MICROGRIDS AND DIVERSIFICATION

Building a Green Economy: Green Jobs, Transmission Lines & Microgrids
Peter Ausmus, August 31, 2009 (CleanTechies via Reuters)

"Imperial County…[with 20+%] perennial unemployment…[has] the "crown jewel" of all U.S. geothermal steam resources…[When last] December, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved the construction of the $1.9 billion Sunrise PowerLink transmission line, which could send clean electricity from Imperial County to San Diego…the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) petitioned the California Supreme Court…to review this decision, citing San Diego Gas & Electric's (SDG&E) refusal to guarantee that the transmission project would be reserved exclusively for renewable energy resources.

"…[The SDG&E] reluctance to commit itself to renewables was puzzling. Critics fear that SDG&E and its parent Sempra might have perverse motives. Among them: importing dirty power from Baja California, where Sempra co-owns a Liquefied National Gas (LNG) terminal…[E]nvironmentalists have always been strong advocates for displacing fossil fuels with renewable energy options. But they often emerge as key adversaries when specific projects [seem suspicious or] are proposed near their favorite parks or other preserved habitats. In this case, they contend the Sunrise transmission line would damage precious habitat and endangered species as it traverses the Cleveland National Forest."

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"…I can appreciate why many environmentalists might reflexively oppose new transmission lines…But I am also concerned about global climate change and the current economic crisis…CBD has proposed to invest the $1.9 billion in ratepayer funds to install new solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in San Diego itself, obviating the need to build the Sunrise transmission line…[S]olar PV installations generate more jobs per dollars invested than any other renewable energy source, that might not seem like a bad idea. But solar PV is also the most expensive of all current supply choices, and PV systems only produce power for 5 to 7 hours per day…

"…[G]eothermal energy's main advantage over solar PV is that it can provide round-the-clock electricity that can directly displace that from dirty coal or natural gas…Since geothermal costs less than a third of the cost of solar PV, ratepayers would be getting a better deal…20,000 jobs in Imperial County alone hang in the balance…The key to making a green economy work is diversity…of renewable supply…in the workforce…of regions tapped…A host of studies all project that California would rank No. 1 in …the creation of jobs under a federal program to respond to climate change by expanding reliance upon renewable energy…[But] bureaucratic complexity, foot-dragging utilities and the NIMBY syndrome have [obstructed development]…"

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"…[P]ower delivery system needs to shift to the local level…[to] the "microgrid," mini-islands of power fueled by distributed solar, wind and Combined Heat & Power (CHP) plants…[Some say] transmission lines should be our least priority…[Microgrids] can pool smaller distributed resources into a bundle that can be "islanded" during times of grid outages…[This] is a hedging strategy to move forward with renewables while waiting and seeing if any of the proposed transmission lines on the drawing boards ever get built…[T]he microgrid will be the wave of the future - since they allow us to rely on our own solar PV, small wind turbines, fuel cells and CHP units when the larger grid goes down…[but there is] resistance from utilities…[and] no coherent strategy or program to foster this sort of innovation…

"…[We] need to push forward with all options, since politics, economics and unforeseen circumstances tend to derail even the best intentions…If transmission lines similar to the Sunrise PowerLink are not built soon, California will never meet its global climate change goals or deliver on the promise of green jobs. The CBD lawsuit could put Sunrise on hold for years…[It is] a reminder that the only way to get buy-in from environmentalists for new transmission lines is to guarantee that these ratepayer investments serve the green economy, and not the vested interests of utilities…"