The Grid May Be An Excellent Opportunity for Kirkwood
We heard a detailed presentation from the Bodington group on the KMPUD plans to interconnect to PG&E on Friday, September18th in a special Board meeting.
The Grid is a real possibility according to the report (link to full report as promised at 9/18/09 meeting– still unavailable). As some of you know, I was leaning towards staying In-Valley, thinking that it might be the greenest and cheapest solution. However, the Bodington recommendations are showing interconnection as the better bet.
I believe that, essential to the deal is a favorable long-term contract for power.
It’s important KMPUD negotiates with PG&E to get the very best possible deal for the Kirkwood community. If we are spending millions for a connection, which we will own, insure and maintain, we deserve to get a very favorable long-term contract for power.
I am encouraged by PG&E’s recent withdrawal of support for the US Chamber of Commerce due to the latter’s weak stance on climate change. It seems the company is trying to shift to a greener position.
That said . . . power from the grid is a long way off. There is a lengthy permitting process to navigate, and then the construction of the 23-mile connection.
This won’t happen for several years.
Meanwhile, what are we doing?
Essential for our community is a serious focus on conservation and energy efficiency.
The cheapest watt—is the one you never had to buy!
The easy, inexpensive stuff . . .
Our goal should be to convert every light fixture/bulb in the valley to the highest efficiency possible. Homeowners should install TED, The Energy Detective. Studies show that awareness of usage lowers consumption by 10-15%. Plus, it’s fun. It gets the whole family involved.
Following lighting, individual homeowners should look to see what measures they can take to make their home a high performance home—home energy audits, weatherization, appliance upgrades, window replacements, solar, geo-exchange heating systems, and more. Do what you can afford. Remember there are credits and rebates on many measures.
My accomplishments so far . . .
- Home Energy Audit Open House
- July 4th Roundtable on SMART Energy Solutions, including “Need for Immediate Input” Survey
- Actively involved in “Kirkwood In-Valley Energy Feasibility Study”
- Energy Efficiency Seminar, Labor Day Weekend, with Guest Speakers, Chip Seamans, Kirkwood General Manager and Scott Terrell, Truckee-Donner PUD Conservation Administrator
This is what I am working on . . .
- Fall Appliance Co-Op Buys (see tab above)—Cash for Clunkers. Aggregate Appliance Purchasing. Opportunities to replace old, inefficient appliances with Energy Star rated appliances at discounts and with rebates—through collective purchasing.
- Give your home a holiday present! Easy and convenient light bulb replacement program. CFL’s and LED’s for sale locally during the Holiday weeks—December 21 – Jan 2nd. Be good to your home and reduce your power bill in 2010!
- Small Counties Grant Money. Home energy audit subsidies and light bulb/fixture replacement for commercial buildings.
Look for more details on my blog: http://kirkwoodmeadows.wordpress.com
Always in need of help, never enough hours in the day. If you have any time to give to assist with these programs—shoot me an e-mail or call.
There is obviously a lot to know about this. There are some good points here.