New York Consumers Require Comprehensive Energy Management, Alternative Fuels, Increased Supply in order to Avert Golden State-Style Electric Shortages
If New York City is the Big Apple, then California is surely known best for its oranges. But is California's current energy crisis comparable to New York's summertime electricity shortages? Or are they like apples and oranges? The more one peels back the rind, the more similarities than differences one discovers between New York's and California's energy woes.
In California, the power crunch stems from two key factors: (1) what some have mislabeled "deregulation" but was in fact uneven re-regulation, in which market prices prevail for wholesalers while price caps remain on consumers; and (2) the State's unwillingness to allow construction of a single new power plant in more than a decade, despite unprecedented economic growth and galloping energy demand.
Consequently, the triple-whammy of insufficient supply, inability to build new power plants, and artificially low prices have plunged the state's electric utilities to the brink of bankruptcy. Meanwhile this month, the State has taken on the new role of supplier to its public utilities -- but the action addresses only the short-term matter of keeping the lights on, while leaving unanswered the broader question of supply. Californians thus remain vulnerable to rolling blackouts into the future.
Here in New York, electricity is likewise in short supply, but deregulation has taken shape a bit differently. While competition has entered the electric-generation market, electric distribution remains
monopoly-controlled. As long as electric transmission lines continue to age and in some cases fail, New York remains vulnerable to intermittent "brown-outs" and "beige-outs."
On the bright side, both states' restructuring of the energy services industry has ushered in a new era of "green" technological innovation, benefiting businesses and residential consumers alike.
Priority number one in addressing New York's skyrocketing energy demand is comprehensive energy management. When consumers adopt efficiency measures, sustainable power sources and renewable fuels, the benefits are tremendous -- and they're reflected not only in the consumer's electric bill, but in the environment we all share. As for increasing supply, energy services companies must take extreme caution to implement only those facilities in strict keeping with preserving New York's delicate environment.
SOLAR POWER SYSTEMS
For a growing number of facility planners and building contractors in search of highly reliable energy technologies, the sun has become the power source of choice. Thanks to recent advances in silicon technology, manufacturers now install durable crystalline panels on rooftops or integrate Thin Film ("Amorphous Silicon") directly into building materials, including roofing, windows and siding.
Richard Perez, Ph.D., of the State University of New York at Albany's Atmospheric Science Research Center, is one of the world's premier researchers in the field of solar power and its energy-efficient applications. Dr. Perez has conducted extensive research into the viability of solar power systems to serve the rising demand for electricity in New York City and Westchester. His research has found that New York City and its suburbs consume the greatest amount of electricity on hot summer days -- precisely the days during which the New York metropolitan area experiences peak demand.
"By analyzing satellite data, we discovered that 90 percent of maximum sunshine available shone on the metropolitan area on July 6, 1999, the day a major power outage struck Northern Manhattan," Dr. Perez said. "A strategically placed network of solar panels could have prevented the outage that day." In Sacramento, California, for example, residents have reduced their reliance on fossil and nuclear fuels and improved the reliability of their power grid ever since they embraced solar power on a grand scale several years ago. It happens that Sacramento enjoys roughly the same amount of sunshine as do many Eastern cities, including New York.
To meet rising customer demand here in New York energy services companies are increasing the energy supply by marketing solar power systems throughout the City and Westchester. Excess capacity can feed back into to the electric grid, rendering it less vulnerable to power outages during peak demand. The sun's power is thus environmentally responsible and energy-efficient for business facilities and residential customers.
COMBUSTION GAS-TURBINE SYSTEMS
They may sound like the stuff of science fiction, but natural gas-burning turbines, derived from jet-engine technology, are one of the cleanest, most efficient fuels of the twenty-first century. Currently under evaluation are these cost-competitive combustion gas turbine systems as an energy supplement to the underground electric grid. These dispersed systems will deliver up to 80 megawatts directly to areas of New York City's grid requiring electricity during peak summer demand and other times when power is most needed.
MICROTURBINE SYSTEMS
Smaller than combustion gas turbines, microturbine systems produce energy quickly and in sufficient volume for a customer to withstand power outages. They can sit atop a commercial building or inside an apartment boiler room or household basement. Implementation of microturbine systems will play a crucial role in 2001, as New York braces for yet another hot summer, during which the increasing year-to-year rate of demand continues to outpace supply.
FUEL CELL SYSTEMS
Hydrolytic fuel cells burn nothing at all. Instead, they actually recharge themselves by combining hydrogen and oxygen in such a way as to produce up to 25 kilowatts of electricity. Only recently have fuel cells become available on a commercial basis. Large fuel cells for commercial purposes are stationary, while household models are portable.
Mr. Thurgood can be reached through As Communications LLC Public Relations & Marketing, 914-421-9159 or on the web at www.1stRochdaleNYC.net.