The U.S. Department of Energy is facing attacks on two fronts in federal courts over the disposal of spent nuclear fuel. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Erika Johnson reports:
Transcript
The U.S. Department of Energy is facing attacks on two fronts in federal courts over the disposal
of spent nuclear fuel. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Erika Johnson reports:
Dozens of nuclear power companies are suing the federal government for nearly 50-billion
dollars. The power companies allege the Department Of Energy violated a contract with them.
The companies have been paying the government to develop a nuclear waste storage site at Yucca
Mountain in Nevada. Under the contract, starting in 1998, the Department of Energy was
supposed to dispose of this spent nuclear fuel from the plants. But that hasn’t happened, so the
utilities want millions of dollars each for damages to cover the costs of storing the waste on-site.
Craig Nesbit is Director of Communications for Exelon Nuclear.
“What’s at stake is simply the costs of building the facilities to store it. The Department of
Energy’s problem is that it doesn’t have anywhere to put it right now. That’s what Yucca
Mountain is for, and Yucca Mountain has not been fully developed.”
But the federal government’s plan to store the nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain has been blocked
by the state of Nevada in courts. The cases are expected to last up to several years.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Erika Johnson.
Some people are reversing the spin of their electric meters by selling their excess energy back to the power grid.
Most people think of houses as buildings that consume energy, but homeowners who generate their own electricity from rooftop solar panels are finding they often make more than they need. Some have begun selling their excess energy back to the utility… which puts it on the power grid for others to use. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Robbie Harris has this report:
To see your state’s policies regarding ‘net metering’ click here:
Transcript
Most people think of houses as buildings that consume energy. But home-owners who generate their own electricity from rooftop solar panels, are finding they often make more than they need. Some have begun selling their excess energy back to the utility… which puts it on the power grid for others to use. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Robbie Harris has this report:
(natural sound)
Marjie Isaacson’s one hundred twenty year old, brick four flat is wedged onto a typical Chicago city lot… From the street, the only thing that distinguishes her property from her neighbors, is the bright blue recycling bin, at the front gate… What you can’t see from the street is an array of twelve, 4 by 6 foot solar panels on the roof. A bank of batteries in the basement allows Isaacson to store enough electricity to power her house for four days.
“Here’s my messy basement.”
(laughs)
A huge wall full of batteries like this, used to be the only way to
store solar energy, but Marjie Isaacson
is taking part in an experimental
energy project.
“And how it works is.. When I’m producing energy from my solar panels it goes into the grid and gets mixed up with everyone else’s energy.. But Com Ed is keeping track of that for me.. And at the end of the year if I’ve used
more than I’ve given them, I don’t get any money. But if I’ve given them more than I use them, I get money.”
“And how’s that equation working?”
“I got money.”
“Can I ask how much?”
“Umm… I got 200 dollars.”
Com Ed, the Chicago utility company,
calls this its “Wind and Photovoltaic
Generation Pricing Experiment.” About
half the states in the country are experimenting
with something similar. Homeowners purchase
their own solar panels. Then the utility gives
them something called an inter-tie. The inter-tie
feeds their excess electricity to the power grid.
So the grid itself, effectively becomes the
home-owner’s battery back -up. On
cloudy days if someone’s system is
not generating enough power, the electrical
grid will supply it. When solar powered
houses produce an excess, Com Ed
will buy it from the homeowner. This
experiment has been going on for
three years. So far, fewer than 20
houses in Chicago have signed on to
the program.
“It’s a number that’s small that we’re
hoping to increase. It’s a hard sell in
the Midwest. Folks don’t think that
solar is as viable here as it is in
Florida or in California.”
Mary O’Toole is an Environmental
Strategist who oversees the alternative
energy experiment for Com Ed. She
gets a lot of phone calls from interested
homeowners… but when they hear it
costs anywhere from 10,000 dollars
on up to put a solar array on your roof,
that’s where the conversations end.
“I think most folks look at the cost of
solar or photovoltaic and say, “Oh!
I’ll wait for the price to drop.” Where
right now in Illinois we’ve got the ability
to cut the price in half for you… and
that’s… that’s huge.”
The state of Illinois has one of the
best incentive packages in the country
for offsetting the cost of installing
alternative energy systems. It offers
grants and rebates up to 60 percent.
But even with that price break, it still
takes 30 years or more for a solar energy
system to pay for itself. For most
homeowners, that’s way too long.
In this mobile society, it’s longer than
most people stay in their houses.
“We are in a society where nobody
cares for the future.”
Vladimir Nekola is an electrical
engineer who installs solar power
systems. He came to the U.S. twelve
years ago from Argentina. Nekola
longs for the day when he can tell
clients their payback will come in five
years. He points to other nations like
Japan and Germany which provide
homeowners with solar panels – and
allow them to pay off the high startup
costs over time. German utility
companies also encourage their
clients to participate in programs like
this by paying them far more than
Com Ed does for energy.
But the cost of conventional energy
is much higher in other countries
than it is in the US. Vladimir Nekola
says one of the things holding back
progress in alternative energy here
is that power is still relatively cheap.
“In my country, in Argentina,
everybody turns off the switch
because electricity is expensive. But here
it’s so cheap – we don’t care – we live
twenty four hours a day with the lights
on all the time… heating, air conditioner… it’s a luxury.”
Nekola believes most Americans
are just not thinking about alternative
energy. While he installed quite a few
solar energy systems around the
Y2K scare at the turn of the century…
he hasn’t done any in the last two
years. The few clients he is
working with are people who don’t
even have to think about price. To put
a solar array on your house, it seems,
you either have to be rich… crazy… or
fancy yourself an environmentalist.
Marjie Isaacson considers herself
the latter.
“I haven’t regretted it a day since I put
it in. It’s just been a source of
immense satisfaction to me.”
Marjie will tell you she was willing to
foot the bill for a solar power system –
the way other people might choose to
buy a new car – or some other
quasi-useful luxury.
“For me it was discretionary income.
I could have bought a fur coat.. but the
point is that if I had a fur coat or
fancy car no one would think I was
eccentric. But with this people seem
to think that it’s a little odd.”
In her dreams, Marjie envisions the
million solar rooftops former
President Bill Clinton spoke
about.. .. all generating energy
back to the grid.. and maybe, just
maybe, precluding the need for
another conventional energy power
plant.
Power industry officials say we’re
still a long way from that. But Marjie
Isaacson insists that it has to start
somewhere… and why not with her.
“People keep saying when we get
enough people getting these, the
solar panels are gonna start getting
cheaper.. so somebody has to start
buying them and I felt a responsibility
to put my money where my mouth
was.”
For the Great Lakes Radio
Consortium, I’m Robbie Harris.
Mercury emissions from more than 150 coal-burning power plants across the Great Lakes are coming under greater scrutiny this summer. Several states are considering ways to reduce those emissions. Wisconsin could become the first state in the nation to issue rules requiring large mercury reductions. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Chuck Quirmbach has the story:
As summer approaches power companies will brace for rising demands for
electricity. During peak demand periods in past summers, utilities have
been caught short of power. However, deregulation of the electric power
industry has led to some innovative changes. The Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:
A large, Midwestern power company has stepped up efforts to find customers who tamper with their meters. Nationwide, it’s estimated energy theft costs about six billion dollars annually. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Mary Jo Wagner has more:
The world’s first high-capacity super-conducting power cable will be hooked up in a little over a year. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports that the cable could do for electricity what fiber optics did for communications:
As the U.S. seeks ways to reduce global warming, "emissions trading" is
getting a closer look. The concept is already working in the utilities
industry to reduce sulfur emissions. Now economists see emissions
trading as a solution for reducing carbon dioxide. Among the plan’s
beneficiaries — America’s farmers. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s
Haven Miller has more:
Farmers in Minnesota are growing crops for energy and constructing anew biomass power plant. It could be a big boost for rural business andrenewable energy development. But as Kathryn Herzog reports for theGreat Lakes Radio Consortium some environmental activists are concernedthe energy project may be going too far too fast:
A threatened species of raptor is getting extraordinarycooperation from Wisconsin power companies this year. The Great LakesRadio Consortium’s Mike Simonson reports on how powerline workers arebuilding nests for osprey:
States around the nation are beginning to embrace electricity deregulation. Last November, the Illinois’ State Legislature passed its own deregulation bill. But environmentalists complained that it did little to promote clean and efficient energy use. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Steve Frenkel reports on a new proposal to improve Illinois’ deregulation law:
