Energy Planning Goals: Renewable and Decentralized Solutions

Introduction: America's Energy Dependence Problem

"We are addicted to foreign oil and we have to wean ourselves off it."

Over the last twenty years or more, the American public has heard a similar refrain about energy use from just about every politician who has run for office, and certainly from every politician who takes a stand on energy policy. That platitudinous catchphrase is used so often it has become nearly redundant, and for many Americans it is now so familiar it functions as little more than a political slogan. What is being alluded to here is the concept that it is long past time for America to become energy self-sufficient. How to achieve energy independence is the real question. This paper presents energy planning ideas that not only lessen the need to import oil from Arab countries or from Venezuela, but lessen the need for oil altogether.

The NRDC's Vision for a Clean Energy Economy

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is among the most influential conservation and environmental organizations in America. Their editorial thrust is toward a "Clean Energy Economy," which means using more and more renewable sources rather than drilling in oceans, in Alaska, or elsewhere for new crude oil. Energy planning, according to the NRDC, means creating green jobs through the construction of renewable energy infrastructure — such as wind farms and solar energy projects — and by establishing manufacturing industries that produce solar panels, batteries for hybrid cars, and related products.

"Millions of Americans already have the skills that they require" to enter the manufacturing of products associated with the switch to green technologies. A key energy plan, according to the NRDC, is one that invests in "entirely new industries" and puts thousands — even millions — of people to work. By investing $150 billion in clean energy, the NRDC reports, the United States can create 1.7 million net new jobs "in just two years" (www.nrdc.org). Of those 1.7 million jobs, approximately 870,000 would be "accessible to workers with a high school degree or less," demonstrating that one need not be an engineer or highly trained technician to work in clean energy development. Moreover, roughly 614,000 of those jobs available to workers with a high school diploma or less "will offer decent opportunities for promotion and rising wages over time" (www.nrdc.org). Over time, the NRDC explains, those kinds of opportunities in the clean energy field can help lift low-income workers out of poverty.

Meanwhile, the community of Masdar in the United Arab Emirates is undergoing some of the most advanced energy planning to be found anywhere on earth. The article "A Green City Blooms in the Desert" describes a solar-powered city where the world's "first zero-carbon, zero-waste city" is taking shape. The project is estimated to cost $22 billion and was expected to be complete by 2016, according to Julia Loffe, writing in Fortune International magazine.

Masdar: A Zero-Carbon City in the Desert

The challenges that had to be overcome in Abu Dhabi for Masdar to take shape are considerable, even to observers who know little about renewable energy planning. Masdar would be the first city to deploy solar energy "on a massive scale" in a virtual desert environment. Since a city cannot be built on sand, Abu Dhabi's platform is to be constructed on a "cement platform that's 21 feet thick and made of 60% recycled waste," Loffe writes (p. 1).

The architectural firm handling most of the energy planning is Foster & Partners of London, whose goal is to make Masdar "the Silicon Valley of environmental design," according to Gerald Evenden, the firm's senior partner. Within this walled city, a "green-tech research institute" will be built with resources from MIT, according to Loffe's article. The hope is that Masdar will become a "guidepost for urban planners everywhere," Loffe explains. Another goal is that the project will create 70,000 jobs and become "a global hub for green tech."

Unlike all other cities in the world, cars will be banned within Masdar's city limits. Garages on the outskirts will house vehicles, and light rail transportation will ferry commuters to their jobs. Solar thermal farms will supply approximately "a quarter" of the needed electricity. The city is designed to accommodate up to 50,000 permanent residents and to provide jobs for about 40,000 commuters. Energy planners assert the city will be "20 degrees cooler than the surrounding desert" and will use 60% less water — supplied by solar-powered desalination plants — 75% less electricity, and 98% less landfill space (Loffe, 2009, p. 2).

Conclusion: Moving Toward a Decentralized Energy Future

It is time for energy planning to move quickly towards the future, by following the advice of experts like Clinton J. Andrews and others, and building systems that are decentralized and allow a home anywhere there is ample sunlight — and/or wind — to be free of the high costs of energy produced in huge, polluting centralized facilities. The obstacles can be overcome by careful planning and by thinking not in terms of large solar farms in the desert, but rather in terms of decentralized solar hardware for individual rooftops. That is real, smart energy planning.