We are at a critical juncture in terms of power generation . An urgent need exists to expand our power supply and yet we must also address rising energy costs, volatile oil prices, environmental strain and the challenges posed by terrorism.
Most of the remedies for tackling this crisis rely on traditional methods of producing electricity, such as burning coal or investing in nuclear power. But these options are costly, particularly when one factors in their environmental impact.
It is time to consider the merits of a new paradigm, which would both solve this problem and improve our ability to generate power. Instead of building more of the same, we must re-think how we produce power. We need to create a distributed system of energy production where individual homes can be turned into renewable energy generators.
In the past, the up-front costs associated with installing small- to medium-sized renewable energy systems were prohibitive. However, Zerofootprint Energy has devised a solution to overcome this challenge, making the widespread adoption of geothermal energy a cost-efficient and viable option.
An analogy comparing our current electricity generation capabilities to the mainframe era of computing helps illuminate this vision for change.
In the early days of computing, there were comparatively few giant mainframes. Those that existed were typically found in special air-conditioned rooms and were owned by large organizations. Users could only network to them via their terminals – although the mainframes themselves were not networked. When the mainframe went down, which happened often, employees lost the capacity to work.
Electricity generation through centralized power plants works in much the same way. Although we are hooked into them through a network called the grid, the plants are single points of failure – if one goes down, hundreds of thousands of people can be without electricity. Case in point: the devastating Quebec ice storm in 1999 and the 2003 blackout that shut down much of the eastern seaboard for several days.
Centralized power plants, like mainframes, are difficult to expand. If usage increases, more giant plants must be built at tremendous cost and with long lead times.
In computing, these vulnerabilities were recognized and addressed. Today, many people have access to one or more computers, as well as multiple ways of getting onto the internet. If additional users come along, they can simply hook their machines onto a network and become part of the system. Decentralization has also helped computer networks become more reliable and less risky. Now the internet is never down. Even in a crisis like 9/11, when local telephone networks were severed, workers could communicate wirelessly, using handheld e-mail devices.
In revising our approach to energy, we could benefit substantially from considering the lessons learned by the computer and communications industries. By moving away from a centralized model and investing in small-scale, localized systems, our power generation would become more efficient, reliable and flexible. Polluting power plants could be replaced with clean energy from a series of distributed renewable energy generators, taking a massive load off the grid.
This localized model could also be more easily expanded than our current centralized power systems. If a city were to build 1000 more houses, each with geothermal and solar facilities, it would not only address the demand of 1000 new consumers, but it would also create 1000 more generators.
Greening Communities with Geothermal Power
Zerofootprint specializes in making renewable energy systems financially accessible to builders and homeowners. One way it is doing this is by investing in neighbourhood-centred power projects, initiatives which might seem small-scale to begin with, but that will have the potential to play a major role in combating climate change, stabilizing the country’s outdated power supply, and promoting ground-level support for new energy alternatives.
Zerofootprint is currently spearheading a pilot project to replace natural gas heating and cooling with geothermal power in the houses of approximately 20 homeowners in Toronto’s Little Italy neighborhood. The plan is simple: Zerofootprint pays the costs associated with the renewable energy unit and its installation. Homeowners participating in the project will be charged a fixed monthly-rate for several years – usually from 10 to 12 years – which will be less than what they are paying now for natural gas. The homeowners also benefit because they will be protected from rising gas prices, which have increased steeply since the 1990s.
The initial response to the idea has been incredibly strong. People are particularly excited by the fact that they are taking part in a project that has never been done before and that will demonstrate the ability of citizens to step up to the plate and promote positive environmental reform. The waiting list for a second session is already full.
The considerable interest in this initiative comes from consumers’ rising awareness of the benefits of using geothermal energy. Geothermal systems are highly economical for heating and cooling, require little maintenance, have long service lives, and reduce energy consumption by 35 to 70 per cent compared to traditional systems. They depend only minimally on electricity and do not require commodity fuels like oil or gas. Instead, they take advantage of the fact that a few meters below ground the earth’s temperature remains relatively constant and can be tapped to provide us with heating and cooling.
Turning to communities to help solve our power problems will help decentralize the nuclear and coal-fired power plants that have become outdated and remain costly to both consumers and our environment. It will also help members of the community rally around a common goal and mobilize the resources that are needed to effectuate change. Installing geothermal energy systems is simple and as sustainable as it gets.
As Zerofootprint’s initiative in Little Italy demonstrates, communities are quickly beginning to realize the control they have over their power sources and the power they have over their environment.
Dr. Ron Dembo is the Founder and CEO of Zerofootprint (www.zerofootprint.net) and Zerofootprint Energy (www.zerofootprintenergy.com). Both organizations provide programs, products, services and information to individuals and companies that want to reduce their environmental impact.