1. We’re going to start running out of the easy stuff to get
2. We’re going to internalize some of the true costs of coal power.

I won’t go into detail about the coal supply in America but suffice to say that when someone tells you there are abundant coal reserves here, ask them how many are recoverable. The truth is that most coal production areas are depleted or on the way and America now sources 40% of its coal from one small river basin in Wyoming.

Powder River Basin (PRB) has 13 big mines but none of them will be viable in 20 years, in terms of producing coal at a cost structure that makes sense.  The main problem is the stripping ratio, or amount of ground that needs to be removed to get to the coal. The market is already reflecting some of Old King Coal’s problems as per these facts:

1. The delivered price of coal increased 3 times faster than inflation in the past 5 years

2. The cost of transporting PRB coal is 3 times greater than Its mining costs

3. Oil has twice the impact of mining on the cost of delivered PRB coal

4. States dependent on coal had the highest electricity price increases in the past 5 years

5. US coal mining productivity peaked in 2000 and declined 20% since

Remember that all of this is happening against a backdrop of solar power’s costs falling precipitously.  The only real question remaining is how long will coal be competitive?

Not for long. Indeed, you could not start on a new coal fired power plant in America today and have it up and running before it was more expensive than a solar plant.

Another reason this is a good change (aside from the climate benefits, saving the land from being blown up, and protecting our children from asthma) is that photovoltaics create more jobs than coal per kilowatt hour of power provided.

So our time in the sun is not done – we just have to bring it on. We’re very quickly realizing that coal is a pretty inefficient way to store the energy in sunlight. Digging it up and burning it to boil water is even more inefficient as a way to make electricity. Humanity will increasingly look up and access that same energy straight from the source. If you ever want to go solar in your own life please do so with Sungevity.  You can get your free Sungevity iQuote today if you are in AZ, CA, CO, DE, MA, MD, NJ, or NY.

We look forward to serving you…

Consider:

If we cover 192,00 square miles of the earth’s surface with solar panels, we can power the entire world with solar alone (as shown in the graphic above). That’s an area a little bit larger than California but, remember, the PV panels will be distributed across hundreds of millions of rooftops. For the U.S. to meet its domestic electricity needs, we’d only need to panel over a state the size of Kentucky.

If all 50 states were as energy efficient as California, electricity consumption in the U.S. would be cut by a third. (Then, we’d only need to solarize an area the size of Maryland).  Industry geeks refer to this as “negawatts” — you can just call it smart.

With one ton of sand, we can make solar panels that will produce as much electricity as 500,000 tons of coal (according to CleanTick.com). No mountaintop removals required.

By 2030, global demand for electricity will require either 13,000 new coal-fired power plants, 500 new nuclear reactors or the following mix (from Scientific American, November 2009):

The choice is in our hands. With solar stocks soaring and uranium prices tumbling, it’s pretty clear that the forecast is sunny.

–Erica Etelson



I was all set for a week of blogs on my favorite theme–why fossil fuels suck–when I learned that the Colorado Public Utilities Commission voted to shutter ALL of of Denver’s coal-burning power plants by 2017.   The move will cut nitrogen oxide emissions by 86%.  Nitrogen oxide (aka “smog” and “soot”) causes and worsens all kinds of respiratory ailments and causes the formation of acid rain which contaminates water bodies. Among the list of health impacts of nitrogen oxide is “premature death”–need I say more?

That’s the good news for Denver residents. That and the fact that the switchover will only cost ratepayers about $1.40 a month.  The bad news is that the power plants are switching over to (drumroll please)….solar? No.  Wind?  No?  Wave energy? (Obviously not). Nuclear?  (sigh of relief…No).  And the winner is….natural gas.

Natural gas is touted as a clean energy source.  But truth be told, natural gas is about as clean as my living room after a 3-way toddler playdate. 90% of new natural gas wells utilize “fracking”, which involves injecting insane amounts of water plus a cocktail of toxic chemicals into impermeable rock to free up the natural gas. The chemicals and gas leak into waterways and aquifers and are very difficult for wastewater treatment plants to process.  In Pennsylvania, the Fracking State, residents watch as their wells spontaneously combust and brown water pours from their taps. In one neighborhood, analysis of the water revealed that residents were basically drinking methane.  (Check out this article in Vanity Fair for more on the horrors of fracking).  With conventional natural gas supplies running out, the future is fracking.

Even conventional natural gas extraction is far from clean and green — it has to be drilled (often in wilderness areas), processed, and transported. Along the way, some of it leaks out, releasing methane, a potent greenhouse gas.  Conventional natural gas production may look green compared to fracking and coal mining, but it’s still a dirty business indeed.

Denver residents don’t need to wait until 2017 to ditch coal. They can start leasing solar panels today, and say good riddance to Ole’ King Coal and his gassy entourage.

–Erica Etelson

As Jon Stewart reminded us in a bitterly funny shtick a couple of months ago, every U.S. President since Nixon has bemoaned our addiction to oil and promised to wean the nation ASAP.  But what about our addiction to coal?

On the environmental scorecard, coal sets new lows for mountaintop removal, air and water pollution and climate change.  The pollution that pours out of the smokestacks of coal-fired power plants causes an estimated $62 billion in public health damage a year (mostly heart and respiratory illnesses).

What coal has going for it is its price–compared to oil, gas and renewables, coal is cheap.  Or is it?  A new report by the Union of Concerned Scientists shows that many states import coal from faraway states and foreign shores.  38 states are net importers of coal, spending $25 billion a year with nothing to show for it–these states burn money on coal which is then burned to generate electricity; in the end, they have nothing–no jobs, no revenue, no local energy infrastructure, just polluted air and soaring unemployment.

Most of the coal we import comes from Colombia, Venezuela and Indonesia, not exactly next-door neighbors.  Even our own domestic coal travels longs distances from mines to power plants.  Georgia, for example, buys $540 million worth of coal from Wyoming and Colorado (plus another $97 million from Colombia).

Coal-importing states have much to gain by shifting their expenditures from coal to energy efficiency and renewables.  Energy conservation and local energy production mean local jobs and revenue, better air quality and resilience in the face of an uncertain energy future.  I’m tempted to call such a shift a “no-brainer,” but it seems that “no-brainers” are usually “non-starters” politically (my favorite example being our refusal to lower the speed limit to 55 mph for optimal fuel efficiency and highway safety).

As a nation, we have a lot of unhealthy and supposedly cheap addictions (bad food, bad fuel, fast cars). But when we pause to factor in the hidden costs of these habits, they’re not so cheap after all.  And our economy, our waistlines and our planet cannot afford to indulge them any longer.

–Erica Etelson

Some points of interest on the map:  Look at the areas with the largest solar capacity, then click over to the areas that are the windiest–I was blown away (sorry) by the lack of overlap which, just to clarify, is a good thing because it means there’s a renewable source of electricity for everyone.  In some areas, like Northern California, we’re doubly blessed with high winds and big solar gain, yet wind and solar together comprise less than 3% of our total mix.

NPR also points out that, in the areas that are best for solar, one measly square foot can generate 260 kilowatt-hours a year (enough to power an Energy Star dishwasher for a year).  We have a moratorium on new nuclear plants in California and are going to lose hydroelectric capacity as the snow pack disappears.  Since utilities finally seem to grasp what most of learned in third grade about the finite nature of fossil fuels, the development of a massive renewable energy infrastructure is inevitable.  No time like the present.

–Erica Etelson

Sitting in the office of a solar company, I hear words such as volts, watts, kilowatts and kilowatt-hours tossed about with abandon. With my non-technical background it sounds like what I imagine a European must hear when Americans discuss a baseball game – it’s certainly a little confusing. To combat this confusion I compiled some questions I have such as, where does our energy come from, and where does it go? As well as, how is it measured? With these questions in mind I did some research so that you readers wouldn’t have to. My plan is to spend the next couple of posts addressing these issues.

This first post is going to cover some pretty big picture stuff.

According to the US Energy Information Administration electricity in the United States is generated by the following sources:

48% Coal

21% Natural Gas

20% Nuclear

9% Renewables

1% Petroleum

The energy in the United States doesn’t go solely to powering our homes. In fact, it’s a pretty inefficient system. (source, The Idiot’s Guide to Solar Power for Your Home):

25% goes for transportation

20% is used by industry

12% is for homes and businesses

AND 40% of energy in the US goes to making electricity

According to the Department of Energy, in the average home which spends about $1200 a year on their utilities, energy use can be broken down in the following way:

43% goes to heating and cooling

29% goes to lighting, cooking and appliances

12% goes to water heating

8% goes to refrigeration

8% other

These are just some interesting facts to mull over. Keep your eyes open from some more in the next few days.