Remaining energy options after wind-farm failure

Aug 23 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Keiko Morris Newsday, Melville, N.Y.

Fossil-fuel burning power plants are still the cheapest source for electricity, but industry experts say that, in the near future, residents and businesses will depend on a combination of alternatives -- many of which are still under development and come with a high price tag -- to meet energy demands and environmental concerns.

Less-expensive, cleaner energy options -- more natural gas-burning plants, wind energy, solar power and tidal-energy turbines -- face hurdles when it comes to satisfying the critical factors at the top of consumers' checklists: costs and reliability.

"What it comes down to is what's cost-effective and what's reliable, especially in this country when we've come to expect almost perfect reliability," said Matthew Cordaro, a utility veteran and acting dean of the College of Management at the C.W. Post campus of Long Island University.

Cordaro said that one of the best alternatives is to refurbish oil-burning plants and convert them into combined-cycle generating plants.

Cordaro and other experts agree that the alternatives will thrive with more research and improved efficiency.

Ashok Gupta, chief energy economist at the Natural Resources Defense Council, advocates a strategy similar to managing an investment portfolio. "You manage your risk so you don't have to depend on any one source or cost," said Gupta, who is a member of Gov. Eliot Spitzer's Renewable Energy Task Force.

Among existing and proposed energy

sources:

ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND CONSERVATION. Efficiency programs such as LIPA's Home Performance with Energy Star can mean 30 to 40 percent in savings, said Kathleen Cunningham, program manager for Renewable Energy Long Island. Certified contractors can assess a home, suggest improvements, and help finance these upgrades.

COMBINED-CYCLE PLANTS. These plants are fueled predominantly with natural gas and use oil as back-up. Using natural gas is cleaner and would decrease the greenhouse gas emissions generated by old oil-burning plants. The downside is high construction costs, Cordaro noted.

SOLAR ENERGY. Experts say that advances are being made to increase the efficiency of solar panels and reduce the costs. Some say panels are too costly for wide-spread deployment and storage technology needs to be improved, but many say that the technology saves money when used with electricity from existing power plants. "It makes a lot of sense on Long Island, where there is so much sun and so many rooftops," Gupta said. "A $30,000 system on a $1 million house is not a lot of money, and you can finance it like you would your roof. You pay for it over time."

WIND ENERGY. Gupta views the high cost of constructing a wind farm as a temporary market phenomenon driven by a high demand for wind power globally as well as a high demand for the materials. "My sense is that the market will catch up in a year or two and the market will make more of them," he said. Experts say that a windmill at one particular farm or house can be used effectively with backup from the grid.

BROADWATER ENERGY'S FLOATING NATURAL GAS TERMINAL. The terminal proposed for midway between Wading River and the Connecticut shoreline would import liquefied natural gas. The company and advocates contend that the additional gas supplies would keep prices stable. Cordaro notes that it represents the most practical energy alternative of repowering fossil-fuel plants, and new combined-cycle plants depend on access to natural gas. As legal battles delay the proposed Islander East project -- a 50-mile natural gas pipeline from Branford, Conn., to Yaphank -- Broadwater becomes more important, he said.

SAFE HARBOR FACILITY. A 60.5-acre, man-made island proposed for a site 13 1/2 miles south of Long Beach, where liquefied natural gas would be processed and distributed. The Manhattan-based Atlantic Sea Island Group submitted its application for this project this month.

TIDAL-ENERGY TURBINES. Both Verdant Power, a Manhattan-based company, and Natural Currents, based in upstate Highland, have proposed projects to install underwater tidal-energy turbines off Long Island's shores. The technology is still relatively expensive, but Trey Taylor, co-founder and president of Verdant Power, expects that as the cost of fossil fuel goes up, underwater tidal energy will become more competitive.