Well, we’ve got a couple of things going on today:

1. Dr. Mark Z. Jacobson, (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University) recently released a well documented study examining energy security and potential. His observations and research confirm many of the points regarding renewable energy we have made on our blog. If you are interested in exploring the viability of different energy options, I encourage you to check out this article. His conclusion is right on target:

Wind, geothermal, tidal, solar, wave, and hydroelectric provide electricity at most benefit and least impact.

2. Wired recently reported on the nations first “underwater wind turbine,” installed in Mississippi River near Hastings, Minnesota.

The 35-kilowatt turbine is positioned downstream from an existing hydroelectric-plant dam and — together with another turbine to be installed soon — will increase the capacity of the plant by more than 5 percent.

Hydrokinetic turbines like those produced by Hydro Green and Verdant capture the mechanical energy of the water’s flow and turn it into energy, without need for a dam.

“After the wind and solar craze, people said, ‘What else is out there?’” Stover said. “The investment community is quite interested.”

Why are we reporting on this? Simply to demonstrate the viability of different types of renewable energy, and to refute the “fossil-fuel” myth.

3. A new 60 MW wind farm to be built in Wasco County is closer to final approval.

Cascade Wind is positioned to help Oregon take a national leadership role in renewable energy production. We are excited to be working with so many people dedicated to expanding clean, green and environmentally responsible energy options in the northwest,” said Paul Gaynor, President and CEO of UPC Wind. “Filing our application today is a solid step forward in our plans to develop the Cascade Wind Project, which will greatly expand Oregon’s wind energy capacity.”

4. A company in Vancouver is making steady progress in geothermal exploration and use. Keep the good work up.

5.  Kulongoski is pushing a new tax-per-mile for all Oregon residents. A GPS system would be installed in a person’s car, record how many miles they drive, and calculate how much they owe in taxes based on that information. Oregon’s governor would like a new revenue stream. No surprises there.

According to the Oregonian:

Over the past couple of months, Oregon has lost more than 10,000 jobs, and a recently announced $1 billion state budget shortfall gave the state’s economy and its workers another punch in the gut. With the state headed into a recession — and losing good-paying jobs that support Oregon families — we need to seize opportunities to get people working again.

The Bradwood Landing liquefied natural gas terminal is just such an opportunity. Its construction alone would put 450 skilled union laborers to work for three years, and it would supply Oregon with a needed new supply of natural gas.

Tom Chamberlain the President of the Oregon AFL-CIO, goes on to argue that

Stabilizing energy costs is crucial for our region’s future. And while we should vigorously pursue renewable energy, natural gas can serve as a bridge to the cleaner energy future we all want. Furthermore, not all proposed LNG projects provide the safety, security, environmental protection and good jobs provided by Bradwood Landing.

Northwest Natural estimates that based on the transportation savings alone, Bradwood would save its customers more than $400 million over 20 years versus other supply options.

President Chamberlain hits all of the right points. The benefits of the Bradwood LNG terminal far outweigh the “problems” (to use the word loosely) that have been raised in opposition to it. Nevertheless, radical environmental groups continue to oppose the project. There comes a point when one must ask why?

Why do radical environmentalists oppose something that is good for Oregon?

“You could potentially make geothermal last essentially forever,” John Blackwell–SMU Geothermal Lab

According to Blackwell,

two percent of the world’s supply of geothermal power is several thousand times the annual use of energy in the United States.

Geothermal could revolutionize energy, as we know it. Here are the facts:

1. Geothermal is renewable.
2. Geothermal is stable.
3. Geothermal is not subject to fossil fuel constraints or volatility.
4. Geothermal does not consume any valuable resources.
5. Geothermal does not produces any greenhouse gases.
6. Geothermal delivers power 24/7, independent of weather, surface water levels or heat waves.
7. Geothermal provides a long-term place of employment and a known and consistent power price to its buyers.
8. Geothermal power plants enjoy low visibility and uses comparatively little land. Skillful planning can create a plant that is almost invisible from a short distance.

According to David Blackwell with SMU Lab,

The power plants don’t emit any kind of waste products.

Moreover, he pointed out that the hot water that shoots through geothermal plants goes right back down into the ground to be used over and over in an endless geothermal loop. According to Blackwell, if all the nations of the earth worked full-bore to develop geothermal resources, geothermal could eventually meet the power needs of 75 to 90 percent of all the people on the planet.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Energy released a study that said with proper investing in geothermal technology, the United States could conjure enough energy from geothermal power plants to provide a tenth of the nation’s power demands by 2050. One ideal place to start, the report said, would be somewhere with hot rocks relatively shallow beneath the surface to help reduce expenses.

Oregon has just such a location: the Newberry Geothermal Project:

The Newberry Geothermal Project is located on the western flank of Newberry Volcano, several miles from the Newberry crater in an area that allows geothermal development.

However, radical environmental groups are opposing the development of the Newberry crater.

In fall of 2007 approval was given for tests to be done on a 5-acre site outside the boundaries of the Newberry National Volcanic Monument to asses the possibility of producing renewable clean power for possibly 100,000 households in Oregon. The Juniper Group appealed the decision to prevent the this environmentally friendly project from moving forward. The groups website says, “Months later, our appeal is still pending while we continue to assess legal options to rescind and/or modify the agency’s decision and halt ongoing exploration activities.”

The opposition that the Juniper Group is mounting to this geothermal project is a perfect example of what we oppose. Instead of leading the nation in renewable energy production, Oregon is bowing to the wishes of fringe environmental groups.

The Lights on Oregon blog has been running strong for over two months now. We’ve covered a lot of ground. We started out in late August by showing the early economic returns of Oregon’s wind power. This was followed by another post noting that Oregon’s innovation in the field of renewable energy helps secure the future of all Oregonians, and could turn into a profitable export to California. Then Google announced that they were investing millions in wind power.

Then, the time came.

Environmental groups challenged a series of wind energy projects. According to the Eastern Oregon:

As wind power is becoming increasingly successful, radical groups oppose its expansion in the Columbia River Gorge’s shrub steppes….

Finally, this last month we saw renewable energy surge, wind was an important contributor to this success.

Wind gives us, as Oregonians, the power of freedom. Freedom from fossil fuels. Freedom from environmental pollutants. Freedom from high-energy prices.

The Campaign for Affordable & Reliable Energy (that is, Lights On Oregon) has three events coming up this week. We’re starting out in Molalla on the 28th, then moving to Wilsonville on the 29th, and finally we’ll be in Medford on the 30th. At these events we give presentations about energy challenges in Oregon, our campaign message, and encourage others to get involved in the campaign for reliable and affordable energy. Grassroots activism is essential to preserving our liberty as citizens. Moreover, supporters of renewable–and affordable–energy must ban together to oppose the agenda of the radical environmentalists.  Come join us at an upcoming event!

WHO:  The Campaign For Affordable & Reliable Energy
WHAT:  EDUCATIONAL TOWN HALL; “Lights On Oregon”
WHEN:  October 28th, 2008; 6:00 PM — 8:00 PM
WHERE:  Molalla Grange (127 Grange Ave, Molalla, OR 97038)

WHO:  The Campaign For Affordable & Reliable Energy
WHAT:  EDUCATIONAL TOWN HALL; “Lights On Oregon”
WHEN:  October 29th, 2008; 6:00 PM — 8:00 PM
WHERE:  Frogpond Grange (28000 SW Stafford Rd, Wilsonville, OR)

WHAT:  EDUCATIONAL TOWN HALL; “Lights On Oregon”
WHEN:  October 30th, 2008; 6:00 PM — 8:00 PM
WHERE:  Medford City Hall (411 W 8th St., Medford, OR 97501)

An RSVP is requested, so please e-mail ttrickey@freedomworks.org to confirm your reservation.

The fight against affordable energy continues (as reported by the Oregonian):

Dan Serres, with Columbia Riverkeeper, challenged the alleged need for the Oregon LNG project. “Oregon LNG’s project is wrong for Oregon.

An increase in Oregon’s supply of LNG, or Liquefied Natural Gas, will drastically increase the supply of safe and clean natural gas, which will help hold down rising energy costs. Moreover, natural gas burns cleaner, with lower emissions than petroleum products.

Does this ever end?

As reported by the Oregonian:

The myth that the Bradwood LNG Terminal will export gas overseas is 100% wrong.  Consider this:

On a positive note, the article [which was biased and suggested that the Bradwood LNG terminal would be exporting gas overseas, etc.] provided yet another opportunity for Brent Foster of Columbia RiverKeeper to demonstrate his complete lack of understanding of LNG, natural gas and the technologies employed for bringing them to market. His assertions were uninformed and simply wrong. An LNG terminal would help stabilize energy costs and be good for Oregon economy.

As Oregon Public Utility Commission Chairman Lee Beyer noted earlier this year, “Other regions of the country are all looking to secure access to additional gas supply sources, such as LNG and nonconventional gas to replace supplies from quickly diminishing domestic and pipeline import sources. The Northwest should so the same.”

According to the Oregonian:

Backers of a[nohter] LNG project delivered 21 binders to federal energy regulators containing their application to build a terminal on a spit of sand and blackberry brambles that juts into the Columbia River from Warrenton.

The $1 billion terminal would be capable of importing a billion cubic feet of natural gas a day - almost twice Oregon’s daily consumption. The gas would be shipped to markets throughout the Northwest and California via “the Oregon pipeline.”

“We’re opposed,” said Brent Foster, executive director of Columbia Riverkeeper.

Advantages for Oregon:

• By importing LNG, Oregon’s natural gas market will become more competitive, reducing the costs of natural gas.

• The availability of additional natural gas resources will allow Oregon and other Western states to reduce dependence on polluting coal, which currently makes up 42 percent of Oregon’s electric energy supply.

Competition is good. We’re told only one LNG terminal will be built in Oregon, so why not let the best terminal win?

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) made headlines this week by decrying the export of LNG from Alaska to Japan and complaining about the high price of natural gas.

It’s pretty outrageous to scare Americans about energy shortages while she has been approving export of billions of cubic feet of natural gas that could be providing energy to homes in Alaska and the lower 48 states,” Wyden said.

But, according to Oregonian:

Alaskan officials - as well as the U.S. Department of Energy, which approved the exports - say there is no readily available domestic alternative to handle the Alaskan natural gas.

Moreover, Wyden and other Left Coast liberals, have done everything they can to stonewall LNG terminals proposed for the West Coast, including three proposed terminals right here in Oregon. There are currently no LNG terminals on the U.S. West Coast.

According to the state of Alaska:

Alaska’s exports of LNG from the Kenai Peninsula facility were $161 million for 2006. The LNG loading facility in Nikiski and the regasification facility in Negishi, Japan pioneered LNG marine transport in 1969. Alaska LNG export to Japan has been continuous since then. The current LNG contract is for five years — 2004 through the first quarter of 2009.

Alaska is producing American made energy. How can we blame them if Oregon refuses to build a LNG terminal to tap in on their surplus gas?

Senator Wyden, how can we import Alaskan natural gas if according to both Alaskan officials and the U.S. Department of Energy we do not have the capability? And…when we attempt to build LNG terminals which would give us that capability…you oppose the terminals?

Pure hypocrisy.

According to the Washington Post:

Geothermal power now accounts for about 28 percent of the electricity generated in the Philippines. With 90 million people, about 40 percent of whom live on less than $2 a day, this country has become the world’s largest consumer of electricity from geothermal sources. Billions of dollars have been saved here because of reduced need for imported oil and coal.

In installed geothermal power capacity, the country ranks No. 2 in the world, narrowly trailing the United States, which has far more geothermal potential, far more engineering talent and far greater demand for clean sustainable power.

But unlike in the Philippines, government policy in the United States has been inconsistent….

If geothermal technology continues to advance, the Geological Survey report said, there is enough accessible public and private land in the 13 Western states to supply about half the electricity now generated in the United States.

We, in Oregon, have been identified as one of the leading places on the planet for the harnessing of geothermal power. Central Oregon’s Newberry Crater is said to be one of the best geothermal resources in the world. Currently there is a project going to build a geothermal plant to harness the craters energy. However, The Juniper Group, and other radical environmental organizations oppose the project and have been delaying the building of the plant.

This is, in the most fundamental sense of the term, a tragedy.

For more information about geothermal, see Geothermal Energy Controversy In Central Oregon.

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