This year’s presidential election will determine who our
country’s leader will be. Regardless of
who wins, the real power in our world is electricity.
Electricity is the one leader we cannot do without. We can change presidents and prime ministers
but could you imagine the state of world affairs if we lost power for a
substantial period of time? It would be very ugly.
The recent storms that ripped through the Midwest and Middle
Atlantic states left millions without electricity for up to a week. Ask any business or individual who didn’t
have power for a week how important electricity is to them today. They would kneel to the all powerful king.
The world’s economic and environmental future hinges on how
we continue to provide a steady, reliable stream of electricity for a growing
world. The world-wide consumption of
electricity doubled since 1980 and is expected to double again by 2030.
China doubled its electric power system between 2006 and
2010. India electric consumption will
increase fivefold from 2010 to 2030.
The United States electric needs sound modest in comparison
to developing countries. The U.S.
electricity consumption will increase by 1.4 percent a year for the next two
decades, according to Daniel Yergin in his book, “The Quest.” But don’t be fooled, it will not be easy to
produce. Yergin says the U.S. will need to build about
300 new standard-sized coal-fired plants or 150 nuclear reactors to meet that
increased consumption.
So how does the world get from here to there to meet it
insatiable hunger for electricity? Here
are two questions that need to be answered:
1.
What types of fuel will countries use to produce
their electricity needs? 2. How will the world pay for the estimated $14 trillion it will cost to accommodate this growth?
Electricity’s great strength is its flexibility. It is not a primary energy resource but one
that is made from other resources.
Coal, natural gas and uranium are today’s big three with coal supplying
45 percent of the power for electricity, followed by natural gas at 23 percent
and rising, and nuclear at 20 percent.
Hydropower supplies seven percent, wind approximately two percent and
oil one percent.
These primary resources are competing for a piece of the worldwide
$14 trillion electric pie. They all have
their pluses and minuses. Coal, natural
gas and nuclear are the big boys who are elbowing their way into position.
They are trying to elbow out renewable energies. The big three continue to say that renewable
energies are decades away from having a significant impact on the world’s
electricity needs.
This year’s presidential election will put Barack Obama and
Mitt Romney in a tight spot. Huge
contributions are coming in from the big energy producers. But 85 percent of the public wants renewable
energies to play a bigger role in meeting our energy needs.
The candidates are going to walk a tightrope in appeasing
big energy contributors while assuring the public that renewables will play a
part in our energy future. Listen
closely to the candidates and you should be able to tell who is paying for the
words that are coming out of their mouths.
Electricity is our sovereign ruler. We need it to live in our modern world. The need for more power is great so the
stakes are high. Our economic and
environmental future hinges on how we produce and pay for electricity. The king must be served.
John McGory is an Ohio Energy Soldier and a partner in Webface, an original content marketing company.
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