Issue Position: Energy

Issue Position

As a fourth generation farmer, I have become a steward of our land. We have moved from conventional farming practices to no-till, min-till. I am committed to improving our environment so the generations to follow will have a great place to live. One of the biggest debates is climate change and carbon emission from coal and fossil fuels, and that all depends on which scientist you listen too. The next 10 years will be extremely important, as they will depend on laws we make now regarding climate change and its impact on society.
As a good steward of the land, I am very concerned about energy and renewable energy sources. Electricity consumption in Kansas grew 44% since 1990. Rural Utilities Service, RUS, is a federal agency that deals with rural cooperatives. They say that electric rates will increase 10% per year for the next 10 years because of base load demand. That means your electric bill will be double what it is now.
Base load is the minimum amount of electric power required to supply demand at a given point in time at a steady rate. Most all generating plants are running near or at base load capacity now and yet the demand for electricity is growing at about 15 to 20% per year. Wind power is a great supplement, however, it cannot maintain base load capacity when demand is required. When this occurs, generation has to be backed by natural gas, which is the most expensive means of generating power. Without new base load power generation, there is a greater chance we will have more brown and blackouts in the future. If we divert natural gas to generation, what will that do to the cost of heating our homes and businesses in the winter? We already have been pinched by gasoline prices; we don't need higher heating bills also.
Wind is a tremendous renewable resource and we have an abundant supply in Kansas. It can provide a solid tax and employment base for the counties it's located in. Along with wind, we need transmission lines and upgrades to the infrastructure in Kansas to transport wind power and cost-efficient sources of baseload power to consumers. Part of the Holcomb expansion project was also the building of these new transmission lines to carry this power to Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. This is some of T Bone Pickens plan on supporting Wind, its transportation to Texas and back up by natural gas generation. Remember, he is still an oilman first.
We need to contain costs and prevent harm to our economy from high electric rates. We need to protect the working families and businesses from these high rates. More people are without electric power than ever before and the number is growing. A recent news report said there were more than seven thousand people in Kansas without power. They estimate more heat and cold related deaths in the future than deaths from CO2 emissions related causes because people cannot afford their electric service.
The bottom line is that we need affordable, abundant and reliable base load energy. Without this, we have little to attract new business to Kansas. Without new business, we cannot create new jobs and protect our families and their futures. Without new families, we cannot make our schools grow. Without all these, we will not have the tax base to support our schools and keep our taxes in check.
We need to develop wind and solar energy technology so that it's affordable and can help reduce CO2 emissions. Until then, we still need energy from reliable, abundant sources, at an affordable cost, without dependency on foreign oil. Wind is a great source of energy and the technology is growing by leaps and bounds every day. Until wind can pick up the load, we still need a constant source of base load generation like the new plant at Holcomb. Remember, wind has to be backed by natural gas generation which is the most expensive generation available to electric customers. If we divert our natural gas supplies to electric generation, think of what that will do to the cost of natural gas to heat your homes. We still get natural gas from foreign countries so we will not gain anything in the quest for foreign oil independence.
As you can see, we need all three E's: Education, Economic Development and Energy to make Kansas a strong and prosperous state again. As your State Representative I will ensure you get the representation in Topeka we need for Reno County.

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