It’s finally summer. The two most basic things that we enjoy having are sunshine during the day and air-conditioning around the clock.
The weather is beyond our control.
However, when it comes to air-conditioning it is a privilege that we have and very often abuse.
In addition, if some people have their say, we may not have much electricity in the future to keep things cool.
Utility companies urge us to cut down on our use of air conditioning, but most people don’t pay attention. Many energy users will keep the air on when they leave their home, just to make sure that they will return to a cool bedroom or living room.
To keep the air flowing we need electric power and it has to come from somewhere.
Right now, we rely on either natural gas or nuclear power to generate the energy to heat and cool our homes.
There is no immediate substitute for these plants. Many of those plants are aging quickly and will have to be shut down.
So what happens then?
Environmental groups tell us that we need more solar and wind power and that those two sources will meet our energy needs.
However, if you follow the news on Long island, there isn’t much hope for either type of power.
About 10 years ago the Long Island Power Authority proposed that windmills be built out in the Atlantic Ocean not far from Jones Beach. That announcement was greeted with enormous protests.
I still remember attending two hearings on the South Shore attended by almost 1,000 people.
They complained that the windmills would kill birds and harm the fish. I learned for the first time that there was something called “visual pollution.”
The locals didn’t want windmills because somehow they would make the ocean view ugly. Even though many of the island’s most prestigious environmental groups supported the plan, it was eventually shelved.
Last year two private companies announced that they wanted to install solar panels on large stretches of vacant land in rural Suffolk County.
Their proposals were met with all types of opposition. Some neighbors complained that the solar panels would be unsightly.
Others argued that they would harm property values.
This past week National Grid, as part of its carbon free program, proposed that solar panels be installed around the site that once had the Shoreham nuclear power plant.
Since the Shoreham plant was closed down in 1989 and the plant dismantled, nothing has happened with that site. Among the victims of the plant closure was the local school district and the town, both of whom relied heavily on the tax revenues.
Literally, within minutes, neighbors started complaining that the solar installation would result in trees being cut down and a variety of other empty claims.
According to National Grid, the solar farm would provide clean power for 13,000 homes and generate 72 mgw of electricity.
I am all in favor of saving trees, but we have to get our future power from somewhere. Many of the existing power facilities in Nassau and Suffolk counties were built before 1980 and there is a need for future power sources.
The only major solar facility on Long Island is at the Brookhaven National Laboratory. It is a model for the nation and is a source of badly needed energy as a backup for that great scientific organization.
Attempts to build another power plant at the site of the Caithness plant in Islandia have been rebuffed, even though the existing facility has been praised for its clean air qualities.
Whether our residents like it or not, the island needs new and cleaner sources of energy.
We love our air conditioning and use it freely.
But if the naysayers keep up their drumbeat of opposition, it might be wise to start buying fans like they use in those hot places that don’t have air conditioning.
