Energy prices are on the rise!

November 20, 2008

Brace yourself! Energy prices will rise; Conservation grants go unclaimed! An energy projects engineer representing the Kansas Corporation Commission says Kansas businesses and farmers in rural areas are missing an opportunity to take advantage of federal loans and grants to upgrade to more efficient energy systems.

While energy is “cheap” now, it will inevitably rise again, and conservation technology is the best way to cut energy costs, Gary Hogsett told the weekly Chamber Forum attendees Wednesday morning.

“We don’t pay enough for ennergy in this country,” he said.

Hogsett said oil production has peaked in American and all over the world but demand continues to climb.

“We’re in a world of hurt,” he said.

Hogsett said the world has pumped far more oil than has been discovered each year for the past 30 years so the price of oil and gasoline and energy will inevitably climb in coming years.

Oil discovery peaked in 1949 in the U.S., 1962 in the rest of the world and oil production in the U.S. peaked in 1970, Hogsett said.

Hogsett said moe energy is wasted in the U.S. than used efficiently and that conservation measures will be necessary no matter what future sources of energy are discovered or applied.

He said coal is the cheapest energy source but extremely inefficient with the best power plant only 35 percent efficient. He showed statistics showing that by the time coal power makes it into a room as light, only two percent of the energy taken out of the ground has been productively used by the consumer.

Hogsett said the USDA has energy grant money available for businesses and farmers in rural Kansas to implement more efficient energy systems, but that very few have taken advanage of the funds. Hogsett’s task is to make the program better known and provide expert advice to those interested in applying for the program.

“Iowa claimed $30 million last year,” he said. “Kansas claimed about $30,000.”

“They are having a hard time giving the money away,” Hogsett said.

Grants can pay up to 25% of th eproject cost of conversion to more efficient energy systems or insulation plus loan for another 50 percent of a project.

Virtually any business or farm is a potential recipient of the money and Hogsett received several requests from the Forum attendees to visit local businesses Wednesday afternoon to make suggestions.

Hogsett said the choice of light fixtures can vary widely in efficiency. A cheap fixture may be 50 percent efficient, a more expensive fixture can be up to 95 percent efficient with the installation of specially shaped reflectors, he said.

He said a better ballast can also be used to reduce energy waste up to 75 percent. He said windows are now being made with a R value of 30, better insulation values than walls.

And he said new “hybrid lighting” technology allows commercial buildings to collect sunlight in dishes on the roof, pass the light through fiber optics and into a room with no windows. The systems also use electric fluorescent bulbs with sensors that dim and brighten as the sunlight brightens and fades as clouds pass maintaining, a steady light source.

He said boilers, mostly 60 percent efficient, are available today that are 90 percent efficient. – Source: Clay Center Dispatch Thursday, November 20, 2008.