Energy Industry says more plant construction needed
Paul Davidson
April 21, 2008
Environmentalists say more energy efficiency could decrease the need for huge new wave of power plants and transmissions lines.
2 studies say this is very unlikely:
More efficiency can offset a big but also a small portion of the increase in making the capacity needed to meet the rising electrical demand.
Even with people buying energy-saving appliances and homes that are insulated better the US will still need to build more than 151 gigawatts of new generation-- this is enough to power 75 million homes by the year 2030.
These projects aimed at meeting the demand and replacing old plants is going to cost at least $457 billion. The largest wave of construction in a generation will also require at least $900 billion just for the lines to transport the power.
The power demand is going to go up by 30% by the year 2030 as the population grows and more people buy higher energy required electronics. This projection accounts for the current utility programs that give the consumers rebates for buying efficient appliances, and also includes a recently passed law that strictens the appliance standards and phasing out the incandescent light bulb by the year 2020
Additional utility efficient efforts could possibly cut the power demand in 2030 by 7-11%
With that estimate, the new generation could be sliced by a third to 151 gigawatts, though a more realistic 17% drop would still require building 188 gigawatts of capacity, enough to light 94 million homes.
"Nadel, says the decrease in power demand could be much higher. He cites plans by Maryland for ambitious efficiency programs designed to freeze demand at today's levels by 2030, virtually eliminating the need to build new plants. Other states could follow suit, he says."
Munn states utilities can not count on things that may never develop. "We could find ourselves without" adequate supply, she says.
