Don’t Believe Everything You Read, Redux

                                    

Just last week I wrote about not taking everything you read at face value. This is especially the case when it comes to interpreting opinion poll findings.

Many surveys are inherently biased – and this is precisely the case with two recent studies conducted by Opinion Research Corporation (ORC) for the Civil Society Institute.

The polls, which surveyed residents of North Carolina and Indiana, assert that support for building new coal-generated power plants is weak in each state. They also suggest Indianans and North Carolinians believe a focus on other forms of energy should occur before any new coal plants are built.

But remember, it’s easy to get the answer you want – just ask the right question.

For example, the ORC study states that 75 percent would pick clean wind or solar energy if they “could decide where to invest money in new electric power generation for Indiana.”

Here at ACCCE, we are all for the development of new forms of energy. This country is going to need all of its energy resources in the coming years.

But what if the same people were asked this question: “Would you support a power plant fueled by an unreliable source that may go dark for days at a time and fail to meet your electrical needs?”

I think it’s safe to say the answer would be a resounding “no!”

But that is a real issue when it comes to wind and solar power. As we reported here, when the wind recently stopped blowing in Texas, customers lost power. For the time being, wind and solar just aren’t viable options.

So next time you see the results from an opinion poll, remember to consider the source.

                               

Comments

[QUITTHEHYPE]

Ask this question: would you prefer to go black for a few days or go black forever. If you choose ANY form of coal, the latter is what you are choosing!

[Mike Denney]

Wind and solar are excellent energy options. I could easily power my home with solar, as has been proven by many individuals wanting to get 'off the grid'. One big problem we have though, is storing huge amounts of power; battery technology is simply not keeping up and is probably not an option(yet) for industries needing lots of energy on demand.

I'd like to see an energy model where every personal residence has solar power with their own battery storage facility (no more outages in storms or brownouts!!!) Excess energy (yes, there would be lots of excess) could be sold back to the power companies who could efficiently store it and sell it back to whoever needs it when the sun is not shining. The same would be true for wind power. Today there is no storage capacity, which is why Texas went dark when the wind stopped blowing. That's because they are using an antiquated energy model that has no way to store power in times of excess.

Is the answer all solar and wind? Absolutely not(yet). But it needs to be given a fighting chance with an energy distribution model that includes energy storage. I believe the power companies are afraid they'll lose customers and profits if residential solar catches on. But if they work with the technology instead of against it, everybody wins.