TVA tries a different, less damaging power source program
by Joe Tarr
If you spend a mere $30 a month on your electric bill, you're directly responsible for the release of 7,604 pounds of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere every year, exacerbating global warming.
You're also responsible for the release of 43 pounds of nitrogen oxides and 68 pounds of sulfur dioxides. These two pollutants are the major cause of acid rain, which is damaging water sources, soil, plants, and trees. In addition, they have been linked to serious health problems, including asthma and a variety of respiratory illnesses, and lower people's resistance to infections. These pollutants also impair visibility in the Great Smoky Mountains.
Feeling guilty?
Well, TVA and KUB are starting a program to help you ease your guilt, finally giving serious consideration to alternative fuel sources.
Although most people aren't aware of it, every time they flip on an electric switch they're polluting. But for a little extra, KUB customers can make sure their money goes toward supporting so-called green power.
"Here's an opportunity for everyone to get behind this," says Steve Smith of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, which worked with TVA to develop the program. "This thing has a great deal of potential to produce a revolution in the way we create power."
TVA's three green power sources are solar, wind, and methane gas, which is produced from landfills.
Any electric users who want to support the program will pay $4 extra for every 150 kilowatt block of power they decide to use, Smith says. Customers choose how many blocks of green power they want to buy. If a family uses 1,250 kilowatts or $75 worth of power a month, and buys all green power, their bill would jump to about $108.
The Tennessee Valley has the highest per capita power usage in the country, with people using about 1,200 kilowatt hours a month. The national average is a bit below 1,000 kilowatt hours, Smith says.
Although the program is starting small this year—with only 8 megawatts of TVA's 28,000 megawatt power grid coming from green power—the program will expand each year to include more power distributors and more utility companies.
Since all electric power comes from the same pool—which is fed by many different sources—customers won't technically know if they're getting green power-produced electrons. But their money will be used to buy green power for the pool, Smith says.
Although many people in this area think their power comes from TVA's hydroelectric dams—which cause their own environmental problems—only about 10 percent does, Smith says. More than 60 percent comes from coal power plants, and TVA is the largest purchaser in the country of coal. In addition, TVA has two of the dirtiest coal plants in the country, Smith says.
"It's clearly documented that coal power plants are the largest industrial polluters in the country. We're trying to figure out a way to get clean power in there," Smith says. "This is a very small, but important first step."
April 27, 2000 * Vol. 10, No. 17
© 2000 Metro Pulse
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