Renewables

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Ensuring reliable and affordable energy for PowerSouth's members

One of PowerSouth’s strengths is a diversified long-term power supply strategy. We use a variety of fuels to provide power to our 20 distribution members, and renewables are in the mix. Technology is advancing at an amazing rate, and we are committed to expanding our renewable energy resources.

Today's proposed environmental regulations increasingly make fossil-fired electricity generation prohibitively expensive. As a result, renewable or “green” energy becomes more cost-competitive. While some may consider that an admirable goal, PowerSouth’s concern is that the cost of renewable energy is significantly higher than traditional generation methods...and consumers will pay that higher cost.

•  In December 2010, Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu proposed a clean energy standard that includes a mandate for utilities to use 25 percent clean energy by 2025 and 50 percent by 2050. Chu cites renewable energy as a means to reduce carbon emissions and foreign energy use.

•  The Beacon Hill Institute predicts that consumers would face $175 per month in higher electric bills as a direct result of the incurred renewable energy costs under a 20 percent renewable energy mandate.

•  The Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimated that a 25 percent renewable energy mandate would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by only 4.9 percent by 2030. Further, since electricity is generated almost entirely from domestic resources and petroleum provides only about 1 percent of generation needs, a renewable energy standard would have no impact on America’s dependence on foreign oil.

Geography also puts the Southeast at a disadvantage when it comes to renewable resources. Renewable plants must be located where the resources are best suited (with the strongest and steadiest winds or where the sun shines longer and more intensely), not necessarily close to where the power is used. Even in places where renewable energy sources are plentiful – like the Midwest – the infrastructure is not in place to transport the energy from the source to consumers.

In 2008, PowerSouth entered into the Story County Wind Energy Center located in Story County, Iowa. The project is owned and operated by a subsidiary of FPL Energy. PowerSouth’s PPA is for 20 megawatts of the wind farm’s output. We are committed to expanding our renewable energy resources as long as we can continue to provide cost-effective, reliable power to our consumers. This project allows us to obtain the benefits of wind power without the larger risks.

PowerSouth supports a realistic approach to energy policy – with consideration for the impact on reliability and cost for consumers, and we continue  to research opportunities to pursue renewable generation where they are consistent with our commitment to provide safe, reliable and affordable power to our members.

Solar  |  Wind  |  Biomass  |  Hydro