TOPIC 'Solar Energy' on Dec 19, 2008 (CET)
El Paso, Texas: Use Solar Energy Where Sun Is Abundant
It only makes good sense to utilize each renewable energy source where there is easy access to it. Wind farms need areas that consistently have good winds and strong breezes to operate to their fullest extent. Geothermal energy needs underground heated reservoirs that can be brought to the surface. Solar energy needs to be tapped where there is an abundance of sun for the majority of the year. El Paso, Texas is one such place.
The amount of fossil fuels is going to decrease, but the demand for energy isn’t. In fact, it is only anticipated to increase with the world’s growing population. Therefore, we need to find new sources of energy – clean, renewable sources of energy that will also aid the environment and the atmosphere around us.
The City of El Paso, for one example, has enormous energy needs. The city uses electricity, natural gas, gasoline, diesel, and compressed natural gas. Taxpayers pay for that energy, and the money comes from them to operate the city as well as their own homes. That’s just one more really good reason to pay attention to the energy choices a city makes.
The utility of El Paso Electric Company and Johnson Controls have devised a plan to reduce the amount of energy used by the city and save taxpayers approximately $1.7 million annually. The duo is going to accomplish this feat by heating nine pools throughout the city using solar energy. And why not? El Paso experiences a multitude of sunny days in its climate. Solar energy is free from the sun and it is renewable. El Paso should have been one of the first cities ever to take advantage of solar technology to save energy and save money. The pair’s plan also involves changing the way the city heats, cools, and lights its facilities. Street lights are going to be retrofitted.
El Paso’s Mayor, John Cook, expects the plan to reduce the city’s use of electricity by 18 million kW annually, plus have the added benefit of creating 110 new jobs. The reduction in energy use has also been estimated as having the same benefit as taking nearly 2,000 cars off the roads and eradicating 11,300 tons of air pollution each year. That’s a win-win-win and win scenario.
Sherry Irvin
on behalf of the
BascoTec Internet Limited
Technologie Park 13
33100 Paderborn
Germany
