Experts from the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) come through Kansas on a Wind Belt Tour
October 14, 2008
This week, CEP is one of the sponsors for the AWEA wind belt tour, where experts from the American Wind Energy Association meet with economic development officials, local government representatives, and politicians across the state.
Reprinted in full from the Hutch News:
Group to Reno officials: Pursue wind possibilities
By Edie Ross – eross@hutchnews.com
American Wind Energy Association representatives were in town Monday to speak with local wind and economic development leaders about Reno County’s role in developing wind energy in Kansas.
The organization came through Hutchinson between stops on their Kansas Wind Belt tour, in which they discuss the future of wind energy development in Kansas and how counties can take advantage of and encourage growth in the wind energy industry.
“You have all of this green money going over your head every day, and you have the ability to reach up and grab it,” said Steve Gaw, of The Wind Coalition, a nonprofit association formed to encourage the development of wind energy resources in the south central United States. “It’s up to you whether you take advantage of the opportunity that is there.”
Wind proponents warned local leaders that the demand for wind energy was only growing and encouraged them to show their support for the industry by telling state and national leaders that Kansans want to be a leader in wind generation.
“Wind energy development is happening in some states and not in others. One reason it is happening in some states is because there is a clear message that there is a desire for that development to occur,” Gaw said. “It’s up to Kansans: Is this something you all want to happen, and if so, making that clear message is significant. It’s a message that needs to come from policymakers, economic development and county officials, and needs to be made to elected officials.
20 percent scenario
The presentation included information on the U.S. Department of Energy’s report outlining the potential of wind providing 20 percent of America’s energy by 2030.
The report outlined, among other things, costs and benefits and impacts of the 20 percent wind scenario.
Generally, meeting the 20 percent goal by 2030 would cost the nation about 50 cents per month per household for a grand total of $43 billion – which is a 2 percent greater investment than if the nation created no new wind from current levels.
Benefits would be the reduction of natural gas and coal consumption and a reduction of carbon dioxide emissions and in water consumption.
It also would create more than 500,000 jobs in the next two decades.
The second part of the presentation focused on that benefit.
Job creation
To meet the 20 percent scenario will mean the need for 7,000 to 10,000 more turbines annually. That translates to 21,000 to 30,000 blades and tower sections each year.
The manufacturing and installation of the wind towers will have direct, indirect and induced economic impacts.
Job creation will boom in the construction and manufacturing industries. Businesses such as banks that finance the construction and equipment suppliers will also benefit from wind development, and likely will need to hire more employees to handle it.
Finally, places like grocery stores, retail stores and the like will feel an impact from the spending of people directly and indirectly supported by the wind development projects and might need to hire more workers to keep up.
The Department of Energy’s report assumes that 1,000 to 5,000 manufacturing jobs will need to be supported by Kansas to reach the 20 percent wind energy goal by 2030.
However, Kansas could easily increase that number if it made a greater push for wind energy development, said Liz Salerno of the AWEA.
“Kansas geographically is in a good position to benefit from wind energy development,” she said.
From the High Plains Journal – Public invited to K-State Extension Conference to hear experts speak about climate change
October 14, 2008
Reprinted in full from the High Plains Journal. We’ve mentioned this conference on the blog before, and I think the climate change special session just keeps getting bigger and more exciting. I hear from plenty of folks who plan on attending.
Public invited to K-State to hear experts on climate change
National authorities on global climate change will be at Kansas State University Oct. 21, leading the first open-to-the-public session ever offered as part of a K-State Research and Extension Annual Conference.
“We designed the afternoon session as professional development in a subject that’s shaping up to be a real scientific and educational challenge for our statewide network of faculty from now on. Then we realized, however, that by inviting the public, we’d also get a head start on meeting that challenge,” said Daryl Buchholz, K-State’s associate director of Extension and Applied Research.
Many Kansans already are concerned about climate change–which actions to take, what policies to adopt and whether “green” income is even possible, he said. Many also want to know what’s fact and what’s guesswork in today’s climate-change discussion.
They can gain insights into all those concerns, Buchholz added, on the third Tuesday in October from 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the K-State Union’s main auditorium.
“To give you an idea of whom you can hear: Two of the presenters served on the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. They were among the world scientists who helped author the IPCC report that shared the Nobel Peace Price last year with Vice President Al Gore,” the associate director said. “In addition, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius recently appointed the two Kansas researchers to her Kansas Energy and Environmental Policy Group.”
The K-State session’s major topics and presenters will include:
“Climate Change Impacts: Global, National, and Regional”–Johannes Feddema, professor of geography at the University of Kansas.
“Adaptation to Climate Change”–Jerry Hatfield, lead scientist and director of the National Soil Tilth Lab, a division of USDA’s Agricultural Research Service in Ames, Iowa.
“Mitigation of Climate Change: Agricultural Sequestration”–Charles “Chuck” Rice, K-State professor of soil microbiology and specialist in carbon sequestration.
“Climate Change Policy and Economics”–Susan Capalbo, head of the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at Oregon State University.
In a shorter segment, Steve Swaffer, director of natural resources for Kansas Farm Bureau, will describe a new program that allows farmers to earn soil carbon credits that can provide access to revenue-making opportunities on the recently opened U.S. carbon market.
Ray Hammarlund, director of the Kansas Corporation Commission’s Energy Programs Division, will join the discussion in the session’s last segment, to cover Kansas’ current climate policy.
More information about the half-day workshop is available by contacting Chuck Rice at 785-521-6094 or cwrice@ksu.edu.
===Sidebar:====
K-State’s Oct. 21 speakers ‘the best’ on climate change
Those attending an afternoon devoted to helping Kansans understand climate change Oct. 21 at the K-State Union will know they’re hearing from among the best of the best.
“A list of just one accomplishment for each of the program’s major topic leaders makes that fact clear,” said Daryl Buchholz, associate director of K-State Extension and Applied Research, who then listed the following:
1. His work with the Denver-based National Center for Atmospheric Research has found that land use–including irrigating–can have as profound an impact as greenhouse gases do on both climate and available water resources. (Johannes Feddema)
2. This scientist is an international authority on the impacts farm and ranch systems can have on air, water and soil quality. His research factors in widely varying farm locales and management systems. It’s proving such assessment tools as lasers and remote sensors and may be why he’s now in charge of reviewing all Agricultural Research Service projects for scientific quality. (Jerry Hatfield)
3. A national leader in the subject of microbial ecology, he is the director of a 10-institution think tank called the Consortium for Agricultural Soils Mitigation of Greenhouse Gases. At the same time, he is a technical advisor for the Midwest Governors Association Accord on Greenhouse Gases and an appointed member of USDA’s Agricultural Air Quality Task Force. (Charles “Chuck” Rice)
4. This expert has directed an international collaboration of research scientists, industries and government agencies to assess the economic and the legal issues and risks of large-scale sequestration. In tests, the group demonstrated injecting carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in coal basins, underground basalt, and various plant-bearing soils for long-time storage. (Susan Capalbo)
More information about these climate experts is available by clicking “Speakers” on the Web at http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/annconf.
Repower, Refuel, Rebuild – Part I, The Goals
October 14, 2008
by Nancy Jackson
Thousands of Kansans have told CEP – at our energy forums, in our poll and focus groups, at the State Fair: We want more wind energy. It just makes sense.
The Department of Energy agrees. Last week, I and about 100 others were invited to Washington DC by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) for a workshop. Our charge: Create a roadmap to reach 20% wind energy by 2030. This is DOE’s commitment and our opportunity.
We can repower, refuel, and rebuild our country, bringing real economic recovery to Main Street. Kansas can lead the United States back to being a nation of producers rather than a nation of consumers.
By harnessing our abundant native wind, we can:
• Power our homes and businesses (and those of many neighboring states!),
• Keep bills low over time by hedging against volatile and climbing fossil fuel prices,
• Increase our energy independence, while keeping more energy dollars in Kansas,
• Rebuild our economy to produce power from an inexhaustible fuel, for generations to come.
Kansas already leads in wind development. By the end of 2008, we will be just the seventh state to install 1,000 megawatts of wind energy. That is an accomplishment to celebrate! And it is only the beginning.
As the third windiest state, DOE challenges Kansas to reach 7,000 megawatts by 2030 and we could provide much more. Today, the decision is ours.
Meeting the 7,000 megawatt challenge would create over 1,500 family-supporting long-term jobs in engineering, manufacturing, operations and maintenance, workforce development, as well as marketing, accounting, and legal. That’s in addition to over 10,000 construction jobs.
7,000 megawatts would pay $20 million each year to rural Kansas landowners, plus another $20 million to Kansas counties for roads and schools.
The DOE report – created by partners including the national labs, American Electric Power, and our own Black & Veatch – concluded that 20% Wind is “doable and desirable” – technically achievable and economically affordable.
How do we get there? We need:
• Transmission: We must invest to modernize our grid with carefully planned and meticulously executed high-voltage transmission, accurate forecasting, and smart distribution.
• Technology: We must continue to research, develop, and deploy ever better turbines – including offshore turbines – to take advantage of our winds while protecting birds and wildlife and reducing wind farms’ footprint.
• Smart Siting: We must conduct top notch research to identify environmental and radar challenges and spur creative responses to improve and ease siting.
What spurs all of the above? Strong state policies in renewable energy and infrastructure.
Tune in tomorrow for Part II – The Policies.
