Move Forward or Stay in Place (part 2)

Or Move Forward?

 The coming Clayville Generating Station 1, in Vineland has been described as "integral to the future of the Vineland Municipal Utilities." But is it? Are any of these planned natural gas plants integral to our future? Government bodies pushing for natural gas facilities argue from the standpoint of energy security, but this is based on false assumptions that the energy we generate in NJ is the only energy we can use. Our utilities buy from a centralized grid and then distribute it to us. If my undergrad notes are correct, electricity attenuates to uselessness by the time it has traveled about 400 miles. That gives us a BIG area from which to draw electricity. In an excellent article covering the Oyster Creek and B.L. England plants, Braden Campbell of the Press of Atlantic City points out that only rarely (the worst parts of this winter's severe cold snap, for example) did BL England operate at full capacity. We don't need all that excess production for 95% of the year.

That being said, we will at some point need to add to our state's energy capacity. Since it probably won't be of the phased-out nuclear variety, we have a few choices. The clear sweetheart of the moment is Natural Gas. In the last post I mentioned a number of plants that are either in their final planning stages or already under construction. Yes. Natural gas is cheap. But that's because no one seems to be worrying about those pesky little externalities. Externalities like the disposal of the toxic chemical slurry that is fracking waste water. Currently the solution is to throw it into open air pits with a plastic barrier the only thing standing between waste and groundwater. Activists have passed local ordinances in a number of NJ towns banning fracking waste (full disclosure: I was part of a college group that proposed one of these ordinances) and even gotten fracking waste bans through both arms of the state legislature. Then Christie vetoed the bill. There's a bit of cognitive dissonance going on there.*

The rush to build these natural gas plants is even more puzzling given the advances our state is making in renewable energies. The U.S. Department of Energy began accepting the nation's first bids for offshore wind in February and the first three developers of NJ offshore wind were awarded a combined $47 million in early May. Along with a couple of sites in RI, VA, and OR, NJ is pioneering energy technology that with current technology could unlock more than 4,000 gigawatts of renewable energy nationally. In addition to our wind advantage, NJ is way ahead when it comes to solar. We are second only to the behemoth that is California in number of solar installations statewide. What's more, a report by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) suggests solar and wind prices will continue to plummet and that they will be cost competitive with natural gas by 2025. That's good news for a state that took the pains to invest in renewables early. The missing link in all of this is large-scale renewable energy storage, but the first commercial companies are making a go (and with plenty of money to be made, that field will be in a good state by 2025, for sure).

So again, I ask, why the rush to build natural gas plants? That missing capacity is not missed dearly. In just a few short years we'll be ready to truly move forward with our energy infrastructure, rather than burden South Jersey with gas plants that won't be cost competitive in two decades.

*Note about natural gas plants: Not all plants run on gas extracted through fracking. The BL England would have been one example, allegedly. Still, there's that silly GHG emission thing to worry about. Also, NJ, to my knowledge, does not have a good store of natural gas. The ban would prevent externalities from big gas states like PA from being dumped in New (probably South) Jersey.

Little Things

I want to take a moment to point out one of the little things I love about South Jersey. It's so little most of us have probably missed it. Right on the corner of Cuthbert and Park Boulevards near Cooper River Park is a piece of public art that is far more urbanist than the roads that surround it.

It inspires me every time I pass it and reinforces that Collingswood and the rest of the Haddon Ave municipalities are the type of development South Jersey should be working toward. Let's heed the words of Omar Bradley (a distinguished military man with little in terms of transportation experience -- who seemed to have sensed the lack of common sense in our patterns of development) and send South Jersey in the right direction!

Edit: Fixed some of my crummy spelling.

Move Forward, or Stay in Place? (Part I)

New Jersey is in the position to decide what sort of future it needs. We can move forward and fully embrace renewable energy, or we can stagnate (or continue to degrade, depending on your outlook) and embrace the Natural Gas craze.

Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station

More than half of New Jersey's electricity is derived from Nuclear power. Despite our relatively small land area, we generate the 10th most nuclear electricity of any state. NJ got this way because it adopted nuclear early. Very early. Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, the oldest nuclear power station in the country, was built in Ocean County in 1969. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission issues operating permits of 40 years with the option to renew an additional 20 years if the plant is up to snuff. Oyster Creek got a renewal, but will ultimately close by 2019 regardless. The other three units, all in Salem county, were commissioned in the mid 70's and fin
ished by the mid 80's. As in the case of Oyster Creek, even if they get the renewal, the plants may not go another twenty years. So over the course of the next ten years, there's a good chance we will see a dramatic shift in the way South Jersey, and therefore the state, produces energy.

There is a chance that we will add more nuclear. But its a slim chance. All of the operational nuclear facilities in our country were licensed by 1979. More than thirty years passed before, in February, The US Department of Energy announced it would help to finance two new nuclear reactors nationwide. Two. You can hardly call that a regeneration of the Nation's nuclear stock. So it's unlikely that South Jersey will see all, if any, of its plants replaced.

Let's Just Stay in Place...

The (Non-Gaseous) BL England Power Plant

If that's the case, we can either pursue renewable energies, or we can pursue fossil fuels. Many of our officials on both the municipal and state scales have made it clear where they stand. Earlier this year, South Jersey Industries, aided by strong pressure from the Christie administration, tried to force through a proposal that would have seen a 22 mile, 24 in. diameter pipeline run straight through the Pinelands (the anger I felt at this proposition was partially the impetus I needed to begin writing this blog). The plan would have seen the end of a coal-fired plant -- win -- only to see it converted into a natural gas facility -- loss. Fortunately, it failed, for reasons justified by Pinelands Commission Chair Mark Lobhauer described here. However, in case a loophole is found allowing reapplication through the Pinelands Commission, or a similar situation arises, Christie has replaced two gubenatorially-elected members, and Cumberland County another, with commissioners who will tow the line.

And lets not forget this isn't even the only natural gas facility proposed or under development. When the West Deptford energy station opens late this summer, it will add 700 MW of natural gas, and new plants in Newark and Woodbridge will do similar. Additionally, after some courtroom drama, C&H Industrial Services, Inc has been awarded the right to construct the Clayville generating station (powered by, you guessed it, natural gas). Why the rush to build these facilities?

Phew. I write a lot. I'll continue this post as a part II.