CITIZENS FOR AFFORDABLE ENERGY: AN OVERVIEW

A History of Energy, CFAE Background, and a 21st Century Energy Plan

Section I

A Short History of Energy in the United States

175217481600s

BenjaminFranklin discovers lightning is electricity

Commercial production of coal begins in the U.S. near Richmond, Virginia

Late 1700s

Colonial America utilizes wood, coal, candles and whale oil. Wood is the most popular source of heat for homes into the late 1800s

The transition from wood to coal steam fuels the Industrial Revolution

1850s18211800s

Kerosene from petroleum steadily replaces whale oil as the chief illuminant in lamps. Some species of whale are hunted almost to extinction

Michael Faraday creates the first electric motor

Coal becomes the fuel of choice. It powers the railway system and fuels steam engines

1859

Edwin L. Drake drilled the world’s first oil well and launches the modern petroleum industry

189118821880

First windmill for power generation

Thomas Edison produces the first successful light bulb

1908

Henry Ford introduces the first successful mass production car

The Nation’s first coal-fired electric generating station opens in New York City

19151912 1941

A liquefied natural gas plant opens in West Virginia

The first petroleum refinery opens in California

A liquefaction plant for LNG opens in Cleveland, Ohio

1950s

Cars ownership expands; induced by interstate highwaysPhotovoltaic cells are invented (solar)

1970s1957 1979

The first nuclear power plant opens in the U.S.

Biofuels emerge as an alternative to oil; first Arab oil embargo 1973

A revolution in Iran leads to oil crisis

1980s

Three-mile island (largest nuclear accident in the U.S.)

Nuclear energy replaces hydropower as the second largest source of electricity in the U.S.

1986

Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster (considered the worst nuclear accident in history)

200720052000s1996

Price of natural gas hits a record high

Dramatic expansion of hydraulic fracking

Wind, solar, and biofuel develop-ments gain steam

The “Watts Bar” Plant, in Tennessee, is the last nuclear power plant to go online

70s, 80s, 90s, 00sThe system ages and the nation becomes oil import dependent

2011201120102008

Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explodes and results in largest U.S. oil spill ever

Worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl follows an earthquake and tsunami at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan

The average price of gasoline again nears $4/gallon

Price of crude oil hits record high of $147/barrel

• The Nation watches as the system ages with no plan for the future• The older the system, the higher the

risk of breakdown, endangering people and the environment

• The 21st century warrants an update and an upgrade• Robust energy supplies and latest

technologies provide unlimited opportunity for more sustainable, affordable energy

Today’s Energy System Is Aging Rapidly

• 20 million barrels of oil = 10,000 gallons per second

• 60 billion cubic feet of natural gas– Enough cubic feet to cover the distance from the Earth to moon

and back 25x a day

• A train car load of coal every 3 seconds (1200/hr)– 1200 railroad cars an hour = 28,000 railroad cars of coal every

day

• 600+ coal plants, average age: 39, design life 50• 104 nuclear plants, average age: 30+, design life 40 • Over 15000 wind turbines, less than 1% of supply• 1000s of acres of solar panels, less than 1% of supply

The Nation’s Daily Energy Demand

Section II

Citizens for Affordable Energy (CFAE):An Overview

Energy must be nonpartisan and non-political:

• Available, so the Nation is secure

• Affordable, so the Nation is competitive; so lifestyles endure

• Sustainable, so future generations are protected

CFAE Believes

More Energy from All Sources

More Technolog

y for Efficiency

More Environm

ental Protection

More Infrastruc

ture

CFAE: Four Mores

More Energy from All Sources

More Technolo

gy for Efficiency

More Environm

ental Protection

More Infrastruc

ture

CFAE: Four Mores

• Hydropower• Geothermal• Solar• Wind• Hydrogen

• Energy efficient homes and buildings

• More efficient use of land

• Energy efficient cars, equipment

• Oil• Coal• Gas• Nuclear• Biofuels

• Manage water, gaseous waste

• Utilize clean technology

• Capture, treat and store emissions

• New legal governance

• More, new energy infrastructure

• Commit to affordable, sustainable energy for all consumers, always

• Explain comprehensive energy, environmental solutions for national security and competiveness

• Educate general public, government, corporate and NGO officials and staff

• Engage all citizens through social media• Support energy from all sources, environmental

protection, and technology to increase efficiency• Support infrastructure to move energy from producers to

consumers• Activate informed citizens to influence policy

CFAE: Education for All

• Become informed about energy and environmental basics through reading, websites, webinars, discussions

• Share Four Mores information with family, friends and community through personal engagement and outreach

• Become a CFAE Ambassador, equipped and committed to educate others

• Start a Voluntary Association of friends and colleagues to expand outreach potential and opportunities to engage

• Maintain non-partisan commitment to education

• Solicit funding support from consumer companies, individuals

What CFAE and You Can Do

What CFAE Does Not Do

• Lobby for specific legislation • Serve or support partisan

party positions or initiatives• Promote ideology of any

political party• Accept financial support

from energy producers• Limit technology or sources

of energy• Limit supply or demand• Align with narrow special

interests• Make political contributions

CFAE and Public Policy

• The future of energy is dependent on sound public policy

– Individuals have to inform officials about public policy needs at the local, state and federal level

• The energy supply system is fragmented, competitive and commercial

– Policy needs to be comprehensive, systemic and holistic

• The history of public policy has been fragmented, combative and special interest driven

– Future public policy should serve the general public while remaining commercially supplied

Failure to Produce Comprehensive Public Policy in the United States

Section III

The Perversity of Partisanship

• The last 40 years have seen continuous public policy failure:

– 8 Presidents and 19 Congresses have failed to produce energy policy at the national level, since the first Arab oil embargo

– State programs are all over the map– Local programs are sporadic and often unachievable

• CFAE supports sustainable and affordable energy policy through:

– An informed citizenry– Emphasis on

planning and execution of the plan

– Fundamental democratic reform of federal governance

Addressing Public Policy Failure

• Energy policy needs to incorporate the Four Mores: supply, infrastructure, environmental protection, technology

• Energy policy requires plans at the federal, state and local levels, leveraging off a national strategy for energy, where plans are:

– Short-term: 0 - 10 years

– Medium-term: 10 - 25 years

– Long-term: 25 - 50 years

• Energy policy has to override short term political time priorities to achieve energy time solutions

• Energy policy needs to eliminate the partisanship that so frustrates the public interest

• Energy policy has to rise above special interest to deliver on the general interest

Towards Sound Energy Policy

An Energy System for the 21st Century and New Federal Governance

Section IV

The First More: More Energy From All Sources is Essential

• Oil• Coal• Gas• Nuclear• Biofuels

• Hydropower• Geothermal• Solar• Wind• Hydrogen

The Second More: More Technology For Efficiency

• The most affordable energy is the energy we never use

– When efficiency in the use of energy means that we use less, we save the costs of what we don't use.

– We also defer the availability of that energy to the future.

• The most effective conservation that we could ever consider is that of adopting efficient technology in all of our devices, homes, buildings, vehicles and pursuits that consume energy.

• There is extraordinary potential for energy conservation and energy savings through technology and innovation

• We’ll nonetheless still need more energy because populations increase

The Third More: More Environmental Protection for Land, Water and Air

• Energy and the environment present ongoing and sustained challenges to producers, transporters and consumers and future generations

– Some forms of energy are produced from the destruction of molecules. Thus there are environmental impact issues to be dealt with. Other forms of energy require infrastructure that impacts the landscape. Still other forms dam rivers or create nuclear waste.

– As the future unfolds so-called "clean" or "green" forms of energy also have environmental impacts that need to be managed.

• We believe that technology and regulation must go a long way to controlling, reducing and even capturing and storing emissions

• Voluntarism is noble, but not enough

The Fourth More: More Infrastructure

• Energy is produced where it is most efficient to produce it

– Most times it is a long way from the consumer

– Most people prefer to avoid proximity to infrastructure

• Infrastructure refers to the structures that produce, store, and distribute energy from where it is produced to where it is consumed

– Infrastructure includes platforms to produce oil and gas, coal mines, pipelines, rail lines and rail yards, transformers, poles and lines, ethanol distilleries, wind and solar farms, liquefied natural gas terminals, dams, nuclear plants, and “green spaces” that often surround critical infrastructure

Fundamental Reform of Energy Governance is Required

• Politics as usual will not deliver the 21st century energy system the nation needs

• Drawing from history, democratic reform can utilize the Independent Regulatory Commission model

• The independent commission works for society and citizens, not for “politics as usual” or politicians

• Expert governors are accountable for results not rhetoric

Congress should create authorities for an independent commission to deliver a plan to provide:

1. More supply from all sources

2. More technology to deliver efficiency

3. More environmental protection for land, water and air

4. More infrastructure to deliver energy

Governance Reform Requires Legislation

• Legal creation of an independent regulatory commission established by Congress, signed into law by the President to manage the nation’s energy and environmental future by establishing:

– An independent national board of governors and eight regional boards

– Authorities to govern a short, medium and long term energy plan for the nation

• Governors are Presidential appointees, with Senate Advice and Consent, including subject matter experts in energy, science, technology, consumerism, environment, business and finance

– Governor terms are 14 years– Chairman’s term is 4 years

Governance Reform: Independent Commission

• Regional Boards work with and across states to enable state planning and regional integration

• In like manner, state agencies work with local governments on local planning and integration

• Companies do what they've always done: produce energy and equipment, and build infrastructure while protecting the environment, guided by the short, medium and long term plan for the nation

• Citizen activation and influence insures successful launch and sustained oversight

Governance Reform Practicalities

Mobilizing for Action: What Can You Do?

Section V

• Become better informed and well read. Learn the Four Mores. http://www.citizensforaffordableenergy.org/

• Submit articles of interest on all kinds of energy, technology, environment and infrastructure to CFAE

• Become a CFAE Ambassador; Form a Voluntary Association

• Reach out to friends, associations and community groups

• Inform your friends and followers about CFAE on Facebook and Twitter!• Blog on Facebook and Twitter

• Stay connected for new information and developments

• Activate your citizenship in ways you’ve always wanted to.

Get Involved and Shape Future Energy Policy

http://www.citizensforaffordableenergy.org/

Become An Informed Energy Citizen: Read And Spread the Word

http://www.citizensforaffordableenergy.org/

Become An Informed Energy Citizen: Read And Spread the Word