beyond coal to clean energy
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This powerpoint talks about the state of Wisconsin and its clean energy opportunitiesTRANSCRIPT
2012 Update:From Dairyland to Cashton and Valley to
Waxdale
Elizabeth WardConservation Programs Coordinator
Sierra Club-John Muir Chapter(608) 256-0565
Founded in 1892 by John Muir, Sierra Club is the oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States.
1.4 million members & supporters
Mission: To explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of the earth; to practice and promote the responsible use of the earth's ecosystems and resources; to educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment; and to use all lawful means to carry out these objectives.
We use grassroots activism, public education, lobbying and litigation to protect natural resources.
Formed in 1963, we are the statewide branch of the Sierra Club in Wisconsin
We follow the footsteps of legendary Wisconsin conservationists: John Muir, Aldo Leopold, Sigurd Olson and Gaylord Nelson.
Executive Committee of 16 Volunteer Leaders that determines priorities and positions
Three Paid Staff: Director Shahla Werner, Coordinator Jacinda Tessmann, Program Coordinator Elizabeth Ward)
Priority Issue Teams: Water Sentinels, Beyond Coal to Clean Energy, Beyond Oil (coming soon!)
15,000 members, and 3 special activity sections: River Touring Section, Inner City Outings and Sierra Student Coalition
7 volunteer-led local groups around the state
2013 Priority Issues adopted by the Executive Committee after state-wide membership survey and analysis by Conservation Committee:
1.Beyond Coal to Clean Energy: Continue retiring/transitioning Wisconsin’s dirty coal plants while ramping up clean, renewable energy in Wisconsin
2.Beyond Oil: Opposing carbon-intensive forms of oil, such as tar sands, while supporting reducing our dependence through transit and other transportation options, bicycling, and walking
3.Water Protection: Protecting Wisconsin’s water resources through Great Lakes protection, water conservation, and statewide water monitoring and policies
4.Unique Habitat Protection: Protecting Wisconsin’s unique habitats by protecting our statewide mining safeguards, fighting for state-wide frac-sand mining regulations, and forest protection.
Mining: Strip mining and mountaintop removal
mining
Mercury, Soot, Smog, Ozone Pollution
Why is coal so bad?Coal Ash
Greenhouse Gas Emissions from the Electric Sector (2009)
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration; March 2012 Monthly Energy Review, Table 12.6
Why coal?
Petroleum 2%
Coal 81%
Natural Gas 17%
Biomass/Other 1%
*Higher temperatures Higher temperatures
*Climate Change Means:Climate Change Means:More Intense, More Frequent, and Longer Lasting Heat Waves in the 21st Century. Gerald A. Meehl and Claudia Tebaldi. Science 13 August 2004.
• Longer droughtsLonger droughts
• Rapid sea level riseRapid sea level rise
• Hotter oceansHotter oceans
• Melting ice capsMelting ice caps
Penetration of Human-Induced Warming into the World's Oceans. Tim Barnett, et al. Science 8 July 2005.
Threatened Loss of Greenland Ice-Sheet. Jonathan Gregory, et al. Nature 8 April 2004.
Paleoclimatic Evidence for Future Ice-Sheet Instability and Rapid Sea-Level Rise. Jonathan Overpeck, et al. Science 24 March 2006.
“Drought Could Double By End of Century, Met Office Hadley Centre research shows.” Eleanor Burke. Journal of Hydrometeorology, forthcoming.
“We have at most ten years—not ten years to decide upon action, but ten years to alter fundamentally the trajectory of global greenhouse emissions.
If instead we follow an energy-intensive path of squeezing liquid fuels from tar sands, shale oil, and heavy oil, and do so without capturing and sequestering CO2 emissions, climate disasters will become unavoidable.”
- James Hansen, DirectorNASA Goddard Institute for Space Science
The New York Review of Books, July 13, 2006
*But this challenge is But this challenge is also an opportunity.also an opportunity.
*Clean energy reduces carbon, makes our country safer Clean energy reduces carbon, makes our country safer
*A stronger clean energy economyA stronger clean energy economy
*Cleaner air and healthier communitiesCleaner air and healthier communities
*Efficiency saves moneyEfficiency saves money
Dairyland Settlement:•Retire Alma Coal Plant•Scrub Genoa Coal Plant•$2 million on solar•$2.5 million solar on schools and energy efficiency•$500,000 to restoring our forests and parks
Alliant:Announced it would retire 47% of it’s fleet:•Edgewater (Sheboygan)-1 Unit•Nelson Dewey (Cassville)- both units•Scrub Columbia
Valley Coal Plant:•We Energies announced it would convert to natural gas•Eliminate positions, not people•Project completed by 2016•Eliminate or reduce soot, smog, heavy metals, mercury, and thermal pollution•Reduce greenhouse gas amounts by at least 40%•Run 75% less?
Discussion
“One of the number one reasons kids go to the emergency room in the city of Chicago is asthma-related . . . We are paying a health care cost in the city because of that plant.”
- Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel
“Coal is a self-inflicted public health risk, polluting the air we breathe, adding mercury to our water, and the leading cause of climate disruption.”
- New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg
“Coal is of the past.”
- Washington Governor Christine Gregoire
• Easiest, most cost-effective, least invasive solution
• Being smarter about how we use energy
• Changing light-bulbs, insulating home, caulking windows, efficient appliances
• In WI, a 2% reduction/year could mean 14 million metric tons of CO2 reduction by 2020
• Energy Efficiency could replace 25-27% of energy emissions by 2030 (Tackling Climate Change in U.S.)
• Photovoltaic (PV)- converts sunlight to electricity• Concentrated Solar Power (CSP)- sunlight boils water and turns turbines• Wisconsin: 13 MW installed Solar
• Germany: 7.5 GW installed solar capacity
• Wind turns blades, which spin a shaft connected to a generator, and makes electricity.
• 2011: Wisconsin had 469 mw installed [IA- 5,000 mw; IL-2,743 mw; MN- 2,518 mw]
• 103,757 mw (10.4 GW) potential [AWEA]
2011-2012:•4 cancelled problems from business uncertainty
•S.C. Johnson Waxdale Project
• 15% of electricity used at Waxdale facility
•Cashton Community Wind Farm
• First community wind farm in WI
• Village of Cashton, Organic Valley, & Gundersen Lutheran
•Proposed projects:• Forest County, Ozaukee
County
Population centers surround the Great
Lakes
Transmission Lines
How do we get Offshore Wind?
Manufacture and Shipping of Turbines-*size requires this to occur near site
Foundation Installation
Shipping and staging at Deep water ports
Turbine Installation
Current Offshore Wind Projects
Current U.S. Projects at Various Stages
• Europe has been using offshore wind for 20 years
• First project installed in Denmark in 1991
• Currently, 4,000 MW of capacity
• 5,200 MW more in various stages
• Goal of 150 GW by 2030• Asia:
• 233 MW already installed• China goal: 1 GW by 2014• South Korea has world record
investment- $8.2 Billion• Japan aims to take the lead in
the sector• Companies leading the way• Mitsubishi, Fuji, Toshiba,
Hyundai, Samsung
Potential Benefits: Economic Development
Potential Benefits: Jobs, Jobs, and more Jobs
Potential Benefits: Jobs, Jobs, and more Jobs
•Shipping Lanes•Shipwrecks/ Diving hot-spots•Geology•Lake Depth•Naval Training Areas•Commercial Fishing areas•Fish spawning/habitats
Haven’t we destroyed the lake enough?
What does this mean for the fish?What about fish spawning? -Europe has actually seen some benefits
What does this mean for birds and bats?-Sierra Club helped fund a monitor that will help us figure out which bird/bat species are in the Lake
What could this lead to?
These are all things we need to try to figure out and seriously study, but it benefits us to work towards solving these concerns so that we can have Great Lakes Wind. We need to put into perspective what our other forms of energy do to Lake Michigan….
Coal Dust from Edgewater Coal Pile,Sheboygan
Climate Change Effects
Giant Fish BlendersThermal Pollution
Mercury Pollution
Simulation of a 10 turbine, 50 MW wind farm located 6 miles offshore,
Courtesy Grand Valley State University
Sighting (pun intended) Concerns:
Conclusions
Thank you!
Questions?
Elizabeth WardConservation Programs CoordinatorSierra Club-John Muir Chapter
(608) [email protected]
Global warming is the Global warming is the greatest challenge greatest challenge facing our generation.facing our generation.
Solving it is our greatest Solving it is our greatest opportunity.opportunity.