New WNC Sustainable Energy Council Gives Citizens Greater Voice
By Byron Belzak

A new coalition of local and regional environmental and activist organizations kicked off its first meeting at the recent Southern Energy and Environment Expo (SEE EXPO) on Friday, August 24, 2007.

The mission of the new group, known as the Sustainable Energy Council of Western North Carolina, is to give more power to citizens who desire more responsive and responsible government and energy policy-making, particularly at the local and state levels.

SEC-WNC members and panelists included well-known activists and involved citizens. Members of the Council said the new group is not a merger of various organizations, rather a task force to speak in a more unified voice about energy policy in the region. It invites more individuals and representatives of a variety of organizations to join the Council.

THE WOODFIN POWER PLANT CONTROVERSY

The group was formed partly because of an organized, but diverse, grassroots effort that stopped Progress Energy’s proposed Woodfin power plant. Earlier this year Progress Energy officials, politicians and bureaucrats, who back new fossil-fuel-burning plants in the face of global warming concerns, did not consult area citizens prior to announcing their plan earlier this year to build a new oil-burning power plant in Buncombe County.

Progress Energy and its supporters were roundly defeated by an effective and swift grassroots effort that opposed the proposed Woodfin, North Carolina, power plant. Some of those who were involved with halting Progress Energy Woodfin’s plans are founding members of the new Council.

The new Sustainable Living Council of WNC advocates for more citizen representation in business decisions of the public utility that directly affects the health, finances, and quality of life of the entire community. The Council is not affiliated with a WNC Advisory Panel of well-known individuals that Progress Energy assembled in June 2007 after the Woodfin controversy.

THE PROGRESS ENERGY PANEL

Progress Energy indicated that its own relatively newly formed WNC Advisory Panel will tackle energy efficiency and conservation issues over a two-year period.

In late May, 2007, Progress Energy announced its appointed panel. It includes Terry Albrecht (Waste Reduction Partners); Edna Campos (Edna Campos & Associates); Robin Cape (Asheville City Council); Vernon Daugherty (A-B Tech); Patrick Fitzsimmons (American Red Cross); Lee Galloway (Waynesville town manager); David Gantt (Buncombe County Board of Commissioners); Harry Harrison (YMI Cultural Center); Dave Hollister (Sundance Power Systems); Karl Kuchta (Unimen); Jeff Loven (French Broad EMC); Rick Lutovsky (Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce); Margie Meares (Clean Air Community Trust); John Oswald (Mills Manufacturing); Chuck Pickering (Biltmore Estate); Michael Shore (Environmental Defense); Lavoy Spooner (AT&T), and Paul Szurek (Biltmore Farms).

WHAT SEC-WNC’S FOUNDING MEMBERS SAY

Mary Olson of Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS), one of the founding members of the new Council and an outspoken opponent of the Woodfin plant, opened SEC-WNC’s press conference and first public meeting shortly before the official start of the 7th Annual SEE EXPO, which was held at the North Carolina Agricultural Center across from the Asheville Regional Airport.

Mary Olson: "Our energy future is something that we determine."

Said Olson: “Our energy future does not depend on new power plants. Our energy future does not depend on fossil fuels. Our energy future does not depend on nuclear energy. Instead, our energy future is something that we can determine as a creative process of renewable energy combined with really smart use of energy; otherwise known as energy efficiency, and the distributed generation of power rather than the centralized generation of power.”

Members of the newly formed SEC-WNC, who spoke at the council’s first public meeting, intend to offer energy policy advice and recommendations to all levels of decision-making in Western North Carolina.

Some of the WNC Council members indicated that while the group intends to be cooperative, it would not accept the status quo from policy-makers who ignore health and economic issues that affect the entire community.

Avram Friedman: "We have a unique focus on involving the community."

Avram Friedman of the Canary Coalition, a founding member of the Council, said, “What we are trying to do is involve every aspect of the community – the business community, the medical community, the academic community, and people who have expertise in electrical and energy issues, and people who socially feel the effects of the way we currently produce energy. This is a unique group in that we have a unique focus on involving the community in the decision of how we meet future energy demands. … We are sort of a think tank and … are, in a sense, a political entity, because we are trying to involve the community and bring political pressure to bear on the [energy] decision-makers. [We want] to involve the community in these decisions.”

Dave Holister: "There are conflicting messages that are coming out of Progress Energy."

Another founding SEC-WNC member, Dave Hollister of Sundance Power Systems, said: “There are conflicting messages that are coming out of Progress Energy.” He said that while some within Progress are working to include renewables, there are other employees who are “politically trying to gut legislation [that contains] a hard-hitting renewable energy portfolio.”

Richard Fireman of the North Carolina Council of Churches and Interfaith Power and Light, said time is of the essence. Fireman, who is also editor of SustainableWNC.org, which is affiliated with the Mountain Area Information Network (M.A.I.N.), said, “There is an urgency, and a voice needs to be heard above the business-as-usual voice. To limit the [energy] decision-making powers to business and corporate America is foolish.”

Fireman did not believe that market forces could work sufficiently fast to reverse the detrimental and growing effects of climate change. “We need citizens to assume their civic responsibility and become voices for a sane energy policy. We have about 10 years to accomplish this. … Hopefully, we can become a model for the rest of the nation.”

Elaine Lite of Mountain Voices Alliance and an Asheville City Council candidate said: “Sustainability is the key, and we must address it much, much sooner than later.”

Other founding members of SEC-WNC, who were not in attendance at the first public meeting, include: Don Baker of Wenoca Group of the Sierra Club; Ian Booth of Sustainable Now; Jody Flemming of Western North Carolina Alliance; Bryan Freeborn, Asheville City Council member and Top Floor Studio spokesperson for McNutt Service Group’s newly announced solar installation services of Appalachian Energy systems; Mike Hopping of Common Sense at the Nuclear Crossroads; Sage Linden of SustainableAsheville.org; Scott Quaranda of Dogwood Alliance; Leni Sitnick, former Mayor of Asheville, and Josh Tager of Electric Solutions, Inc. 

IT’S ALL ABOUT HAVING A VOICE


Ned Doyle: "It is time for everyone to have a voice at the table.

Ned Ryan Doyle, founder of SEE EXPO and a founding member of the new Council, was instrumental in spearheading opposition to Progress Energy’s proposed Woodfin oil-fired power plant. In an exclusive interview with The Greener Home Sustainable Living Resource (www.thegreenerhome.com), Doyle explained the importance of the Council’s mission.

“The Sustainable Energy Council of Western North Carolina is an opportunity for citizens to be pivotal in energy production, because it impacts our environment and economic structure,” said Ned Doyle. “Until now there has effectively been no input from the people most affected by energy policy. It is time for everyone to have a voice at the table.

“It is time for us to work together to plan an energy future that makes sense – that not only provides a return to the stakeholder, but is good for the environment, the people, and the future. It is an opportunity for all of us to work together to make a difference … and to get across the concept that energy, environment and economics are three sides to the same coin.”

Non-member guest panelists, who were invited by the Council to speak given their expertise, included Hope Taylor-Guevara of Clean Water for NC and Margie Meares of Clean Air Community Trust.

At the press conference, Taylor-Guevara said: “[We want to draw] public awareness to the acuteness of our centralized energy electrical generation model on water. Most folks have no idea that our state’s coal and nuclear plants withdraw over nine billion gallons of water a day.”  She said that energy companies do not do a good job of conservation programs, because “it is an intrinsic conflict of interest.”

Margie Meares said: “I think this is a tremendously important effort.” She said that American society needs to fully understand and incorporate the real cost of energy in terms of ecological costs [and] human costs, and doing so will allow citizens to find and insist upon the best energy solutions.

Several Council members said that the energy consumption must be radically reduced in the mountains and throughout the United States, as much as an 80 percent reduction within approximately 10 years.

The group’s press release that announced its first meeting stated: “We all need a sustainable energy future – and an energy future that does not include new coal, other fossil fuels, or new nuclear power plants is not only desirable, it is possible. The SEC-WNC will help lead the way to energy independence, energy security, energy prosperity, energy justice and a healthier region.”

The Council’s complete mission statement and call to action for citizens and interested organizations is posted on its new website at www.sec-wnc.org.

CLIFFSIDE COAL PLANT OPPOSITION

In an unrelated citizen call to action by area and state environmental grassroots organizations, a draft of a flyer called for citizens to “Help Stop Cliffside Coal Plant!” It encouraged people to attend an upcoming public hearing in Rutherford County on Tuesday, September 18, at 6 p.m. at Chase High School, 1603 Chase High School Road, Forest City, NC 28043. IF YOU GO … For carpooling and additional information, contact: Clean Water for North Carolina (Asheville), info@cwfnc.org, (828) 251-1291, or Environment and Conservation Organization (Hendersonville), director@clean-air-coalition.org, (828) 692-0385.

Copyright 2007 MediaBear

Editor's Note: This article appears in The Greener Home section of the September 2007 issue of Rapid River Magazine.

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