Like it or not, we are in the boat together. And the boat is becoming overloaded. In the US today, electric energy losses are increasing as we try to push ever more power through a transmission and distribution system that was not designed to handle the load. More than two-thirds of our boilers and electric power plants are at least 30 years old, and more than 40% are 40 years or older.

By 2009, six of the country’s ten electricity regions -- serving about 65 percent of U.S. customers -- will fall below the traditional power industry standard of a 10 percent safe reserve capacity margin without substantial increases of new power generation.

By 2020, EIA estimates that U.S. electricity requirements will more than double from today's 700,000 megawatts to approximately 1,500,000 megawatts.

Our goals should be to replace and expand our domestic energy supplies through renewable or alternative methods of generation, develop advanced and highly-efficient systems to deliver this energy, and improve end-use energy efficiencies.

As we revitalize and expand our national energy infrastructure, this strategy will help reduce transmission system congestion and energy losses by placing energy generation at or near the point of consumption. Given the advance of technology, (Moore's Law) this resource will be ready for us, before the system is ready to use it.

The President of the United States, in his National Energy Policy, called for "Reliable, affordable and environmentally sound energy for America's future." The key word here is "future."

The Energy Web will be part of that future.

Gary D. Cox, Interdisciplinary Studies
Marylhurst University


This informational site is an educational site on the Energy Web. Any educational facility is granted permission to use any of these contents. If there are any questions contact the writer at the link below or consider visiting ASK AN ENERGY EXPERT at the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Site.

CLICK HERE to go back to the Energy Web map. CLICK HERE to go back to the top

This material was originally prepared as a projected outcome for ENV 356, Energy Resources of the Northwest, taught at Marylhurst University by Michael Fitzgerald

This entire site is copyright 2003 by Gary D. Cox
www.garycox.com gary@garycox.com

   


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