Gustav Highlights Energy Vulnerabilities
by Rocky Mountain Institute on 09. 4.08
Though less fierce than expected, Hurricane Gustav highlighted once again the vulnerabilities presented by our centralized energy systems.
Within the Gulf of Mexico, 98 percent of the oil and natural gas production facilities were shut down, ahead of the storm. More than 10 refineries were also closed, while numerous others were running at a reduced rate. Combined, this halted at least 18 percent of the U.S. capacity to turn crude oil into gasoline and other petroleum products.
The storm passed directly over the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, a facility that unloads tankers and accounts for 10 percent of U.S. oil imports. Transmission lines gave way to the wind and knocked 35 substations out of service, leaving more than one million customers without power.
Back in 1982, Amory Lovins -- Chief Scientist and founder of Rocky Mountain Institute -- warned the U.S. Department of Defense that a handful of people could cut off three-quarters of the Eastern states' oil and gas supplies in one evening without leaving Louisiana.
Had we heeded and acted on Lovins' warning and subsequent advice, Hurricanes Katrina and Gustav may not have presented such challenges for our energy infrastructure and security.
According to Lovins, true security measures -- led by energy efficiency and distributed, renewable resources -- can make us feel safe in ways that work better and cost less.
What does a secure energy system look like?
To begin with, it is geographically dispersed, comprised of redundant smaller modules that can back each other up, is located close to end-users to minimize transmission lengths, and is heavily interconnected so that if one part fails, other components continue to work seamlessly.
As Lovins indicated to the U.S. Senate in 2006, both energy independence and its purpose, energy security, rest on three pillars:
1. Making domestic energy infrastructure, notably electric and gas grids, resilient through efficiency, diversity, and distributed systems.
2. Phasing out, not expanding, vulnerable facilities and unreliable fuel sources.
3. Ultimately eliminating reliance on oil from any source.
In 2004, RMI published an independent, peer-reviewed study cosponsored by the DoD showing how to eliminate U.S. oil use (pillar #3) by the 2040s and revitalize the economy -- all led by business for profit.
Let's hope we don't wait for Hurricane Number Three before we improve the security, reliability, and resilience of our energy infrastructure.
Image Credit:: NASA/Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
- I Don’t Think Alternative Energy Means What You Think It Means: Fred Pearce to BP
- 360 Wind Powered Wal-Mart Stores by April 2009
- China's Coal Fires Burn 20 Million Tons of Coal Per Year
- BLM Issues New Rules for Oil Shale Development: Last Minute Bush Administration Environmental Trashing?
Renewable Energy’s Poor Cousin Getting Richer? International Geothermal Power Partnership Formed
|
The Energy Ball: Another Innovative Option in Home Wind Turbines
|
Yesterday on the Today Show, they had a short story titled "Why all the stormy weather?" They very briefly mentioned global warming and showed one person saying "the jury is still out" on the science. That doesn't even come close to telling the whole story.
We NEED to get the media covering these issues, and making sure people are aware that our energy and environmental issues are not separate from one another.
PLEASE take a few minutes to contact someone in the media and ask them to cover the issues that are important to us!
A quick google search should get you some contact info. I found the Today show and other NBC emails here:
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/10285339/
You don't need a global warming/hurricane link to make a complete case for emissions cuts. If the link exists, that would be a rhetorical arrow in the quiver, but there's no need to conflate the two issues. After all, its getting so that ALL environmental issues are going through the global warming lens. Of course, its the most important issue, but the habitat-conservation/species-conservation/aesthetics/environmental justice aspects of, say, the disappearing Delta barrier issue, are poignant issues too, that don't need a global-warming/hurricane link to resonate with the people.
I really agree with Rob on this. Global warming is a very important issue, but lately it seems as though it's taking over all other environmental issues. Non-CO2 air pollution, waste management, water pollution, ecosystem degradation, skyrocketing extinction rates, erosion etc. etc. I find that even environmental organizations are guilty of this sort blindered prioritization. It is a sexy topic, but it's far from the only problem we're facing.
Wouldn't solar and wind be disrupted by hurricanes as well?
Sorry for not commenting directly on the article. I was just frustrated by what I saw on the news, and needed to get that out.
But I do feel strongly that the media hasn't done a proper job of expressing the severe risks of climate change. The people on this site get it, but if you look at your average American and their chants to "Drill, Drill Drill," they have no idea.
With an election so close, we should all make an extra effort to spread the word.
I have news for you. In the future, energy systems will be large, centralized systems. Solar, either PV or CSP, will be located in the SW USA (AZ, NV, UT, etc.) and wind will be located in the wind corridor, a 500m wide strip extending from TX up to North Dakota. Geothermal plants will be clustered around hotspots, and dams will continue to be located on rivers.
On the plus side none of these areas seem to be located in the paths of hurricanes or earthquakes. Some wind turbines might be located in tornado alley, however, but that's a fairly small region that can be build around.
@TheWalrus
A police officer doesn't stop to ticket a jay walker while speeding to the scene of a homicide. The truth is, if not properly managed, GW has the potential to kill hundreds of millions of people, more than any other environmental issue. Almost all other environmental issues are related to and/or exacerbated by GW (overpopulation, soil degradation, etc.). That isn't to say other issues should be ignored, but GW rightfully demands and gets the lion's share of attention.