Some regions are far ahead in the struggle to generate environmentally friendly energy. Lompoc is one of them. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger approves effort to supply 33 percent of all electricity required by year 2020 through renewable energy. There are some regions that have already fulfilled the prophesy.
Mayor Mike Siminski, said that Lompoc has already surpassed that target and is now supplying 35 percent of energy from renewable sources. The target to be reached in not less than a decade was accomplished through a long-term agreement to buy geothermal generated energy.
Besides, the geothermal energy produced comes from plants established in Calif and Lake County. The energy produced from the dam at Stanislaus River, is also partly owned by Lompoc as they are an associate of the Northern California Power Agency.
Siminski said that at Lompoc more than half of the energy produced is practically carbon free. This includes energy generated from Stanislaus, those bought from state dams and the 30 percent produced locally through city energy.
In coming years more efficient energy sources will be available at Lompoc. Investments have already been done in plants used to generate energy from natural gas. These are going to be constructed near Calif and Lodi, and are to be operational by year 2012. This source is expected to provide up to 5 percent of energy required by the city.
However, Lompoc is far ahead of remaining regions in the state. The California Energy Commission said that based on last year’s findings only around 13.5 percent of energy is from renewable sources. There is still years to come before other parts of the state will be able to unfold. Companies such as Electric and Pacific Gas is already agreeing to purchase wind energy that is to be generated in south of Lompoc and to the hills.
The green step towards clean energy has had a price to be paid. There are arrays of electric rates that are going to increase, by year 2012. It is expected that for both residential and commercial the cost will surge by 31 percent based on publications from the City Council.
The rise in electricity rates is mainly to account for the volatility of the open market where the cost of electricity is likely to rise, according to Siminiski. Moreover, the city is increasingly demanding more energy; future planning must thus already be anticipated. The geothermal plant is unfortunately experiencing a creeping decrease of supply since its inauguration in 1983. Technical initiative has been launched to maintain the level constant supply in the future but it supplies remains very subtle.
The Local population is paying their contribution to renewable energy supply. There is trend among citizens to construct solar panel systems on their roof to lower utility bills. This is also helping the city to meet its increase in demand for the future.
A citizen in Lompoc invested a total of $9, 600 in solar panels. This outlay is supposed to bring a steady supply of 3 KW per hour. The motive for purchasing the photovoltaic system was that it would eventually refund itself after only 10 years. During the summer, the solar panels supply more than sufficient energy, whereby the surpluses are bought by city users, and during the winter only a minor part needs to be purchased from the local electricity grid.
The individual effort to supply energy is boosting. Already more than 17 local residences have solar panel systems installed.
Moreover, the City Council has already established an additional rebate package of around $249,000 while Federal funding is also promoting investment in solar panel systems.
The trend in Lompoc is that on both city and individual level the move towards renewable energy is a communal aim. It is the most appropriate thing that can be done to safeguard the earth from hostile pollution and disastrous climate change.
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