Commission To 'Demand' Underground Power Lines - County commissioners are drawing a line in the sand over power lines. The board voted unanimously Tuesday to "demand" that Progress Energy install any new transmission lines underground in existing utility corridors and "with the best available technology."

The commissioners assume the only way to serve load is with new wires, and demand the wires be buried, which will significantly raise the cost of delivered electricity.  But there is often a vastly better solution - encouraging local power generation inside the distribution network.

Contrary to conventional thinking, there is no 11th commandment that says power must be generated remotely in a large electric-only plant that wastes most of the fuel's energy.  Local generation powered by industrial waste energy streams or local combined heat and power generation that produces electricity and then uses the inevitable byproduct thermal energy to displace boiler fuel or drive absorption chilling achieves twice the fossil efficiency or more of the best electric-only generation, cutting fuel costs and all emissions, including greenhouse gases.

This local generation reduces the load on the wires, as electricity always flows to the nearest load.  The load reduction has two economic benefits.  First, it reduces line losses on all the power flowing through that transmission line.  Second, it reduces the need for added transmission lines, since the power is generated locally.

Commissions and all governments should demand that the serving distribution utility, in this case Progress Energy, make three changes to give clean energy a chance:

1.       Offer a payment to any new generator in the distribution area equal to the annual amortization of the avoided new wires and a payment for the value of avoided line losses across present wires.

2.       Offer to pay any new local generator for active voltage and power factor support, which also reduces line losses and the need for more wires

3.       Provide a Clean Electricity Standard Offer Program (See www.recycled-energy.com for more details) that offers 20-year contracts for local generation that is at least 60% fossil efficient and is inside the distribution area.

These actions will give local clean electricity generation a chance to compete with more dirty central generation to lower the cost of delivered power and reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases while stimulating investments and cost savings for local industries.

Tom Casten