to think big...or not?

[Tim Ryan]

i am wondering about everyone's specific stance on the think big solutions that we currently have in place from the energy companies...they're all building wind farms and dams on the large scale for export to areas away from the production grounds...energy is lost during transmission over distance...so how about smaller scale production of energy closer to the areas that need it the most? currently otago exports 70% of the energy produced in the region to canterbury and southland...can there be a solution to this...can a small town have a small generation plant(s) near it and the same with cities...i am tired of all of us having to fight for our environment when the solution may be right in front of us...we are facing the extinction of our rivers for the profit of the few if a solution cannot be found soon...

[Daniel Howard]

Reducing usage is the most economically viable way to solve this issue. For every dollar spent reducing consumption, we save between four and five dollars being spent on new generation and distribution - source - Mike Underhill - EECA

Of course one of the biggest drivers in increased consumption is actually our growing population. Our per-capita energy use has remained relatively constant since the 1970s. If we reduced the growth in the number of people in the country, many of these resource and energy issues would disappear.
We just keep biggering and biggering....any ideas on palatable ways to solve that issue will be welcomed!

[Raven]

One thing I've come to agreement with myself over lately is that by and by the most efficient use of our time as community activists is to work on small community related projects like energy generation. Because most communities have groups of people interested in this sort of thing I envisage a growing map of NZ/the World that is covered in little red dots of self sufficientish communities that each have solutions specific to their communities landscapes and environments. I kinda see it as big solutions and big problems have got us in this state to start with and we need to readjust our thinking to community scale while still keeping global perspectives and communication through internet technologies. I think this would build resilience as well to future issues, because there will always be challenges and things to deal with in communities on a global and local scale.

Also I thought that the developed world has a very slow population growth and it is the developing countries growing exponentially, i'm not sure how this factors into the per capita energy use stat but perhaps one way of solving NZ specifically is to look at efficiency, i can't imagine how much energy is lost getting energy from the Clyde dam to the North Island through the cook straight etc etc. Big industry such as the Tiwai Smelter also have a large part to play in this as the gobble up so much energy, an ecological economic analysis maybe needs to be done taking into account the cost of providing that energy to them, the benefit of the jobs versus the cost of finding alternative jobs and the environmental costs of the smelter operation.

[Jay Robinson]

... what she said. :-)

spot on, Raven!

[Richard]

Medium sized power generation suited to the bioregion it services is definetely the way to go.Its how the world used to operate. Take a walk through the Basin DoC reserve in Kerikeri and you'll find an old hydro unit dating from the late 20's that used to power the town. My understanding is there is old generation equipment spotted throughout NZthat is quietly rusting away.

An excellent book on contemporary examples of local and municiple power generation is Greg Pahl's, The Citizen Powered Energy Handbook.

Pahl demonstrates that such strategies are not only improving sustainability of the energy supply but are often providing significant economic returns to communities that invest in them.

Given our water and wind potential, I think there is huge opportunities for communities all around NZ to collectively invest in appropriate scaled energy infrastructure and thereby invest in the economic prosperity and the resilience of their regions.

Cheers
Richard

[Tim Ryan]

Thanks for your replies. They all make sense to me.

I am thinking that community development of energy generation needs to be re-introduced. I feel that it starts again in our own backyards. Then on to the sewerage ponds and rubbish tips (biomass and plasma gasification).

Are we as communities able to enhance the power of the sun in ways and forms different to solar panels on roof tops, to power a few houses at a time? Then store energy for days where the sun doesn't shine so bright?

How about Waitati? The Waitati community are developing a wind generation project...

Can we enhance energy from rainfall?

To me it comes back to energy conservation and storage...big batteries in the backyard...flow batteries

Reduction in energy usage is fantastic, it save loads of everything. However there are people out there who don't know of these benefits and others that don't care to learn of them, they have hot taps dripping and unwrapped hot water cylinders, all the plugs turned on at the wall when appliances are turned off...how do we, the people that care, break through to educate these people, it isn't easy, and until it happens, all of our environment is under threat. Maybe they are educated by TV, but do they listen? hmmm...paradox