It won’t be long before most Americans will not only own a battery-operated car, but also be able to self-generate the power to recharge its battery. SO WHY is Kansas protecting the production of coal? THE DEVELOPMENT of renewable energy is growing by leaps and bounds both in the United States and abroad. By 2050, solar energy is expected to be the single biggest source of power, according to the International Energy Agency. FOR TOO LONG municipalities have been held hostage by the market swings of coal and natural gas, and have had to price their utility services accordingly. Meanwhile the development of solar energy experiences year-on-year reductions.
Picture this: Solar panels atop rooftops capture the sun’s energy to be stored in batteries to power cars and heat and cool homes.
Actually, we’re already there — just not on a widespread scale.
But because prices are dropping for both batteries and solar panels, that future is within our grasp.
Steven Chu, the former U.S. Secretary of Energy, predicts that within a decade American homeowners will be able to meet 80 percent of their energy needs through such solar/battery adaptations.
Um, because it’s only what we know? Or, more likely, it’s what lobbyists only want us to know.
Legislators are considering three bills that would take Kansas off track from meeting federal regulations to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
The bills toe the line of ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council, which writes “model” legislation telling lawmakers how to think — and vote.
ALEC, which is funded in part by energy giants, is pretty much anti-green, so anything that cleans up the air, such as reducing carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants, is a no-no.
Before the Senate Committee on Utilities are two bills that would delay Kansas from meeting the energy guidelines set by the Clean Power Plan. Of its 11 members, five have pledged their support to ALEC, including its vice chair, Sen. Mike Peterson.
Currently, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment oversees the state’s responsibility to design and implement pollution reduction plans to meet federal clean air standards, and for the most part we’ve been doing a good job supporting new wind and solar efforts.
Senate Bill 151 would involve the Kansas Corporation Commission into the mix of oversight. Senate Bill 170 would require all pertinent outstanding lawsuits be settled before going forward, as well as require any rate increases needed to meet the new guidelines be capped at 1.5 percent.
Outstanding legal issues include Kansas’s participation in a lawsuit filed last August against the Environmental Protection Agency in an effort to derail legislation that would have states meet energy guidelines by 2030.
In the House, the Committee on Energy and Environment has a bill similar to the Senate’s effort to strip KDHE of its oversight. Its committee chairman, Rep. Dennis Hedke, has declared fealty to ALEC, as well as committee members Rob Bruchman and Keith Esau.
Since 2005, the cost of solar panels has dropped by 80 percent, thanks to new economies of scale created by global demand and improved production processes.
The same can be said for lithium-ion batteries. According to the recent edition of Foreign Affairs, in 1995 a battery with a capacity of one kilowatt-hour cost $3,000 compared with about $200 today.
Experts predict that in 10 years battery-operated cars will cost as much as gasoline-powered. Already, electric-car batteries cost half of what they did just a few years ago.
Think of the efficiencies if solar panels atop your home could provide all the juice necessary for your vehicle.
And let’s not forget Kansas is ranked second in the nation for its potential to develop wind energy.
In a state with abundant wind and sun, Kansas should be a leader on how to provide clean and affordable energy for its citizens.
If only our legislators could see the light.
— Susan Lynn
With abundant wind, sun, Kansas should lead in green
