energy resources. The result is that the region's citizens have one of the lowest electric bills in the U.S. Everyone is happy when there is sufficient snowfall in winter and good spring rains. However, when Mother Nature does not cooperate, the region has to rely on other forms of electric power production within and outside the Pacific Northwest.

The French government years ago made a strategic decision to develop nuclear power and rely on it for most of their electricity needs. However in 2003 Mother Nature did not cooperate. During the 2003 heat wave in France that killed 15,000 people, nuclear power plants in that country had to reduce their power output because low river levels limited cooling water. Similar things have happened in the U.S. The drought that gripped the Southeast in 2007 and 2008 reduced the availability of cooling water to the point that power plants were within days of shutting down. Even solar energy is vulnerable to Mother Nature's whims.

A Balanced Electricity Portfolio reduces risks
For the above reasons, we will need both fossil and renewable electric power resources to reduce risks and meet our growing demand for reliable power supplies. We'll also need significant demand response programs with significant participation by residential electricity users to manage the uncertainty that renewable energy brings to the electric system.

Technology and research can also help reduce the risks too by making electric power transmission over long distances more efficient. Despite the popularity of renewables, many projects will be dependent on new power lines that will face significant opposition and never get built. That's where superconducing cable like HTS Triax will pay off. It will replace existing lines and provide greater amounts of power. It can also play a major role in making the grid communicate with consumers and in making our buildings and homes more energy efficient.

New Energy-Climate Bill- maybe a big so what
The U.S. Congress has passed some splendid legislation in the last decade. Even the Bush Administration took a shot at getting us away from fossil fuels for both power and transportation. Believe me, it is not the legislation's fault entirely. NIMBY or "not in my back yard" is alive and well and even the most promising renewable energy projects will be thwarted and opposed despite eventual passage of a new Energy-Climate bill.

While environmental groups take most of the heat of opposing energy projects, even parts of the federal government share some of the blame. The latest example is the ongoing fight between the U.S. Air Force and a large solar energy power project in Nevada. If the Air Force did not lke the project, I wish they would have had the decency to tell the developer in no uncertain terms that they were against the project. This is not an isolated incident and is repeated across our country routinely. See Solar Project Meets Bigger Foe Than Cloudy Skies: The Air Force.