Published: March 11, 2008 08:03 pm         

Mayor opens first meeting of Crossville Energy and Sustainability Initiative

About 50 people attended the first meeting of the Crossville Energy and Sustainability Initiative (CESI) held Thursday night at Stone Memorial High School. The CESI is being organized by the city of Crossville in partnership with the University of Tennessee’s Master of Science in Planning (MSP) and local groups and organizations.

Mayor J.H. Graham III opened the meeting by noting how in October, the city joined with nearly 100 other mayors across the country in the first National Conversation on Climate Action. Many steps were identified that could be taken in and by the city as a result of that meeting, and the CESI is a continuation of that effort. Noting “the battle to tackle climate change will be won or lost” in the cities, Graham proposed that “Crossville must lead the way in creating a sensible, sustainable clean energy future.”

Three presentations followed. In the first, Edward J. Jepson, assistant professor in the MSP program, provided an overview of energy use in the United States. It was shown that increasing consumption of coal-generated electricity and gasoline releases thousands of millions of tons of pollutants each year. Directly associated with rising global temperatures, use of these fuels has the potential to disrupt grain harvests in the U.S. heartland, reduce river flows and mountain snow packs, cause coastal flooding and induce destructive weather events. Alternative fuel sources such as nuclear, hydro, natural gas and oil shale were shown to have serious problems and limitations.

According to Jepson, “Each of these may have a role to play in our energy future, but at this time it looks as though none of them will serve as replacements for coal and oil. This is due to limited supplies, high costs, or serious technical challenges that may or may not be overcome.”

Crossville’s “energy picture” was depicted by MSP students in the second presentation. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), which is the source of electricity for the Volunteer Energy Cooperative, was shown to be more dependent on coal and hydro fuel sources and less dependent on natural gas and nuclear. As pointed out by MSP student Ashley Smith, “Since natural gas is a relatively clean fossil fuel compared to coal, and hydro is highly limited in terms of its future potential, the need for alternative sources to meet the requirements of future growth is high here.”

Yet, while the development of renewable sources is still in its infancy everywhere, it was pointed out that TVA only generates about .4 percent of its electricity from such sources, compared to nearly 3 percent in the nation as a whole.

Crossville’s annual “energy bill” - how much is spent each year by all users for electricity, natural gas and gasoline – was depicted as being more than $56 million, the biggest share of which is paid by residents for their homes and cars. According to MSP student Amanda Slough, the date when this bill is finally “paid” – Crossville’s “energy freedom day” – is March 14. Slough said, “It is on this day, finally, that money is freed in Crossville to be spent on all the other things that we need and want in life.”

This day comes later in Crossville than it does on average in Tennessee and the country as a whole. According to Jepson, “This is because rural areas such as Crossville tend to have lower per capita incomes, but not lower energy costs. So, relative to income, energy costs you more.”

Even a small community such as Crossville makes a significant contribution to air pollution. As depicted in the presentation and described by Slough, “The amount of CO2 that the city releases into the atmosphere every year weighs the equivalent of nearly 7,000 railroad freight cars which, if lined up end-to-end, would stretch all the way to Knoxville.” However, because this pollution is the result of many small decisions by people and businesses, everyone has the potential to make a difference. Seemingly small changes such as installing compact fluorescent light bulbs or low-flow showerheads were shown to reduce air pollution by hundreds of pounds and save households hundreds of dollars.

In the third presentation, Dr. Jepson depicted the CESI process, which will consist of three public workshops March 13 and 27 and April 10 at Stone Memorial High School. The workshops will be facilitated by MSP students. In a collaborative and creative process, participants will discuss opportunities and barriers related to improving the local energy profile, identify local resources that will help take advantage and overcome these, and finish up by proposing action steps that should be taken. The information generated at the workshops will serve as the basis for a sustainable energy plan.

The CESI is being supported by the Crossville Chronicle, Crossville Housing Authority, Cumberland Business Incubator, Cumberland County Board of Education, Cumberland Sustainable Energy Association, First National Bank of Tennessee, Veolia Water and Volunteer Energy Cooperative.