Green Power: Is it the answer or just the next problem?

Green Power, sometimes called clean power or renewable energy, is proposed as the answer to predictions of catastrophic climate change. But, is Green Power generation capable of meeting that worldwide energy challenge?

We count on our utilities to provide electric power which is Smooth (steady average voltage), Clean (minimal erratic variations), and Reliable (there whenever you throw the switch). Many experts worry that the growth of Green Power will destabilize the utility power grid in all three of these factors. If their predictions are accurate, we need to put more emphasis on distribution, storage, and control now in to order to catch up with the so-called Green Power revolution.

Building a power grid not based on fossil fuels is extremely complex and demands many more resources than are presently devoted to it. There is a regional study on alternatives for meeting the power demands of the state of Washington in coming decades — The Pacific Northwest Low Carbon Scenario Analysis, by Energy and Environmental Economics, Inc.

The study considers two alternatives, either combined cycle turbine generators or batteries — neither of which provide adequate capacity today

The Northwest is much better situated than most areas of the country in that we can use our enormous hydro power capacity to avoid painful adjustments in our expectations of the power grid.

Some proponents of Green Power promise that merely replacing existing power generation with renewable power generation will achieve the goal of eliminating fossil fuel generating facilities.

The supply of green power is inherently unstable since wind and solar generators produce no power at all for periods up to a week several times a year. Batteries are said to be the answer. But batteries are not economically feasible, at least not yet. The project to install batteries in Richland, by Energy Northwest, will store 4 hours of power for 150 homes.

If that project were to provide power to those homes for a week it would need more than 40 times as much capacity, and the total cost for a week’s worth of batteries would also be a large multiple of the project cost.

It could take decades for the entire program of new transmission lines, regional green generation, combined cycle gas-fired plants or batteries, and switching and controls to be implemented. We must make decisions soon to be ready when we retire existing power sources.

Join us on February 21 as we consider the costs and benefits of these Green Power alternatives in order to understand the choices that have to be made.

Speakers at the Forum will be Rick Dunn, Senior Director of Engineering and Power Management at Benton County PUD, and Jim Conca, Chief Technical Officer of UFA Ventures in Richland and a contributor to Forbes magazine on nuclear power issues.

This story was originally published February 17, 2019 at 12:20 PM.