Eco-pioneer David Freeman
For those who want cheap electricity and a competitive economy the answer isn’t in hanging on to fossil fuel technology but harnessing the free sun and wind, says David Freeman one of country’s eco-pioneers.
“We’ve built a better mouse trap, solar and wind on a life-cycle basis, which is the only way you should measure are ,” said Freeman.
Freeman, now 88, was in Denver recently and talked about the energy changes in the four-decade arc of his career.
In 1977, Freeman was appointed chairman of the Tennessee Valley Administration, the federally owned power company that serves seven southeastern states and he was instrumental in stopping the eight large nuclear power plants and introducing energy conservation programs.
Over two decades Freeman served as general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the New York Power Authority and Sacramento Municipal Utility District.
“The march of progress in the package of technology – solar, wind storage and efficiency – has greatly exceeded my expectations. It is almost heartbreaking to see a debate that doesn’t reflect the technology,” Freeman said. “Even without the climate issue renewable energy makes sense.”
“The shape on the cost of wind or a solar project is very similar to the shape of the cost of a dam,” he said. “A dam is 98 percent capital, a wind or solar plant is 70 or 80 percent capital. The debate doesn’t reflect free fuel.”
Despite their reliance on coal, China, Freeman said, was committed to building 50,000 megawatts of renewable energy and in 30 years from now they will have a virtually fuel-free economy.
“The fight is going to be whether the American economy is strong in the world market,” Freeman continued. “So all the focus is on a negative, we’ve got to do this because we are going to get cooked. It is probably true but thatap a hard sell. If it hasn’t happened yet there is a lot of skepticism. But I don’t need to believe Al Gore to be for the future being renewable because it is lower cost.”
“The debate shouldn’t be around whether the average American is willing to pay more, because thatap the wrong question. We are going to pay more if we stick to yesterday’s technology.”
A big part of the problem is the utility industry which “seems to be dead from the neck up,” Freeman said.
“Here’s the problem, I was a poor graduate of Georgia Tech, in the middle of my class and I got a job with a utility,” Freeman said. “Utility executives are not by nature entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs go into other business.”
This, however, is a time that utilities ought to be embarking on new programs and as residential demand for electricity flattens, due to efficiency programs and rooftop solar panels, be promoting new markets, such as electric vehicles and railroads.
“They have a sophisticated victim mentality,” Freeman said. “My commission won’t reward that. They feel regulated, they are but it is up to them to be proactive. Thatap what we are up against.”
State utility commissions, which oversee utility companies approving their projects and setting rates, also have to find ways to create incentives for renewable energy and new ways to use it.
Freeman had harsh words for the utility industry’s. “It is supposed to be cleaner than coal, but it is still burning a fossil fuel,” he said. “Natural gas isn’t a step forward, it is a step sideways.”
“The electric power industry has a choice to embrace the future and lead it or face extinction and I don’t know they see that starkly yet, though many of them are beginning to be worried Though, they are worried and many of them are putting up defense mechanism.
“The technology has advanced so much that the real issue is whether the electric power industry which sells electricity will shift from defense to offense. It is going to happen,” Freeman said. “The question is how long is it going to take for the transition and in the meantime are we going to cook.”
