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Renewable Portfolio Standard
www.RenewablePortfolioStandard.com

Renewable Portfolio Standard

What is the "Renewable Portfolio Standard?"

The Renewable Portfolio Standard (“RPS”) is a federal and state policy to promote the use of renewable energy resources to meet electricity demand for that specific state. An RPS requires that a certain amount of electricity come from renewable resources. The Renewable Portfolio Standard for any particular state is now law, and mandated by increasingly more states that requires a percentage of its electric power to be generated from renewable and/or biorenewable energy sources. 

Each particular state decides how these mandates are fulfilled using a combination of renewable and biorenewable energy resources. These renewable and bio-renewable energy resources include wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, and other renewable and bio-renewable resources depending on location. Some states are located in areas where there is access to the wealth of energy found in the ocean. 

Some states that have enacted a Renewable Portfolio Standard identify particular renewable and biorenewable energy resources and some also specify the renewable technology mix, for example, 45% of the state's renewable portfolio standard will come from solar, 45% from biomass, including; B100 Biodiesel, Biomethane, E100 Ethanol (NOT from corn) and Synthesis Gas with 10% coming from wind power generation. Other states have decided to let the market determine the mix of renewable and biorenewable resources that make up that state's Renewable Portfolio Standard.

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What are the Benefits of a National Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS)?

Today, there are 28 states (and the District of Columbia) have enacted enforceable Renewable Portfolio Standards. However, a strong federal-level RPS law would create a national market for renewable energy and would lead to additional renewable energy generation.

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) analysis shows that a national Renewable Portfolio Standard of 25% would create a large and growing market for clean, renewable sources of energy like solar, wind, geothermal, and biofuels. According to Union of Concerned scientists, a national Renewable Portfolio Standard would provide the following benefits:

• save consumers $64.3 billion by 2025 and $95.5 billion by 2030 in their electricity and natural gas bills;

• create 297,000 new, green jobs;

• produce $263.4 billion in new capital investment;

• take the equivalent of 45.3 million cars off the road through reducing the global warming pollution from power plants.

The creation of a renewable energy market through an RES is crucial for the development of renewable energy technology and is a key component of energy and climate legislation.

As of January 1, 2010, 28 states in the U.S. have implemented Renewable Portfolio Standard.

28 states have adopted a Renewable Portfolio Standard which requires utilities to supply a certain percentage of electricity from specified renewable energy technologies within these 23 states.

The 28 State's renewable energy programs in effect in 2010 generally are concentrated in three broad geographic areas, with 11 jurisdictions along the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic seaboard (Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont), 6 in the Southwest (Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas), 4 in the upper Midwest (Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin), and Hawaii and Montana each standing alone. No Southern, Southeastern, or Northwestern State (except Montana) currently has a renewable energy program.

The RPS under consideration in New York, if approved, would lead to the development of over 3,400 megawatts (“MW”) of renewable energy by 2013, making New York a national leader on renewable energy.

On June 4, 2004, the New York State Department of Public Service issued an important decision that could make New York a national leader in developing renewable energy and provide an important tool to combat global warming, if it is swiftly adopted by the New York Public Service Commission. The decision recommends adoption of a renewable energy requirement (the “Renewable Portfolio Standard” or “RPS”) for New York State that will require that 25% of the electricity sold in New York come from renewable resources by the year 2013. The RPS will provide important environmental, public health and economic development benefits to all New Yorkers.

How Has the Renewable Portfolio Standard in New York Been Developed?

New York Governor George Pataki, in his January 2003 State-of-the-State address called for implementation of an RPS to ensure that by 2013, renewable resources would supply 25% of the electric power sold within New York .

In February 2003, the Public Service Commission began to design the RPS. Over the last year and a quarter, the RPS has been discussed in numerous meetings, technical workshops and rounds of comments involving over a hundred organizations and businesses. On June 4, 2004, a Department of Public Service agency judge issued a decision that will provide a roadmap for the RPS and its implementation. The Public Service Commission is expected to adopt the RPS decision this summer.

How Will New York Define Renewable Energy?

The decision recommends that the RPS should include wind, solar (photovoltaics), fuel cells, low-impact hydropower, biomass and biogas and tidal energy. Despite intense industry lobbying, the decision recommends that the RPS not include energy from garbage incineration (“Waste to Energy” or “WTE”). Environmentalists, joined by staff of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the New York State Department of Public Service, have opposed including garbage incineration in the RPS because of its high air pollution emission rates for mercury and smog-producing nitrogen oxides, as well as its high cost.

How will the RPS Help the Environment and Public Health?

• Fossil-fuel and nuclear power produce myriad environmental impacts including massive air pollution and global warming emissions change, water pollution (from mining activities and cooling), and waste disposal concerns. Renewable resources, in contrast, produce either zero or low levels of air and water pollution. New York State estimates that the RPS will reduce gas and oil-powered electric generation in New York State by 9%.

• The RPS will reduce emissions of air pollutants that impair air quality. Increased use of renewables will provide public health benefits through reduced levels of respiratory distress and disease and improve the quality of life of those impacted by air pollution – often our most vulnerable populations of children and the elderly.

• The RPS will significantly decrease New York emissions of smog-producing nitrogen oxides (“NOx”), acid-rain producing sulphur dioxide (“SOx”), and global warming-producing carbon dioxide (“CO2”, fine soot matter and mercury – all major air pollutants with adverse public health and environmental impacts.

• New York State estimates that the RPS will cause emissions of NOx, SOx, and CO2 in New York State to decrease by 5.22%, 6.04%, and 7.43% respectively by 2013, with even greater decreases in the downstate region.
  

How will the RPS Affect Electricity Bills?

Looking at electricity prices alone, under the RPS, electric utilities will pay a small price premium for renewable energy. But new supplies of renewable energy (which have zero or low cost fuel prices) will also bring down New York State wholesale electricity prices.

New York State estimates that the cumulative net present value of the RPS from 2006-2013 will range in cost from $158 to $328 million (using current fuel costs). Residential customers will see their electric bills change by between -1.2% to +1.8%.This means that if your monthly electric bill is $50, your bill will either decrease or increase by about 75 cents to a dollar. But the RPS will have many economic benefits that are not directly factored into electricity prices. These are discussed below.

How the RPS Affect Natural Gas Prices?

The RPS will reduce volatile natural gas prices for New Yorkers. Renewable energy adds diversity to the State’s fuel mix reducing vulnerability to volatile fossil fuel prices. A December 2003 report showed that a New York RPS will lower natural gas prices by reducing consumption of natural gas by power plants.  In addition, the report determined that a 2.8% increase in renewable energy could save New York consumers $144 million in 2008, with national savings as high as $390 million.

How Much New Renewable Energy will New York Gain from the RPS?

About 18% of New York State ’s electricity currently comes from hydropower. Planned expansions of existing hydropower sources may increase this to about 20%.With Demand growth, the RPS will require an additional increase in new renewable energy sources equivalent to about 7.5% of the electricity sold inNew York in order to meet Governor Pataki’s 25% requirement. New York State estimates that the RPS will lead to the development of about 3400 MW of new renewable energy.

Will the RPS Create Jobs and Economic Development?

Yes. The RPS will use in-State resources to produce electricity, decreasing dependence on imported and foreign fuel sources and lengthy and vulnerable fuel pipelines. Per megawatt of power produced, renewable energy generates more jobs and income than fossil-fuel plants. A study by the Renewable Energy Policy Project estimates that a New York RPS would result in the creation of thousands of new jobs in New York. Also, a strong renewable market will produce jobs and income as the renewable industry sees New York as a good place to invest. New York already has a number of renewable energy companies located within its borders, such as the Latham-based Plug Power, which manufacturers fuel cells, and a number of firms supporting the wind energy industry including AWS/Truewind, one of the nation's premier wind resource assessment and mapping firms. These companies are likely to expand, as will the industries that supply necessary parts and services.

In addition, use of in-state renewable resources will provide taxes to local communities and income to landowners (where, for example, wind turbines are placed on agricultural land), particularly in economically disadvantaged upstate rural economies.

The RPS Will Maintain Electricity Supply Stability/Reliability

Renewable power can be integrated into the State’s electric markets consistent with maintaining system reliability as has been done elsewhere in this country and in Europe. Texas uses wind energy for over 3% of its electricity generation and Spain and Germany use wind for approximately 15% of their electricity.

A recent NYSERDA/NYISO Report on the increased use of wind energy found that New York could integrate at least 3,300 MW of wind generation without impacting electric system reliability.

In addition, on-site distributed generation produced by renewable resources such as photovoltaics, fuel cells and small wind turbines can reduce the need for added investment in transmission and distribution infrastructure, avoid transmission losses, and provide power in remote locations .

What is the Renewable Electricity Standard ("RES")

A Renewable Electricity Standard is also called the Renewable Portfolio Standard (“RPS”), which is a federal and state policy to promote the use of renewable energy resources to meet electricity demand for that specific state.

A Renewable Electricity Standard requires that a certain amount of electricity come from renewable resources. The Renewable Electricity Standard for any particular state is now law, and mandated by increasingly more states that requires a percentage of its electric power to be generated from renewable and/or biorenewable energy sources. Each particular state decides how these mandates are fulfilled using a combination of renewable and biorenewable energy resources. These renewable and biorenewable energy resources include wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, and other renewable and biorenewable resources depending on location.

Some states are located in areas where there is access to the wealth of energy found in the ocean.

Some states that have enacted a Renewable Electricity Standard identify particular renewable and biorenewable energy resources and some also specify the renewable technology mix, for example, 45% of the state's renewable portfolio standard will come from solar, 45% from biomass (e100 Ethanol, b100 Biodiesel, Biomethane and Synthesis Gas), and 10% from wind power generation. Other states have decided to let the market determine the mix of renewable and biorenewable resources that make up that state's Renewable Electricity Standard.

A strong national Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) would reduce global warming pollution, create “green” jobs, and save consumers money.

A national Renewable Electricity Standard would require utilities to generate an increasing percentage of their electricity from clean, renewable resources such as the sun, wind, heat from the planet’s interior, and plant and animal waste.


What are the Benefits of a National Renewable Electricity Standard (RES)?

Today, there are 28 states and the District of Columbia have enacted enforceable renewable electricity standards. However, a strong federal-level RES would create a national market for renewable energy and would lead to additional renewable energy generation. Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) analysis shows that a 25 percent RES would create a large and growing market for clean, renewable sources of energy like solar, wind, geothermal, and bioenergy.

According to Union of Concerned scientists, a national renewable electricity standard would provide the following benefits:

• save consumers $64.3 billion by 2025 and $95.5 billion by 2030 in their electricity and natural gas bills;

• create 297,000 new, green jobs;

• produce $263.4 billion in new capital investment;

• take the equivalent of 45.3 million cars off the road through reducing the global warming pollution from power plants.

The creation of a renewable energy market through an RES is crucial for the development of renewable energy technology and is a key component of energy and climate legislation.

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What is "Cogeneration"?

Did you know that 10% of our nation's electricity now comes from "cogeneration" plants?

And because cogeneration is so efficient, it saves its customers up to 40% on their energy expenses, and provides even greater savings to our environment through significant reductions in fuel usage and much lower greenhouse gas emissions.

Cogeneration - also known as “combined heat and power” (CHP), cogen, district energy, total energy, and combined cycle, is the simultaneous production of heat (usually in the form of hot water and/or steam) and power, utilizing one primary fuel such as natural gas, or a renewable fuel, such as Biomethane, B100 Biodiesel, or Synthesis Gas.

Cogeneration technology is not the latest industry buzz-word being touted as the solution to our nation's energy woes. Cogeneration is a proven technology that has been around for over 120 years!

Our nation's first commercial power plant was a cogeneration plant that was designed and built by Thomas Edison in 1882 in New York. Our nation's first commercial power plant was called the "Pearl Street Station."

What is "Trigeneration"?

Trigeneration is the simultaneous production of three forms of energy - typically, Cooling, Heating and Power - from only one fuel input. Put another way, our trigeneration power plants produce three different types of energy for the price of one.  

Trigeneration energy systems can reach overall system efficiencies of 86% to 93%.  Typical "central" power plants, that do not need the heat generated from the combustion and power generation process, are only about 33% efficient.

Trigeneration Diagram & Description
Trigeneration Power Plants' Have the Highest System Efficiencies and are 
About 300 % More Efficient than Typical Central Power Plants

Trigeneration plants are installed at locations that can benefit from all three forms of energy.  These types of installations that install trigeneration energy systems are called "onsite power generation" also referred to as "decentralized energy."   

One of our company's principal's first experience with the design and development of a trigeneration power plant was the trigeneration power plant installation at Rice University in 1987 where our trigeneration development team started out by conducting a "cogeneration" feasibility study.  The EPC contractor that Rice University selected installed the trigeneration power which included a 4.0 MW Ruston gas turbine power plant, along with waste heat recovery boilers and Absorption Chillers.  A "waste heat recovery boiler" captures the heat from the exhaust of the gas turbine.  From there, the recovered energy was converted to chilled water - originally from (3) Hitachi Absorption Chillers - 2 were rated at 1,000 tons each, and the third Hitachi Absorption Chiller was rated at 1,500 tons. The Hitachi Absorption Chillers were replaced shortly after their installation by the EPC company.  The first trigeneration plant at Rice University was so successful, they added a second 5.0 MW trigeneration plant so today, Rice University is now generating about 9.0 MW of electricity, and also producing the cooling and heating the university needs from the trigeneration plant and circulating the trigeneration energy around its campus.

Trigeneration Chart
Trigeneration's "Super-Efficiency" compared 
with other competing technologies
As you can see, there is No Competition for Trigeneration!

Our trigeneration power plants are the ideal onsite power and energy solution for customers that include:  Data Centers, Hospitals, Universities, Airports, Central Plants, Colleges & Universities, Dairies, Server Farms, District Heating & Cooling Plants, Food Processing Plants, Golf/Country Clubs, Government Buildings, Grocery Stores, Hotels, Manufacturing Plants, Nursing Homes, Office Buildings / Campuses, Radio Stations, Refrigerated Warehouses, Resorts, Restaurants, Schools, Server Farms, Shopping Centers, Supermarkets, Television Stations, Theatres and Military Bases.

At about 86% to 93% net system efficiency, our trigeneration power plants are about 300% more efficient at providing energy than your current electric utility. That's because the typical electric utility's power plants are only about 33% efficient - they waste 2/3 of the fuel in generating electricity in the enormous amount of waste heat energy that they exhaust through their smokestacks.

Trigeneration is defined as the simultaneous production of three energies: Cooling, Heating and Power.  Our trigeneration energy systems use the same amount of fuel in producing three energies that would normally only produce just one type of energy. This means our customers that have our trigeneration power plants have significantly lower energy expenses, and a lower carbon footprint.

Our New "Integrated" Trigeneration Plants Have 
Very High Efficiencies & Low Fuel Costs

The Effective Heat Rate is Approximately 
4050 btu/kW & System Efficiency is 92% Plants Have 
Very High Efficiencies & Low Fuel Costs

Pictures (below) of a Cogeneration Plant Presently Being Built for New Customer.  

This Cogeneration Plant is Rated at 900 kW and Features:
(2) Natural Gas Engines @ 450 kW each on one Skid with Optional 
Selective Catalytic Reduction system that removes Nitrogen Oxides to "non-detect."

Our onsite trigeneration power and energy system can be an ideal solution for customers wanting increased power reliability and decreased energy and environmental costs.  A few of the types of buildings and businesses that would benefit from an onsite trigeneration plant include the following:

• Airports

• Casinos

• Central Plants

• Colleges & Universities

• Dairies

• Data Centers 

• District Heating & Cooling plants

• Food Processing Plants

• Golf/Country Clubs

• Government Buildings and Facilities 

• Grocery Stores

• Hospitals 

• Hotels

• Manufacturing Plants

• Military Bases

• Nursing Homes 

• Office Buildings / Campuses

• Radio Stations

• Refrigerated Warehouses 

• Resorts 

• Restaurants 

• Schools

• Server Farms

• Shopping centers 

• Supermarkets 

• Television Stations

• Theatres

What is the "Unified Smart Grid"?

The Unified Smart Grid is the name used for the future transmission power lines that would carry green electricity from the many solar power plants and solar power parks and wind farms that generate the power, typically in remote areas, to the "load centers" or major cities that would use the green power. 

Quite simply, our country's out-dated and inefficient National Electric Grid, lacks the ability to carry all the new green electricity being planned from hundreds of new solar power parks and wind power generation facilities.

The Unified Smart Grid will be a national interconnected network relying on a high capacity backbone of electric power transmission lines linking all the nation's local electrical networks that have been upgraded to smart grids. Europe's analogous project is sometimes referred to as the SuperSmart Grid, a term that also appears in the literature describing the Unified Smart Grid. 

Cost estimates to rebuild the nation's electric grid as a Unified Smart Grid have ranged from $350 billion to $450 billion.

Support for the unified smart grid came with passage of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.   Title 13 of this Act invested $100 million in funding for the years 2008 – 2012 and establishes a matching program to states, utilities and consumers to build unified smart grid capabilities.  It also creates a Grid Modernization Commission to assess the benefits of demand response and automated demand response and recommended a set of system protocols and standards to be led by the National Institute of Standards and Technology which would coordinate the development of smart grid standards.  FERC would then promulgate these standards and protocols for the unified smart grid through its official rulemaking capabilities.

The Unified Smart Grid received further support with the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 that set aside $11 billion for the creation of a smart grid.

Building a Unified Smart Grid would help jump-start the renewable energy investments in solar power parks.  Thousands of megawatts of new solar power parks (both Concentrating Solar Power plants and Photovoltaic Power Plants) are being planned. Most are  located in the desert Southwest due to the solar energy resource. A Unified Smart Grid is needed to move the large amount of power, which is fairly concentrated, to the rest of the nation.  Without the new Unified Smart Grid, it would be impossible to distribute the green power to the nation. 

The new Unified Smart Grid is significantly more efficient than the present, nearly 100 year old technology that makes up our nation's present transmission and distribution network of how we get the power from central power plants to customers and major load centers.

Much of the new Unified Smart Grid will be comprised of "High Voltage Direct Current" transmission lines which is significantly more efficient than the present high voltage alternating current transmission lines.  

The new Unified Smart Grid will provide economic development, thousands of new jobs, and significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

What would the new Unified Smart Grid look like?

Source:  American Electric Power

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For more information on the Unified Smart Grid, visit one of the following sites:

Central Power Plant
www.CentralPowerPlant.com

Electric Power Generation
www.ElectricPowerGeneration.net

High Voltage Direct Current
www.HighVoltageDirectCurrent.com

National Electric Grid
www.NationalElectricGrid.com

Transmission and Distribution
www.TransmissionAndDistribution.net

Unified Smart Grid
www.UnifiedSmartGrid.com

Wind Power Generation
www.WindPowerGeneration.com

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You Can't Have a Unified Smart Grid Without:

Advanced Metering System  *  Advanced Meters  *  Automated Demand Response  *  Automated Energy Management

Battery Energy Storage  *  Building Automation Systems  *  Carbon Free Energy  *  Clean Power Generation 

Cogeneration  *  Compressed Air Energy Storage  *  Decentralized Energy  *  Demand Side Management 

Dispersed Generation  *  Distributed Energy Resources  *  Distributed Generation  *  Distributed PV  *  EcoGeneration

High Voltage Direct Current  *  Load Leveling  *  Locational Marginal Pricing  *  Micro-Grid  *  Net Zero Energy 

Net Zero Energy Buildings  *  Nodal Pricing  *  Onsite Power Generation  *  Pollution Free Power 

Plug In Electric Vehicles  *  Renewable Energy Parks  *  Rooftop PV  *  Solar Cogeneration 

Solar Power Parks  *  Trigeneration  *  Virtual Power Plants  *  Waste Heat Recovery

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Waste Heat Recovery in Cogeneration and 
Trigeneration power and energy systems

In most cogeneration and trigeneration power and energy systems, the exhaust gas from the electric generation equipment is ducted to a heat exchanger to recover the thermal energy in the gas. These heat exchangers are air-to-water heat exchangers, where the exhaust gas flows over some form of tube and fin heat exchange surface and the heat from the exhaust gas is transferred to make hot water or steam. The hot water or steam is then used to provide hot water or steam heating and/or to operate thermally activated equipment, such as an absorption chiller for cooling or a desiccant dehumidifer for dehumidification.

Many of the waste heat recovery technologies used in building co/trigeneration systems require hot water, some at moderate pressures of 15 to 150 psig. In the cases where additional steam or pressurized hot water is needed, it may be necessary to provide supplemental heat to the exhaust gas with a duct burner.

In some applications air-to-air heat exchangers can be used. In other instances, if the emissions from the generation equipment are low enough, such as is with many of the microturbine technologies, the hot exhaust gases can be mixed with make-up air and vented directly into the heating system for building heating.

In the majority of installations, a flapper damper or "diverter" is employed to vary flow across the heat transfer surfaces of the heat exchanger to maintain a specific design temperature of the hot water or steam generation rate.

Typical Waste Heat Recovery Installation

In some co/trigeneration designs, the exhaust gases can be used to activate a thermal wheel or a desiccant dehumidifier. Thermal wheels use the exhaust gas to heat a wheel with a medium that absorbs the heat and then transfers the heat when the wheel is rotated into the incoming airflow.

A professional engineer should be involved in designing and sizing of the waste heat recovery section. For a proper and economical operation, the design of the heat recovery section involves consideration of many related factors, such as the thermal capacity of the exhaust gases, the exhaust flow rate, the sizing and type of heat exchanger, and the desired parameters over a various range of operating conditions of the co/trigeneration system — all of which need to be considered for proper and economical operation.

For more information on Waste Heat Recovery and Waste Heat Boilers, call/email us.

How we make and distribute electricity is changing! 

The electric power generation, transmission and distribution system (the electric "grid") is changing and evolving from the electric grid of the 19th and 20th centuries, which was inefficient, highly-polluting, very expensive and “dumb.”  

The "old" way of generating and distributing energy resembles this slide:

According to Monty Goodell, Founder and Chairman of the Renewable Energy Institute, "our increased dependence and reliance on foreign energy supplies represents a Clear and Present Danger to our national security, our economy, and the lives and livelihood of every American. Energy - including the energy we use from imported fossil fuels, is the very "lifeblood" of the American economy as it is for every industrialized country.  An economy dies without it's lifeblood of energy. This Clear and Present Danger we face is far more serious than the problems related to greenhouse gas emissions.  And while greenhouse gas emissions are very serious issue, in the long-term, pales in comparison to America's vital national security interests and America's economic stability in the short term.  For this reason alone, America needs to transition away from its addiction to foreign energy supplies. And America's abundant renewable energy resources such as the energy we receive from the sun, and renewable energy technologies such as concentrated solar power (CSP) plants - can supply 100% of America's power requirements with a concentrating solar power plant measuring 75 miles by 75 miles, located in the Southwest U.S.  By generating America's power from concentrating solar power plants, America resolves its' short-term Clear and Present Danger as it relates to importing its energy from foreign countries, and the long-term problems relating to greenhouse gas emissions."

Continuing, Mr. Goodell states that "too many Americans have forgotten what happened to us in 1973, when the Arabs and OPEC brought the United States economy to a screeching halt during the OPEC Oil Embargo.  This happened because they (mainly the country of Saudi Arabia) disagreed with our foreign policy and is the reason why they "turned off the tap" of our need for their oil supplies. When Saudi Arabia and OPEC stopped the vital flow of oil to our country in 1973, they caused an "oil shock" that severely and negatively impacted our economy. 

Mr. Goodell's question for us to ponder is, "do these countries who sell us 60% of our daily energy requirements, like us and our foreign policy, or might they leverage our addiction to their fossil fuels, and turn off the tap to make us adjust or revise our foreign policy??  Like any addict, America's foreign policy may be held hostage to its addiction, and in this case, our addiction to foreign oil, may over-ride our national interests."

Have American's forgotten the gas shortages and long lines at 
their gas stations to get gas during the Arab Oil Embargo of 1973? 

"Apparently so."  Mr. Goodell states that "in 1973, America was 'addicted' and 'over the barrel' of foreign oil to the amount of 40%.  Forty percent of our energy 'needs' in 1973 came from countries - many of which didn't like us then, and I'm afraid, many of them still don't.  The difference between 1973 and today - is that today we receive 50% MORE foreign oil now than we did in 1973.  And now we know about the problems relating to greenhouse gas emissions that we didn't know then.  America needs to change course, and change course now, in terms of its' energy supplies and how we keep America's economy strong, without the threat of being held hostage to a middle-east tyrant or regime, that could once again, turn on us, and turn off our supply of foreign oil." 

Remember ????

"Sadly, most Americans have forgotten the long lines of people waiting in their cars - lined up and waiting for gasoline at their nearby gas station, with lines that were many blocks long.  And, after waiting 4-5 hours, many even waiting overnight in many places, to finally take their turn to fill up their car with gasoline, only to find that the gas station had run out of gas."

"Let me Repeat.... That was 1973 when we imported 40% of our daily energy requirements in the form of crude oil from overseas, and from foreign countries - and many of these from countries that don't like us.

Today, over 35 years later, America has yet to learn the lesson.  We cannot continue our reliance on energy from foreign countries that supply us with 60% of the crude oil that our refineries use as a feedstock for producing gasoline and diesel fuel for our cars and trucks comes from overseas. 

America is "over the barrel" and it's not our barrel, but the barrels of oil that we are addicted by and owned by other countries.  Why have we not learned the lessons we needed to learn in 1973 when we were cut-off from the vital energy supplies we need? 

Countries like China, are growing rapidly, and have an insatiable need for crude oil. China, with their booming economy, is increasingly growing in its clout and control over international supplies of crude oil - whether they do this through their ability to buy as much oil as they need on a daily basis, or whether they simply but American drilling rigs, technology, and explore and produce oil and gas from their own fields. China, is buying large amounts of oil for their country, and causing upward pricing on declining supplies. What happens if Russia, with all of their oil and natural gas, along with China and Venezuela, with or without the help of OPEC, decided to NOT sell oil to us????

To be sure, greenhouse gas emissions are a problem, and to some, greenhouse gas emissions are also a Clear and Present Danger, but not to the extent that it presents an imminent Clear and Present Danger. 

America's reliance for 60% of our energy "needs" coming from foreign suppliers is un-acceptable.

The "driver" to get America to begin reducing and eliminating fossil fuel use should be our nation's national security and the welfare and safety of its citizens. And this can all begin with developing and investing in our own renewable energy resources and renewable energy technologies, let's start by putting solar on every rooftop that has a clear and unobstructed view of the Southern sky. See www.RooftopPV.com  or  www.DistributedPV.com  for more information.  Let's create incentives begin with adopting a national "Feed In Tariff" as Germany did in 1990. 

We simply do NOT have the luxury of time on our hands.  We need to end our dependence and reliance on foreign fossil fuels, especially from countries that don't like us! We need to rapidly begin expanding renewable energy resources and renewable energy technologies from our vast and abundant renewable energy resources, such as; solar, solar energy systems, solar cogeneration, solar trigeneration, "solar on every roof," along with; Biomass Gasification, B100 Biodiesel, Biomethane, E100 Ethanol (from cellulosic, agricultural waste, sugar cane, etc., and NOT from corn), Geothermal Power Plants, Natural Wastewater Treatment, Synthesis Gas, Waste To Energy, Waste To Fuel and Wind Power Generation where it makes economic and environmental sense."   

For more information, call/email the
Renewable Energy Institute

Renewable Portfolio Standard - RPS

Copyright © 2003
All Rights Reserved