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Executive Summary
As New Hampshire’s demand
for energy continues to grow on a parallel, if not accelerated, track to New Hampshire’s
population growth, our state’s dependence on fossil fuels will continue to pose
challenges to the state’s environment, economic health, and security.
Coal, oil and gas have long been the primary sources of
energy in New Hampshire. Yet New
Hampshire’s traditional approach to energy policy may
need to be revisited in order to protect the state’s environment, public
health, and consumers in coming decades.
The burning of coal is increasingly recognized as an unacceptable threat
to air quality and human health, and the burning fossil fuels is becoming more
closely linked with global climate change. Supplies of oil and natural gas are shrinking
quickly, according to new assessments of global reserves. Plus, these reserves
are in increasingly unstable or war-torn parts of the globe. Another widely used source of power in New Hampshire, nuclear fission, is dangerous
to public health and its abundant radioactive waste is impossible to reliably and
safely store or contain, and remains hazardous for thousands of years. Nuclear
power also magnifies the threat of terrorism at home and nuclear arms
proliferation around the world.
New Hampshire
consumers, too, feel the effects of energy policy decisions. Last winter’s increased fuel costs threaten low-
and middle-income citizens’ ability to heat their homes. Meanwhile, global-warming
induced high summer temperatures have increased summer cooling demands, putting
an increased strain on the electricity grid.
New Hampshire
citizens are also paying the price for steadily rising gas prices, which are expected
to continue increasing despite periodic price drops. Compounding the gas prices problem is the
increasing number of miles that New
Hampshire citizens are traveling in part due to the
explosion of “exurban” residential development and the growing number of
“stretch communities” outside of urban centers.
In the meantime, New
Hampshire has a promising set of opportunities to stave
of and satisfy our demand for energy.
Renewable energy technologies have advanced to the point where they are
now ready for wide-scale development. State
policies could help to support existing indigenous renewable generation,
encourage investments in new renewable power generation, stimulate increased
grid reliability, and deliver economic benefits for New Hampshire, while
simultaneously increasing our energy security and reducing our dependence on
oil.
Further, utilizing energy efficiency as a valuable, domestic
energy resource will help New
Hampshire meet its environmental goals, help reduce
peak electricity demand and save money for business and residential consumers.
The state has taken some encouraging first steps in pushing New Hampshire to meet
this energy potential, beginning in 2001 with Governor Shaheen’s call for a 10-year
energy plan. Since completion of the
plan, the state legislature, state agencies, and energy industries have
partnered to take some promising steps, such as programs to increase energy
efficiency in homes and businesses and to offer cost rebates on efficient
appliances. State agencies, some of New
Hampshire’s largest energy consumers, have taken a lead in conserving energy,
from replacing over 1000 inefficient incandescent light bulbs in the State
House with ones that use 75 percent less energy, to including more fuel
efficient vehicles in state fleets. More
recently, Governor Lynch has called for the state to invest in its energy future,
calling for the state to get 25 percent of its energy from clean, renewable
energy sources by 2025.
Over the next decade, New
Hampshire has the opportunity to move towards a
smarter, cleaner energy policy. The consideration
of redirecting New Hampshire’s
energy policy triggers debate on related issues of prime concern to state
decision-makers. Among those are air and water pollution, climate change,
public health, transportation infrastructure,
sprawling development, the health of our forests, the cost of
electricity, economic development, and the biannual debate over state spending
and the state budget.
New Hampshire
has the technological know-how and resources to create a new energy future that
will retain our security, economic vigor and environmental health. We must
begin by tapping our state’s supplies of homegrown, environmentally friendly
energy sources and our ingenuity and advanced technology to use energy more
efficiently in our homes and businesses.
Achieving this future will require New Hampshire to set clear goals to guide
our energy policies and mobilize scientific, economic and political resources
we need to meet them.
This paper presents a sketch of what such a new energy future
might look like for New Hampshire
and suggests plausible pathways by which our state could:
- Reduce
our use of energy in our homes, businesses and industry;
- Decrease
our over-dependence on oil; and
- Harness
clean, renewable, homegrown energy sources.
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