Ian Bowles, the secretary of energy and environmental affairs for Massachusetts, lays out the case for home-grown power in a New York Times editorial today. With the push for more renewable energy generation and a smart grid by the Obama administration, two main visions of how to deliver the new sources of power are being debated. Should renewable energy be developed locally or transmitted long distances from major production centers? Bowles argues that the focus should not be on building a new, nationwide network of long-range transmission lines. This is the approach being “promoted by energy companies and by elected officials who see it as an economic development opportunity for their particular state or region.” The enormous untapped solar energy potential in the Southwest and wind in the Midwest should not necessarily be transmitted all the way to the coasts where the energy is needed. Instead, he advocates each section of the country developing the renewable energy sources particular to that region:

In the Northwest, the largest amount of green power comes from hydroelectricity. In the Northeast, the best source may be the wind over the ocean, because it blows harder and more consistently there than on land. Offshore wind farms have been proposed for Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island. In the Southwest, solar energy can be tapped on a large scale. And in the Southeast, biomass from forests may one day be a major source of sustainable power. In each area, developing these power sources would be cheaper than piping in clean energy from thousands of miles away.

Bowles certainty has an interest in promoting this view because of the somewhat controversial plans Massachusetts has to develop its offshore wind power. However, his editorial makes a good case for not overlooking clean energy sources close to home. Massive generation facilities located far from population centers subject energy to “line loss” during transmission, not to mention the enormous upfront costs associated with building the transmission network. In New England, he estimates the cost per mile at $2 million to $10 million.

Reality will dictate a mix of local renewable energy development and long distance transmission of renewable energy from production centers. Regardless, it is encouraging to see that debate no longer centers on whether we should build a national renewable energy grid but rather on how we can best construct it.

- Justin Manger