The Crenshaw Energy Plan: Step 3
Promote New, Clean and Reliable Sources of Energy
July 1, 2008
America’s energy crisis is a complex one and won’t be solved completely with just an increase in exploration and production of supply. The United States must look to and encourage the development of clean and reliable sources of energy like clean coal and nuclear power.
Other nations around the world are discovering the potential to harness reliable sources of energy that also protect the environment. For instance, France relies on nuclear power for 80% of its electricity compared to only 19% in the United States. This can not continue.
Florida currently has 4 pending applications for new nuclear power plants, and more states need to follow Florida’s lead.
A recent
Florida Times-Union article entitled, “Nuclear Power on the Way JEA,” highlights the local impact that nuclear power can have in the future on our local community.
“JEA is finalizing a contract that would blend 206 megawatts of nuclear energy – enough to light up about 20,000 homes – into the region’s power portfolio. The energy, which will be critical as the region grows, will be purchased from a nuclear plant in Eastern Georgia and make up about 5 percent of the utility’s energy mix.”
The article goes on to emphasize the environmental and economic benefit to building nuclear plants.
“…They (nuclear plants) generally are cheaper to run than coal and natural gas plants, Boswell said. Another plus is that they don’t emit the carbon dioxide that more widely used fossil fuels do. They could be a key step in curbing future utility costs as federal legislators continue to debate whether businesses should pay for the pollution they create.”
In addition to clean coal and nuclear power sources, America must continue to invest in and develop the production and use of alternative fuels. Environmentally safe and renewable energy sources like bio-fuels, solar, wind, and hydroelectric power are our future and must be promoted and encouraged.
These advances are not just good for energy prices but also for the economy. In fact, renewable energy and energy efficiency industries generated 8.5 million jobs and nearly $970 billion in revenue in the U.S. in 2006 – more than Wal-mart, Exxon-Mobil, and General Motors combined.
There are other forms of renewable energy and we must pursue them as well. We should continue the Renewable Energy Production Tax Credit, which is a federal incentive that has encouraged a quadrupling of wind energy capacity over the past few years.
In regards to fuel, Congress should require that new vehicles are flex-fuel capable. This feature only costs auto manufacturers an additional $100 to produce and it allows for the usage of alcohol-based fuels, such as ethanol and methanol.
On the state level, Florida is leading the way in pursuing cellulosic ethanol technologies that would produce ethanol from Florida-based biomass sugarcane or citrus peels.
Appropriately named “The Sunshine State,” Florida also has an advantage in utilizing new photovoltaic systems becoming available to the public, and is strategically positioned to take the lead with solar thermal application technology.
The times we live in require innovation and creative technologies that will propel us to harness new, clean, and reliable sources of energy, and America must embrace them in our effort to become energy independent.
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