At a recent meeting in Detroit, the G-8 energy ministers were looking for alternatives to non-renewable resources such as oil and gas. Nuclear energy was high on that list of alternatives. But as the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Dan Karpenchuk reports, on the north shore of Lake Ontario, at least, renewing the drive towards nuclear power is becoming too costly:
Transcript
At a recent meeting in Detroit, the G-8 energy ministers were looking for alternatives to non-renewable resources such as oil and gas. High among those alternatives was emphasis on nuclear energy. But as the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Dan Karpenchuk reports, on the north shore of Lake Ontario, at least, renewing the drive towards nuclear power is becoming too costly:
The nuclear power plant at Pickering, on the shores of Lake Ontario, holds some of the oldest reactors in North America. Environmentalists have long argued that the 30-year-old reactors in the Pickering power plant should be mothballed. But a couple of years ago, Ontario Power Generation said it would completely overhaul the reactors, estimating a cost of about one billion dollars Canadian.
But the costs, complexity, and time it would take to do the work turned out to be more than anyone expected. The scheduled re-opening has now been twice delayed …and the cost of doing the work has already soared to more than two billion dollars.
While environmentalists in the Great Lakes region may take heart at the delays and the increased
costs, the Ontario government is sticking with it.
Senior officials at the plant say no matter what the costs, re-furbishing is by far the best option for the province. They say even carrying the two billion dollar price tag, it would be competitive with other energy sources such as gas and oil. And, in that context, they say, it still makes commercial sense.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Dan Karpenchuk.
Father Charles Morris installed a solar-wind hybrid system to make his parish less dependent on fossil fuels for energy. Other congregations across the country are taking similar steps to be more energy efficient. Photo by Arthur Cooper.
Even before September 11th, energy policy was being fiercely debated in the U.S. Now, such a policy has taken on even greater importance, and President Bush is again promoting what many environmentalists view as an outdated energy plan. They say his focus on renewable energy is insufficient. And protest against the plan is gathering speed. But some may be surprised at who’s helping to lead the way. Many religious leaders are voicing concern about America’s dependence on fossil fuels. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Rebecca Williams has the story:
Transcript
Even before September 11th, energy policy was being fiercely debated in the U.S. Now, such a policy has taken on even greater importance, and President Bush is again promoting what many environmentalists view as an outdated energy plan. They say his focus on renewable energy is insufficient. And protest against the plan is gathering speed. But some may be surprised at who’s helping to lead the way. Many religious leaders are voicing concern about America’s dependence on fossil fuels. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Rebecca Williams has the story:
(natural sound of birds, street sounds, wind)
Twenty minutes before Father Charles Morris will listen to confessions, he’s up on the rectory roof… inspecting his new solar panels and windmill. He’s perched three stories above the ground, so he has a clear view of his neighborhood here in Wyandotte, Michigan. It’s a sunny afternoon. But for as far as he can see, his roof is the only one that’s turning the sunlight into electricity. And he wants to change that.
“Even in a working class, industrial area such as Wyandotte, an inner ring suburb, if it can work here, it can work anywhere. If you would have homes all across the Detroit area, across Michigan, across other communities, that were to adopt this model, I think it would have a profound impact on the stress we’re placing on nonrenewable resources.”
Father Morris’ parish, St. Elizabeth Roman Catholic, is among the first congregations in the U-S to draw energy from the sun and wind. But he’s not alone in his mission to expand the use of clean energy throughout America.
Across the country, religious leaders are writing to Congress, rallying at SUV dealerships, and making their houses of worship more energy efficient.
St. Elizabeth is a winner of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star award. Four other congregations also won this year’s award, including a Sikh temple in Illinois, and a Lutheran church in Iowa.
This past June, Father Morris was up on his roof, standing above a gathering of 70 people. For those watching, the day held some miracles.
“During the blessing of the solar panels, it was a bright sunny day, no wind, and no wind all morning. But the moment that the prayer had finished for the blessing of the solar panels, and they were switching over to the blessing for the wind generator, and I walked over with the holy water to bless it, this gust of wind comes out of nowhere, and it starts to spin, just as it’s beginning to spin right now (windmill whirs).” “It was incredible, and people were going, ‘ooh, ahh.'”
While using alternative energy sources has immediate benefits at home, leaders such as Father Morris hope that enough people will save energy locally to have a broader impact.
Not only on energy policy but also on energy practices around the globe.
There are 18 Interfaith Global Warming Campaigns in the U.S. Kim Winchell directs the one in Michigan. Her group is concerned that America is ignoring global warming. Electricity generated from fossil fuel releases emissions that add to global warming. So Winchell’s group wants Americans to use less fossil fuel. Muslim, Jewish, and Christian leaders have joined the effort, which Winchell says fits their beliefs.
“All faiths – Christian, Muslim, Jewish – teach that life is sacred, and the created world is given into our keeping by God.”
But should all congregations run on alternative energy?
Critics say that solar and wind energy are not practical for poor or working-class neighborhoods such as the one served by St. Elizabeth because such systems cost thousands of dollars to install. But Father Morris believes in the long-term, the investment is worth it.
“Every dollar you save on energy is a dollar you can feed a hungry person, a dollar you can pay an employee a just wage, a dollar you can do outreach.”
To pay for his hybrid system, Father Morris took a risk – and drew from the parish savings. It may take 12-15 years to see a return on his investment. So he says some churches may hesitate to follow his example.
U-S Representative David Bonior attended the blessing at St. Elizabeth. He thinks the federal government should invest in renewable energy.
“We ought to provide some incentive, not only for churches, but for anybody who institutes energy wise devices. The government has a central role to play in moving us to a more efficient, technologically safer and cleaner environment.”
Some states are already offering incentive programs and grants. But the amount varies, because state energy conservation usually depends on federal funding.
Father Morris just got a grant from the state of Michigan. He used it to put in a solar thermal system to heat water. He’s also inviting schools and churches to tour St. Elizabeth.
“This is the living room; we’ve got the TV on at the moment…” (sounds of football game)
Father Morris lives in the rectory, and his entire first floor runs on solar and wind power. That includes his living room, bedroom, four offices, two computers…and a radio.
“Here’s one of those old fashioned radio/stereos. We’ll have to put the radio on and see what’s on.”
(sound of pop music)
“I don’t know what that stuff is.”
(sound of rapid change between stations)
“You see, this is being powered by solar right now and so the quality of life is the same, there’s no change.”
President Bush’s new energy plan is now being considered by Congress. But whatever the government does, Father Morris says the role for people of faith is clear: to be witnesses for the nation, one windmill at a time.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Rebecca Williams.
Congress has passed a measure banning drilling for oil or natural gas in the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham has the details:
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Congress has passed a measure banning drilling for oil or natural gas in the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports.
The legislation includes a two-year moratorium on new oil and gas drilling in or under the Great Lakes. US Senators Debbie Stabenow, a Democrat from Michigan and Peter Fitzgerald, a Republican from Illinois came up with the plan. They say the measure was needed in order to protect the waters of the Great Lakes from environmental damage. In Michigan, Governor John Engler denounced the measure. Engler is a long-standing supporter of drilling under the lakes for new energy sources. Susan Shafer is the governor’s press secretary.
“We’re concerned about the federal government coming in and telling us that Michigan and other Great Lakes states: ‘This is what you will do; you don’t have a choice on this.’ And, in the past there have been no federal statutes that have governed control over oil or natural gas in the bottomlands of the Great Lakes. And, so, that’s always been governed by state statute.”
Michigan was preparing to issue new drilling permits. Because of term limits, Engler leaves office at the end of next year. The candidates running for governor in Michigan all oppose new drilling permits. For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.
An Ontario company has developed a way for farmers to turn their vegetable waste into heating fuel. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly reports:
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An Ontario company has developed a way for farmers to turn their vegetable waste into heating fuel. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Karen Kelly reports.
Southern Ontario is home to some of the largest greenhouses in North America. And they produce several tons of vegetable scraps every week. Most of it ends up in landfills, where it decomposes and produces heat that escapes into the atmosphere.
But engineers at Acrolab in Windsor, Ontario say they’ve found a way to capture that heat without using other energy sources. Acrolab makes copper heating pipes that are filled with fluid. When one part of the pipe is heated, the fluid instantly transfers the heat throughout the whole thing. Engineers placed these pipes in compost piles and then extended them into a test greenhouse. The pipes heated the greenhouse for five months. The company is now starting pilot projects in three different sized farm buildings.
They say it’s too early to estimate the cost. But they expect farmers will reduce their energy bills by 40 to 60 percent. For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Karen Kelly.
In the next few years, homeowners across the Great Lakes region could get a new, environmentally friendly way to power their homes – thanks to an automaker. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Bill Poorman reports:
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In the next few years, homeowners across the Great Lakes region could get a new, environmentally friendly way to power their homes – thanks to an automaker. For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, Bill Poorman reports.
General Motors has announced that it’s going to begin selling fuel cell power plants for use in homes or in offices in the next two or three years. Daniel O’ Connel is a staff engineer with GM’s fuel cell program. He unveiled the new system at a recent automotive conference.
“The unit we demonstrated this morning is a 5 kilowatts. That would be about enough to provide for an average home. The unit we showed this morning was about the size of a conventional refrigerator.”
All of Detroit’s automakers are working on fuel cell systems for their vehicles, not for homes. They are considered something like a Holy Grail that will let car companies escape environmental criticism. When they’re perfected, fuel cells will take in hydrogen from some source – perhaps methane, natural gas, or even everyday gasoline. Through a chemical process, they will produce electricity, and the main waste product is water.
But fuel cells have been a long time coming. Automakers are working to reduce the weight, size, and cost of the systems so that they can be put into cars. Auto analyst Paul Eisenstein of the car web site thecarconnection.com says that car companies moving into the home seems unusual at first. But it has some basic business reasons behind it.
“The automakers are hoping that they can use the home fuel cell technology to learn a lot about it, and to get it into mass production, and lower the costs of on-the-road or mobile fuel cells, as well.”
Plus, Eisenstein says, the move could help speed up research into fuel cells for all applications.
“This way they might be able to go to market much sooner and develop a revenue source that could fund further fuel cell development efforts.”
But GM still has to put a lot of pieces into place before it starts selling home fuel cell units. GM’s Daniel O’Connel says the company is still looking for the best way to jump into an unfamiliar business.
“Currently GM does not have the distribution network to set up a non-automotive applications, so we’re looking for partners to help us out in that arena.”
Of course, the ultimate goal for GM is to be the first company to mass produce affordable fuel cell powered cars and trucks. But the timeline for that is a bit longer. Most automakers believe it could be up to a decade before the cars are ready. For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Bill Poorman.
