• Cheaper HEA bills forever
• Fewer Outages
• Cleaner, safer environment
Until today those three things together was not an option. Choose two today and third one will happen “someday.” The difference today is “someday” just snuck into today. Yes, we can, and should have all three. All it takes is an HEA Director with a key to unlock the new technology.
Clean renewable energy has always been cheaper than fossil fuel to produce. The weak link was inefficient and very expensive batteries to store and transfer the energy. That is the sole reason fossil dominated the past eleven decades.
Dramatic change happened because batteries dropped from $1,100 per kilowatt hour in 2010 to $150 by 2019. They are now closing in on $100 which is price parity with fossil fuels. That explains why Ford is coming out next year with the 100% electric F-150 pick up truck. GM is reviving the Hummer as a crazy powerful 1,000 horsepower, all electric, exhaust free, eco vehicle making the tiny Toyota Prius appear to be a polluting gas hog by comparison.
Last year was peak oil demand. The world will never again sell that much oil although energy demand is growing. Growth in demand is already being more than offset with clean renewable fuel, almost all solar with a little wind thrown in. Tidal power, hydrogen conversion, hot springs, and chicken burps can all be converted to electricity but only at insane prices. Not going to happen.
Meanwhile, Stanford University announced the perfecting of an anti-solar panel which creates electricity at night and on cloudy days. It uses thermoradiative cells versus traditional cells employing photovoltaic cells. Combined, the two produce useable electricity 24/7 and will lessen, or even eliminate, batteries.
You, as co-owner of HEA will be better served having one or more directors up to speed on the rapidly changing electrical world. As cell phones disrupted land line telephones, and computers obsoleted encyclopedias, changes, challenges, and opportunities will transform HEA more profoundly in the next seven years than has happened in the past seven decades.
The newly feasible mini grids can now help HEA contribute to lower costs with better reliable service and fewer outages. Remote or seasonal work such as fish processing plants, mines, tourism sites, smaller communities, etc. can now use smaller solar powered generation backed up with new technology lithium ion batteries.
I am finishing writing a book about all I’ve learned in the 700-1,000 hours of intense research into the freight train of opportunity about to run over us. Do read the resumes of the candidates in district three. You have three pretty good guys to choose from, and if you’d like my help I’m ready to go.
I pledge to open a blog between HEA members and the administration. I operated the ADN blog “Alaska Root Cellar” years ago. It was mostly about sustainable energy concepts in the “someday.” Now that “someday” is today I’d love to be an open window between you and our HEA administration.
Pete Kinneen is a candidate for the Homer Electric Association Board, District 3.
