A Point of View on The Future of Energy Production

The Aptos Times had the opportunity to interview Dr. J Winston Porter, president of Energy & Environmental Strategies, a consulting firm headquartered in Savannah, GA that he founded shortly after leaving the U.S. EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). Dr Porter was an EPA assistant administrator under President Reagan from 1985 to 1989 with national responsibility for the Superfund, RCRA (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act) and other waste management programs. He was in California to speak to the Salinas Rotary Club on Tuesday, August 26 on the subject of, “Fracking and America’s Energy Future.”

Dr. Porter said that clean energy in the form of natural gas is quickly replacing coal as an energy source here in the states as coal gives off large amounts of CO2 and other pollutants when used in our power plants to produce electrical energy. “The EPA has drafted a climate change rule aimed at reducing carbon emissions from U.S. power plants by 30 percent by the year 2030 from 2005 levels. This EPA rule comes complete with individual reduction rates for each state.

“The key to reaching these goals is the abundance of natural gas made possible by fracking. Substitution of gas for coal has already reduced U.S. carbon emissions by 15 of the required 30 percent since 2005. No other country has made such progress. Because of increasing gas production from our country’s vast shale formations, the U.S. has become the largest natural gas producer in the world. Natural Gas is reducing energy bills, and allowing a transition away from coal.”

Dr. Porter also pointed out that while coal use in the US is dropping, coal production is not. “Coal is still a major source of energy for much of the world’s electrical power generation and is becoming a significant export for our country. As we continue to develop our natural gas resources through fracking, it may also become a major export due the dependence of Europe on Russia’s oil and natural gas which is now being used as a political tool by the current Russian government.”

Regarding alternative energy sources he said, “While we are generating more electricity with wind and solar power, these two sources combined account for less than five percent of our electricity needs. Both are expensive, intermittent and both require large areas of land dedicated to energy production. To date, wind and solar power facilities are still small contributors in meeting our energy needs.

(Ed Note: The Panoche Valley Solar energy project 50 miles south of Hollister if approved will have 1 million photovoltaic panels covering 1,629 acres, and there are options to purchase and additional 24,176 acres of surrounding ranchland as permanent open space to offset impacts to wildlife.)

“For the foreseeable future, our supply of electricity will primarily come from natural gas, coal and nuclear energy. Coal-fired power will still provide more than 30 percent of our electricity in 2030, far more than wind and solar. Renewable sources of power are important but portraying them as an immediate answer to our energy needs is irrational.”

When asked about the safety of fracking in terms of water use and pollution he said, “The average well uses 185,000 gallons of water during the fracking process which is about one days water use by an 18-hole golf course. The 800 wells in California that used the fracking process last year used about 0.0005 percent of water that was consumed for residential, industrial, commercial, and agricultural usage in California. The state of Pennsylvania has the most stringent regulations for fracking and has not found that water pollution is a problem.”

We asked about earthquakes since this is California and Dr. Porter said, “The fracking process affects rock layers that are relatively shallow compared to the depth of an earthquake which usually takes place 3-20 miles under the earth’s surface. Fracking has been taking place in several areas of California including Kern County for many years and there has been no instance of fracking causing earthquakes.”

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For more information go to: www.winporter.com