where does our electricity come from?
That's a tricky question! The answer depends on what criteria you use. Are you looking at electricity used, purchased, or produced? What time of day is it? What's the season?
Electricity can be made from a variety of fuel sources. Each has its pros and cons. Coal is by far the greatest contributor to climate change. Natural gas produced from hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") may be nearly as harmful. Nuclear and renewables (wind, solar, and biomass) contribute the least to global warming. But there is no perfect energy source.
The vast majority of Illinois electricity comes from coal, natural gas, and nuclear. A small but growing amount comes from wind, with solar and biomass limited in scale.
Practically everyone in Chicago gets their electricity from "the grid". The electrical system functions a lot like a water system of interconnected streams, rivers, and lakes. Many different power plants generate electricity from different fuels and add it to the grid. Electricity then flows through the grid's wires to where it's needed by consumers. Importantly, once on the grid, it's impossible to separate "renewable" and "non-renewable" electricity. Here's a simple 1-minute video explanation.
To learn more about the American electrical system and how we might green it, read Smart Power by Peter Fox-Penner.
Electricity can be made from a variety of fuel sources. Each has its pros and cons. Coal is by far the greatest contributor to climate change. Natural gas produced from hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") may be nearly as harmful. Nuclear and renewables (wind, solar, and biomass) contribute the least to global warming. But there is no perfect energy source.
The vast majority of Illinois electricity comes from coal, natural gas, and nuclear. A small but growing amount comes from wind, with solar and biomass limited in scale.
Practically everyone in Chicago gets their electricity from "the grid". The electrical system functions a lot like a water system of interconnected streams, rivers, and lakes. Many different power plants generate electricity from different fuels and add it to the grid. Electricity then flows through the grid's wires to where it's needed by consumers. Importantly, once on the grid, it's impossible to separate "renewable" and "non-renewable" electricity. Here's a simple 1-minute video explanation.
To learn more about the American electrical system and how we might green it, read Smart Power by Peter Fox-Penner.
Four ways to look at electricity fuel sources
Given the above, here are four different (and equally useful) ways to look at the fuel sources of our electricity:
- What do we use? This is the source of the electricity flowing through the wires used by all consumers (residents, industry, commercial). In Northern Illinois, ComEd delivers it and sends the bill. But different companies produced it and purchased it. The 2013 fuel sources within the large regional grid (PJM Grid) of which ComEd is a part were: 44% coal, 35% nuclear, 16% natural gas, 2% wind, and 1% biomass. So, even if you buy "100% renewable electricity", this is where the electricity entering your home actually comes from. So you might want to use less.
- What do we buy? Consumers can purchase their electricity from the company of their choice ("electricity competition"). If Chicago residents don't choose one, they automatically buy it from the company chosen by the Chicago City Council in "municipal aggregation" -- currently Integrys Energy. According to WBEZ, about 95% of this electricity now comes from natural gas, a significant portion from Pennsylvania where 80% of natural gas comes from fracking. The other 5% is purchased directly from Illinois wind farms. As an active citizen, you can help to change this in the next 2015-2017 municipal aggregation contract.
- What do we produce? Illinois is a major electricity producer and exporter. We are the #1 nuclear power producer (46% of state electricity production in March 2014), #2 for coal reserves (46% of production), and the #4 wind producer (7% of production) in the USA. The use of these fuels is influenced partly by state and federal government decisions.Residents can have a say as active citizens who lobby government.
- What's possible? In its 2012 Renewable Electricity Futures Study, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) determined it to be technically possible to provide 80% of US electricity from renewable sources by 2050. In their scenario, about 1/2 of the Great Lakes region's electricity would come from wind (including offshore) with significant amounts of biomass. Smaller amounts would come from nuclear and coal, with some solar and natural gas. This provides one vision of what a "greener grid" might look like.
WHat residents can do
The only way you can ensure that the electricity entering your own home is 100% renewable is to make it yourself -- e.g., with rooftop solar panels. But there are many ways to influence the fuel sources of the electricity in the grid. See "Change Fuel Sources" for specific actions.