A Secure Energy System

by Scott Sklar

With the horror of September 11 still in our hearts and minds federal, state and local governments are attempting to cope with a myriad of threats—more potential attacks by external and internal terrorists and probably a host of other hate groups and nut cases. The threats are multifaceted and affect the entire infrastructure of the largest and most advanced industrialized nation on the planet—airlines, reservoirs, the postal system and, not surprisingly, the electric transmission and generation system.

In September, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission had to reverse its public statement that nuclear power plant containment domes could withstand a direct hit by a jet airliner going at full speed with a full tank of fuel. Many meetings have been held inside and outside the nation's capital on protecting hydroelectric dams and electric transmission lines. The national media, absorbed by the war in Afghanistan, the anthrax attacks and airline security seem understandably unable to focus on the vulnerabilities in our energy system.

In November, with war in full swing, we sea action in one of the most impoverished countries on the planet. We read stories about the leaders of bin Laden's network, many of whom came from wealthy farmlies in countries that have been showered with oil wealth primarily from the major oil importing nations—the U.S., the countries of industrialized Europe and Japan.

What can the clean energy community make of all these facts? Is it right for us to insert ourselves into the policy dialogue as well as the corollary discussions on the ethical front? Many in "our family" are afraid to speak out now so as not to be seen as taking advantage of this unnerving situation. I believe that is a major mistake. Our community, which includes the private sector as well as technical experts, has much to offer on many fronts.

In regard to homeland security, posting guards at power plants and transmission lines will never succeed against determined terrorists. Rather, a redundant system with millions of microgenerators will provide a secure energy system that is far less vulnerable to disruption.

In regard to Afghanistan, providing the poorest countries, on the scale of the Marshall Plan, with renewable based distributed energy systems for lighting, water pumping, healthcare and communications will drive the kind of economic growth that can cure an array of social ills. Severe poverty breeds hatred. The U.S. distinguished itself from every other country in the history of humankind by investing billions to the countries of our defeated enemies' after World War II, and transfermed them into our strongest allies. This lesson should not be lost on us as we play out our War on Terrorism.

In regard to the other have-nots on this planet, multilateral institutions such as The World Bank and the other regional development banks and United Nations programs need to be educated about the economic, environmental and social benefits of distributed electricity generation from renewable resources. Whether our objective is to improve childhood survival rates, enhance local economies by developing cottage industries, link local communities to the e-commerce economy, introduce democratic reforms or educate the local populous—it all requires energy. On-site renewable distributed energy technologies offer a short-term, economically viable answer to these concerns. On-site generation will create mini-grids and link up to larger grids as counties' economies grow. It is completely unethical to allow one- third of the planet—two billion people—to live without electricity and another billion to
live with electricity for less than 10 hours per day. Only global leadership can change this situation, and we in the U.S. must assert ourselves with technologically—and socially—appopriate solutions.

In regard to reducing U.S. dependence on oil from foreign dictatorships, a good first step would be for U.S. political leaders to mandate higher automotive mileage standards for cars and trucks. That action alone will dramatically reduce our dependence on imported oil. Next—with the same vigor—political leaders' should put an equal effort into displacing stationary diesel electric generation both on and off the grid through the use of distributed renewable energy feel hnologies. Our addiction to fossil fuels causes us to support a myriad of dictatorships that pour over $60 billion a year of U.S. consumer's money into the coffers of sanctioned oligarchs. And as we have seen, our adversaries have used the crumbs of these dollars that fall into their hands in a remarkable display of death and destruction.

In regard to the clean energy community posturing as a political and ethical force, we must first rally against the ridiculous symbolism of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which would result in one years worth of oil MAYBE ten years from now. This policy only maintains the U.S. addiction to petroleum. Second, we must begin a campaign of emphasizing at every opportunity the security imperative of relying as much as possible on renewable resources for fuels, thermal energy and electricity. And we must tie this effort to a vigorous and sustained energy efficiency strategy. Energy efficiency and renewable energy technologiesaIre not luxuries—they are both short-term and long-term security imperatives.

I make no apologies for speaking out during an uncomfortable and unsettling time. Most of us who are part of the sustainable energy community entered the technical or industry sectors focusing on clean energy because we believed we could make a dilference—make the world a better place for our kids and all the inhabitants of the planet. And many of us are proud that our technological solutions fit neatly into ongoing global reforms resulting in democratization, global environmental awareness, use of private sector solutions and local control and innovation.

Now is not the time to be silent. Right now forceful but not self-righteous efforts to discuss our positive solutions are needed more than ever.

Scott Sklar (solarsklar@aol.com) is President of The Stella Group, Ltd, a strategic marketing and policy firm in Washington, D.C.