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Letters by BBCAT and its allies advocating the "Clean Energy First" plan

August 2006

8/14 letter (Robert Deyle, submitted)

Tallahassee at a crossroads: Coal or clean energy

An article in Saturday’s Democrat about the pending vote for the City’s 20-year energy plans implies that the City Commission will have to choose among four candidate plans. Three of the plans involve coal-burning power plants. The fourth is an “all-natural-gas” plan that does not require the burning of coal.

In reality, the Commission can still make any plan it likes. It is not confined to choosing one of the four plans now on the table. It can choose coal or not. A group of citizens concerned about energy and climate issues, the Big Bend Climate Action Team (BBCAT), advocates a clean-energy plan for the City, based on the “all-natural gas” plan.

The best option: “Clean Energy First”

The City’s “all-natural gas” plan is a good base to build on. It includes a large portfolio of energy-saving resources (reducing demand by increasing energy efficiency) and a small amount of renewable-fuel power generation (clean biomass). For the rest of the needed energy, it would rely on additional natural gas if necessary—but better options may well be available by the time the need arises.

BBCAT’s “Clean Energy First” plan modifies the “all-natural gas” plan just a little. It starts with the city's current fleet of generators and it includes the same portfolio of efficiency resources. It adds a little more biomass--75 megawatts, rather than only 30. These measures alone, without any further additions of natural gas, will meet the City’s energy needs all the way to 2017.

Beyond 2017, and just for planning purposes, the "Clean Energy First" plan assumes that remaining needs will be met with natural gas. BBCAT asserts, however, that in these rapidly changing times, additional clean energy resources will become cost-effective. The plan calls for ongoing evaluation of emerging technologies, so that they can be adopted as they come on-line.

A fiscally prudent choice that preserves our options

The “Clean Energy First” plan is economically sound and will save utility customers money. Moreover, the plan preserves the option to take advantage of rapidly emerging clean energy technologies. This opportunity would be lost if Tallahassee decided to commit hundreds of millions of dollars in advance to a major coal operation. We need not go into debt, because we have this clean energy alternative. We need not impose on our neighbors and the world the well-known, major pollution burdens of burning coal. And we need not impose on our grandchildren the global warming burdens of burning coal.

The “Clean Energy First” plan can be read in full at www.bbcat.org. Please take a look. Let your commissioners know what you think and attend the public hearing on August 30th.

Our community is at an important crossroads. Fortunately, a good solution is at hand: Tallahassee can reliably meet its growing energy needs without coal.

Robert E. Deyle is a professor of environmental planning at the Florida State University. He lives at 2409 Oakdale Street in Tallahassee and can be reached at 850-644-8512 or at rdeyle@fsu.edu.

8/23 letter (Sara L. Reece)

Make ‘clean energy’ our guiding principle

How can we read or listen to the daily news and not understand that our guiding principle in energy policy needs to be “clean energy first”? To say otherwise is to play a shell game with our health and the health of the planet.

If we invest hundreds of millions of dollars in the Taylor County coal plant, we are locking ourselves into an energy plan that overlooks the health and environmental costs. We also will be shackled to the coal industry and unable to invest in cleaner technologies as they become available.

Many energy-efficient resources are already available. The potential for generating energy from clean biomass in Leon County is outstanding. Wind and tidal energy, once thought not feasible in the Southeast, look increasingly promising. News of other possibilities comes in daily.

The city’s “all-natural gas” plan is a good base to build on. It includes a portfolio of energy-saving resources (such as reducing demand by increasing energy efficiency) and a small amount of renewable-fuel power generation (clean biomass). These resources alone can carry us for about 10 years.

Then, if energy is needed, more clean-energy options may be available.

Clean energy first! Once that becomes our guiding principle, the choice is clear.

Sara L. Reece can be reached at sarareece@earthlink.net