Mr. Editor,
Some quotes from recent U.S. Department of Energy research papers.
“Researchers analyzed the life cycle greenhouse gas impacts of energy storage technologies and found that Pumped Storage Hydro power has the lowest global warming potential on average.”
“Results demonstrate that enabling renewable electricity deployment by adding Pumped Storage Hydro to the grid will result in lower climate change impacts and contribute more to this country’s [USA} clean energy agenda compared to other grid scale energy storage technologies.”
The World Economic Forum, in a paper focused on energy transition, looks at the four main technologies available to store renewable energy. Pumped Storage is number one on the list for many reasons. “It is fundamental to smoothing out peaks and dips in energy demand without resorting to fossil fuels.”
Energy storage was the focus of this year’s United Nations Climate Conference. A U.N. pledge was to support a six-fold power system storage increase by 2030. Pumped storage is usually the top choice as an energy ‘battery’. Once built, it has an extremely long, low maintenance, low risk, dependable service life. It is not weather dependent, and can feed the grid for longer periods of time without ‘losing its charge’.
Obviously, there are some negatives associated with the building of a Pumped Storage facility on the Federal lands in Meaford. We have to identify the real, not imagined, problems and eliminate or mitigate them in any reasonable way. However, well funded and professional research by neutral parties suggest that Pumped Storage is key to supporting our future power needs while diminishing greenhouse gasses. I have noted only a few of the many available treatises on the subject.
Global warming is real and Pumped Storage Hydro will be part of the solution. This old codger probably won’t be around to see the approval of the suggested local project, let alone its completion, with so many trying to stop it, including some members of Meaford Council. I do want my grandchildren to have the benefits of any positive change that will make their world a better place. It will be a better place if global warming is diminished and all the evidence seems to support clean generation of electricity will be an important part of achieving that goal.
If you are not sure where you stand on this issue do some homework before making up your mind. If you support some progress toward a better future, let politicians at all levels know. Those against Pumped Storage are exercising their rights to lobby and speak out forcefully and I have no problem with that, even though I sometimes disagree with them. I know that there are many supporters of the TCE project on the military base, people who recognize the long term benefits both locally and globally, who do not speak out and should. With elections just over the horizon supporters should make a phone call or send an e-mail to those now in office and those seeking office.
Sincerely,
Jim Hepple, Meaford
