Knowledge Is Power
Harvest Knowledge Is Power Newsletter Excerpts Aside from food, water, and shelter, is there anything more fundamental to our modern lives than electricity? The fulfillment of virtually all basic...
...According to the State Lands Commission, over 95 percent of the historic salmon and steelhead spawning habitat in California's Central Valley has been eliminated by the construction of dams on rivers...
...If these consumers seek a cleaner, more environmentally friendly industry than the one we have been subject to heretofore, then the task at hand is to identify which power providers offer "green" electricity...
...On the state level, this legislation effectively enables regulatory authorities to introduce competition into the retail (consumer) electricity market...
...California law stipulates that only hydroelectric power produced by plants less than 30 megawatts (MW) in size qualifies as renewable, assuming smaller hydro projects will cause less environmental damage...
...Little wonder, then, that companies such as Southern California Edison, Green Mountain Power, and others have launched massive advertising campaigns to lull unsuspecting consumers into purchasing some not-so-earth-friendly energy...
...Unfortunately, in marketing this "green power," many electricity providers misleadingly tout hydropower as clean and green...
...Since HQ provides power to several New England states, and consumer choice is a reality in Massachusetts and pending in New Hampshire, Maine, and Rhode Island, accountability to consumers will increasingly affect the activities of industry and regulatory officials...
...By choosing electricity products with the Green-e logo, Californians will purchase at least four times more renewable energy than is included in the current mix, and will help to dramatically reduce air pollution...
...Hydropower production involves the construction of large dams and reservoirs, which has led to the devastation of several hundreds of miles of California rivers...
...In order for consumers to help make this prediction come true, they need to be informed...
...That is until the National Energy Policy Act of 1992 introduced wholesale competition among electric utilities, bringing an end to utility monopolies...
...The Green-e Renewable Electricity Branding Project was established in order to encourage consumer confidence when it comes to purchasing green electricity...
...Such concerns led forward-looking environmentalists, consumer advocates, and industry participants to develop a simple way to communicate to the general public that they were, indeed, purchasing "green" power from credible companies...
...This last excerpt from Vermont-based Food & Water's Winter 1997 issue of Food & Water Journal is a poignant tongue-in-cheek commentary that reveals the subtlety of power-broker propaganda...
...Every utility is required by the Federal Trade Commission to include qualifications and disclosures in their green marketing claims...
...Although this excerpt paints a grim picture of hydropower as a contributor to the greater pool of renewable resources, the situation pales in comparison to some of the underhanded activity surrounding energy supply conditions in Vermont, where deregulation legislation has not yet passed...
...It may seem overwhelming to try and sort out the various issues surrounding energy in this dynamic time of deregulation and expanding opportunities...
...After approval of the $4 billion (U.S...
...by Maureen Rose, which questions the validity of hydropower as a "clean," renewable energy source in the expanding alternative energy market...
...The old adage "buyer beware" has never been more appropriate nor more complicated...
...beneath the lines provides valuable habitat for birds that would otherwise be extinct, rare butterflies, great expanses of berry bushes, and mammals from shrews to moose...
...Unfortunately, it will be difficult to choose a new utility that does not sell energy generated from hydropower dams...
...It's not surprising then to discover confusion, contention, and intentional obfuscation surrounding issues related to energy...
...The trick will be to educate yourself on the merits and faults of the various power options available to you...
...While producing power from our rivers might seem clean because there are no smokestacks or radioactive wastes, hydro still disrupts critical water temperatures, impedes geomorphic processes, disturbs natural nutrient distribution, and finally— and simply—kills fish...
...While Green-e does not represent an end to energy problems, it is a necessary step toward an efficient, renewable, nonpolluting energy industry...
...With a growing number of electric companies vying for consumer dollars, Green-e helps individuals winnow through the deluge of marketing propaganda...
...Consumers in California and Massachusetts are the first to be given the opportunity to choose their energy providers...
...Within the next decade, experts predict the market for green power will double...
...Vermont utilities contract by the regulators, legislative bodies, and utilities—it is no coincidence—the $3 billion SM3 project was announced...
...from HEADWATERS With the onset of energy deregulation in California comes the freedom to choose a new electrical utility company, plus the responsibility to wisely choose where your power comes from...
...Friends Of The River's uncompromising stance on hydropower will hopefully compel consumers to recognize the extensive ecological impacts of dams...
...In addition to Green-e, there is a growing number of resources available to help individuals learn about utility deregulation and local or regional energy sources (see sidebar on page 4...
...What are grassroots groups doing to bring clarity to these complex issues...
...Companies using the Green-e logo will be monitored by an independent oversight board—the Green Power Board...
...The Vermont Consumer's Coalition for Energy Responsibility has called for the revocation of the VJO's license to buy and sell power from HQ and an investigation into all negotiations and deals between the VJO and HQ...
...But the most significant jump forward was the Ste...
...With deregulation imminent in another 14 states and increasing public interest in renewable energy sources, expanding consumer choice poses a very real threat to long-standing utility fiefdoms...
...In a 1989 letter from HQ, it was explained what the effect would be: five projects in all were pushed ahead in their construction schedule, three of them by three or more years...
...Hydropower, for example, while renewable and nonpollut-ing, is not necessarily an ecologically benign choice...
...This Harvest examines issues surrounding utility deregulation and energy suppliers...
...Yet utilities bearing the Green-e logo offer mixed energy sources including hydropower...
...Thus far, relatively few have enjoyed fantastic profit from this fourth basic human need...
...Some naturalists say the land According to some, "the grasslands, shrubs, and meadows of the power lines play a vital role in supporting New England wildlife...
...Recent surveys indicate that, given the choice, Californians would like to choose environmentally friendly (labeled "alternative" and "renewable") energy sources...
...from CLEAN POWER GUIDE Skeptics might wonder how they really know if they are getting what they are paying for when they choose electricity touted as good for the environment...
...So far, seven California companies have signed on to the program, including: Green Mountain Energy Resources, Enron Energy Services, PG&E Energy Services, Sacramento Municipal Utility District, and Edison Source...
...Marguerite Three (SM3) project, begun three years ahead of schedule...
...The total possible increase in transmission available for passage through Vermont could be from 500 to 6,200 MWU (Vermont's total electric consumption is between 750 and 1,000 MW...
...But, by understanding thoroughly the choices available under the deregulation regime, and opting for nonpolluting, renewable energy, households and businesses will have the opportunity to help establish a cleaner energy market and work toward closing the era of dirty power...
...What changes will need to be made in the way local regulators and industry officials approach their work...
...Currently, 16 states have either launched comprehensive electricity restructuring programs or pilots to assess the feasibility of introducing competition...
...In 1996, coal generated 56% of U.S...
...Any company that does not disclose the true source of their energy should be ignored...
...If these utilities have deceived the public in the past, how are consumers to trust any future claims of providing green power...
...What we have always known is that there was some underhanded, behind-the-scenes, profit-driven motive behind the deal...
...HQ, Green Mountain Power (GMP), and Central Vermont Public Service (CVPS) have done extensive studies of possible increases in Vermont's transmission capacity to other New England states and New York...
...This is only the beginning...
...The myriad of terms such as renewable, clean, and alternative all suggest power that does not harm the environment...
...Most of the wildlife I've seen in New Hampshire, I've seen beneath the lines," said Ellen O'Donnell, wildlife biologist for a New Hampshire power company...
...The fulfillment of virtually all basic human needs in our time depends on an unlimited supply of free-flowing power...
...Yet, what is clear from this excerpt is the bottom-line mindset of utility and power companies...
...electricity, hydropower generated 10.8%, and other renewable sources generated .2...
...The Green-e program is designed to make that happen...
...Once energy is generated, it goes into the California Power Exchange for distribution by various utility companies, eliminating the customer's ability to track its source...
...In order for companies to qualify to use the Green-e logo on a green product, they must prove that at least 50 percent of the electricity supply for the product was generated by power sources that meet the California definition for "renewable resources...
...This was never admitted publicly, however...
...Since hydropower looms as a potentially popular energy source (and certainly a popular marketing device), it is critical that people start doing their homework before making choices Within the next decade, experts predict the market for green power will double...
...If these expert predictions hold true, consumers can leverage their strength to become a pivotal force in helping to "reform an industry that is the single largest source of air pollution in the U.S.—and the world," according to V. John White, executive director of CEERT...
...To sort through the tangled ecological and political offenses of HQ and the VJO might take several years...
...Friends of the River's Winter 1998 issue of Headwaters contains an article titled "If It's Green, Is It Clean...
...At present, about 11 percent of California's electricity is generated from renewable resources such as solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass...
...At the time, it was known internally by HQ, by the VJO, and by the PSB, that the contract would have an effect on HQ's expansion plans...
...So put on your hiking shoes and take a stroll beneath the buzzing lines...
...And maybe amidst the berry brambles, red-winged blackbirds, and bear scat you'll forget about the much wider expanses of diverse ecologies lost to development and the mighty dams of Hydro Quebec...
...Did you know...
...As a result, retail utility deregulation is occurring on a state level...
...from NITASSINAN NEWS Vermont has the only long-term contract with Hydro Quebec in New England, and Vermont utilities are presently under investigation for the prudence to enter into a 30-year, inflexible contract with HQ, which has proven an economic disaster for Vermont...
...Approval of the contract by the Public Service Board (PSB) was contingent on the understanding that Vermont's power purchases would not lead to any further construction by HQ...
...from FOOD & WATER JOURNAL Thanks to the Hydro Quebec power plant, birds, butterflies, beasts, and berries have found a place in the hundreds of thousands of acres underneath high-voltage power lines carving up the landscape between Massachusetts and Canada...
...But first we must agree on what green means...
...Green-e adheres to this classification, but according to the next excerpt, this assumption is up for debate...
...This year, GMP's and CVPS's rate cases have involved a prudence review of the decision to enter into the HQ contract...
...According to some, "the grasslands, shrubs, and meadows of the power lines play a vital role in supporting New England wildlife...
...What are energy companies doing to confuse consumers, and why...
...If grassroots groups continue to offer the insight and customers pay attention to the details, we can shift the currents of the energy market to respond not simply to human needs, but the needs of the entire ecological community, lift —MD...
...Power companies have historically been ruled by their short-term economic interests—a fact that we must keep in mind as we move toward deregulation on a broad scale...
...The question remains as to whether anyone is going to come forward and hold themselves accountable...
...The project represents the nation's first voluntary certification and verification program for green power...
...Absent are the flow variations that trigger natural growth and reproduction cycles of aquatic species...
...In fact, it was vigorously denied...
...In the Winter/Spring 1998 issue of Clean Power Guide, distributed by the California-based Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies (CEERT), Jan Hamrin introduces the "Greene" renewable energy endorsement, explaining that it can be a signpost for consumers who want to make environmentally friendly energy choices in a deregulated market...
...In the March 1998 issue of Friends of Nitassinan's Nitassinan News, John Clark reports on the collusion between Hydro Quebec (HQ) and a group of 15 utilities collectively called the Vermont Joint Owners (VJO...
...With this choice comes the ability to support the kind of energy sources they would like to see utilized...
...that could encourage the use of more environmentally damaging hydropower throughout the state...
...Never mind the "incessant crackle" of electricity snapping, the medical studies that say humans should not live anywhere near these lines, or the herbicides and heavy machinery used to keep the land beneath power lines free of trees, because, according to a recent article in the Boston Globe, "Power lines serve nature...
Vol. 2 • June 1998 • No. 3
