Sir,
You failed to discuss in Chapter 2: Energy Supply, the inexhaustible energy in the ground but rather pandered to the photo voltaic and wind energy industries. If the 2.5M households in Missouri had 2 ton Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHP) Missouri would harvest 60 billion BTU’s of energy per hour or about 20% of the current Missouri electrical consumption.
GSHP compressor are made at one of St. Louis’ largest employers. Wind turbines and solar panels are mostly imported. No economic development there!
The Smart grid and peaking generators would not be required upon installation of GSHP systems state wide. The Smart grid has been a big waste of money! Peaking generators are also a waste of money. With implementation of GSHP’s the winter to summer electrical usage is reduced and balanced. Peak usage is the problem of grid management. Chop off the peaks and the grid overload goes away! All that wasted money could have been used to install all the ground loops.
The “Missouri Energy Efficiency and Investment Act” as implemented is basically theft. A rate-payer is required to pay but cannot afford to benefit due to the high cost of the solar panels.
And further, The AmerenUE rebate for solar panels a $2/watt versus $2000 for a GSHP is grossly stupid. Given a typical solar 7000 watt system, the rebate is $14,000 and only delivers energy when the sun shines whereas a typical 1 Ton GSHP will deliver twice the equivalent BTU’s of energy 24/7/365.
The plan is incomplete and misleading and does more harm than help to Missouri! It ignores the boundless energy just below our feet.
Thank you
David Epps
