In the Feb. 23, 2022 edition of the The Recorder there were two energy related My Turn columns run side by side. The first was another repetitive and tiresome article by Karl Meyer concerning his opposition to the relicensing of the Northfield Mountain Pumped Storage power plant. It does not take a PhD in physics to know that it takes more power to pump water up a mountain than is generated when it comes back down. We get it, enough already. The second was by Nancy Hazard and in part was touting the incentives offered by MassSave and encouraging folks to convert their fossil fuel heating systems to electric heat pumps in an effort to fight climate change. This is part of a broader movement called electrification. It not only includes converting our heating systems to electric heat pumps but also our vehicles to electric cars to wean us off our dependence on fossil fuel to reduce carbon emissions. It also does not take a PhD in mathematics to figure out that if we use more electricity then we have to generate more electricity. We all hope this electricity will come from mainly renewable sources. The problem with many renewable energy sources like wind and solar is they do not generate electricity as consistently and when needed like fossil fuel power plants. Therefore, the real key to a sustainable and renewable electric grid is going to be the capability to store enough energy so that when we all get home at the end of the day and plug in our electric cars and turn on our electric heat pumps to heat us in the winter and cool us in the summer there will be some way to generate it. Battery technology is advancing rapidly and shows a lot of promise. The problem is that in most cases the production of batteries requires the use of heavy metals, the mining of which presents some real environmental impacts and many are located in China, which is a repeat of a challenge we have faced for decades with our dependence on foreign oil. Pumped storage definitely presents its own set of environmental challenges but as with all energy sources there is no free lunch. To oppose an established energy storage technology seems to be on the wrong side of the future of a sustainable, renewable electric grid.

Bill Lafley

New Salem