Clean energy solutions still face obstacles

Fossil-fuel burning power plants are still the cheapest source for electricity, but industry experts say that, in the near future, residents and businesses will depend on a combination of alternatives – many of which are still under development and come with a high price tag – to meet energy demands and environmental concerns.

Less-expensive, cleaner energy options — more natural gas-burning plants, wind energy, solar power and tidal-energy turbines — face hurdles when it comes to satisfying the critical factors at the top of consumers’ check lists: costs and reliability.
“What it comes down to is what’s cost-effective and what’s reliable, especially in this country when we’ve come to expect almost perfect reliability,” said Matthew Cordaro, a utility veteran and acting dean of the College of Management at the C.W. Post campus of Long Island University.

Cordaro said that one of the best alternatives is to refurbish oil-burning plants and convert them into combined-cycle generating plants.

Cordaro and other experts agree that the alternatives will thrive with more research and improved efficiency.

Ashok Gupta, chief energy economist at the Natural Resources Defense Council, advocates a strategy similar to managing an investment portfolio. “You manage your risk so you don’t have to depend on any one source or cost,” said Gupta, who is a member of Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s Renewable Energy Task Force.

Newsday