03061 Urban Energy Issues

Everything connects to everything (the Holistic Principle).

I built iPermie using sections and chapters. Don’t let this map I created, which neatly categorizes the subject matter, confuse you about the ultimate nature of reality which is holistic. Everything connects to everything else. While we’re talking about energy conservation in this chapter, we can't do a good job on energy if we don't think about issues of economics, food, community, and basic principles of design. Our cities work the way they do now because of the poor design of our urban systems. The present model of urban design has been driven mostly by political decisions that dictate patterns of work, residence, and transportation and that govern the built environment. Social injustice creates economic distortions that promote violence, greed, crime, and alienation. Solidarity is not a desirable value and we systematically leave people behind for the wolves to devour.

Demand Destruction is the Place to Begin.

The most important decision to make about energy is to use less. The urban lifestyle of the future is energy conservative. This starts at the micro-level of your own lifestyle, one of many seeds of a sustainable future being planted in your urban area. It continues as you join with your neighbors and others to create and support invisible structures for your urban area that make it easier to live an energy conservative lifestyle.

This section has several articles packed with ideas for practical actions in support of a more energy conservative lifestyle.

Important services and needs should be supplied by more than one element or system. (Principle of Redundancy) and Catch and Store Energy.

Permaculture design approaches issues like this by first noting the vital nature of urban energy supplies. Since energy is important, we can't depend on only one source (the grid). Prudence suggests that we need backups in case the energy grids fail.

Your design issue with these alternatives is to decide what works for you in your lifestyle situation as redundant energy supplies.

You may not be able to deploy these alternatives by yourself. One of the lessons of urban living is the necessity for community. In other words, I should probably list, “practice community building skills” as the first energy alternative on the list, since it is a prerequisite for preparing a rational energy plan for your lifestyle.

Passive Solar. Wherever you go, passive solar is the first on the list of energy alternatives. The advantage of the sun it is that it is everywhere and using it is low tech. Passive solar heats and cools buildings, cooks foods, and heats water using the natural power of the sun. It can be as simple as a five gallon bucket and lid painted black sitting in the sun as a passive solar water heater. Or passive solar can be as complex as a system designed to heat a large dormitory. The disadvantage of the sun is that it doesn’t work when the sun doesn’t shine. Cloudy days and night time are challenges, which is why we use thermal mass to soak up heat during the day, store it, and radiate it at night during the winter.

Biogas. Use of biogas digesters in urban areas is a promising area for urban energy development. It’s not really a single apartment-scale option. Office and apartment buildings could cycle sewage through biogas digesters which could provide some of the energy necessary for the building’s operations. Your housing coop could install such a system, as could your college dormitory.

Propane. This is only of moderate utility, since it is a fossil fuel dependent upon a long supply chain. It has the advantage of storability and thus is a great short-term option in case the conventional utility grids go down due to catastrophic weather, economic collapse, or civil unrest. When it’s gone, though, it’s gone. In the meantime, it is widely available in urban areas, burns cleanly, and could be used to cook food, heat a room, or run a small electrical generator.

Active solar systems convert sunlight to other forms of useful energy, usually heat or electricity. They can be used to heat air or water. Many do-it-yourself designs are available, for both air and water heating. Renters could build or buy systems that they could take with them when they move. Solar hot water systems and solar air heaters are important components of active solar systems.

Solar photovoltaic systems can provide on-site electrical generation. It’s not cheap. It’s not prohibitively costly. Most utilities have buy-back programs where they agree to let your solar cells spin your meter backward. They buy any surplus that you generate. Over time, a grid-connected PV system can pay for themselves. You get paid when you don't have to buy the energy your PV systems generates that you use in your house. You get paid if to make a surplus and the utility buys it from you. You could start small with inexpensive battery chargers that can run your radio, entertainment devices, and lights. You could make a portable system that would move with you if you change apartments.

Wind Power. Wind power requires sufficient clearance and good winds. It is not necessarily suitable for all urban areas. Where it works, however, it is an excellent supplement for home energy systems.

Wood. If you live in a high rise apartment building or college dormitory, wood is not a practical choice. If you live in an house or a town home, a wood burning stove is a possibility. A considerable amount of wood is available in urban areas for free in the form of trimmings of trees and bushes. We harvest a considerable amount of wood each year from our small 1/7 acre lot 24 blocks from downtown Oklahoma City. One issue with using wood is the atmospheric pollution. You can reduce the amount of air pollution caused by a wood burning stove by only burning dry wood. Freshly cut wood has as much as 50% water content. Wood needs to season for 6 months to a year. Fireplaces are inefficient and create a lot of smoke. It is better to use a newer, EPA certified wood burning stove. Make small hot fires. Hardwoods are denser and give more heat per pound of wood. Enjoy the fire, not the smoke!

Bring invisible structures to bear on your energy situation to promote resilience.

Successful urban permaculture design involves the intelligent and creative use of invisible structures. If you lived in a rural area on an acreage, you could manage and harvest a woodlot for energy. Or you could grow an energy crop like sunflowers or canola. But you live in a city, maybe on a small 1/8th acre plot or in a high rise apartment building or in a duplex or triplex. The go-it-alone-self-sufficiency program won't work for you. It doesn't work for most people in rural areas either, but that's not our focus here.

Harnessing the power of invisible structures to support sustainability will make or break your plan to live more sustainably in the city and do your part to stop our headlong rush towards the ash heap of history.

Support municipal power initiatives. One of the dangerous issues going forward is the dominance of investor-owned utilities in most urban areas. Municipal power (electrical and natural gas systems owned by cities) and electrical power cooperatives are more sustainable than the for-profit energy utilities. The for-profits continually bleed off profits to support their non-productive shareholders and bureaucracies. They sell their energy to the highest bidders. For example, the California electricity crisis of the year 2000 impacted most major urban areas in the state — except for Los Angeles. LA did not deregulate its power system. It did not sell its generating plants. As a result, when the crisis hit, Los Angeles had spare electricity to sell, so the citizens of Los Angeles made money off of that situation. Under the law, cities can force utilities to sell their assets to the city. It usually requires a vote and the city must pay the utility for its property. This is usually done by issuing revenue bonds which are paid off by energy sales. Urban areas need to control their own energy destinies. Putting their critical energy supplies at the mercy of amoral corporate aristocrats is a risky maneuver that may cause the citizens major grief as the energy declines hit us.

Invest in renewables. Encourage your utility to increase its investment in renewable energy generation including wind and solar. Programs where utilities agree to buy-back energy generated on-site by homeowners provide economic incentives to install solar PV and wind generation. More distributed solar PV and wind generation builds community resilience. If your utility has a renewable energy option, take it, even if it costs you a little extra every month.

Reform building codes to require more insulation for residential, commercial, and industrial buildings, in accordance with your climate.

Create a regulatory and economic environment that encourages the development of a diverse system of transportation alternatives to private automobiles. This will be discussed in much greater detail in the section on transportation.

Use regulatory reforms to require resilient energy systems for large multiple unit apartment buildings in case one or more of the energy grids go down. At present, building owners pay to flush away humanure into the city’s sewer system, and then pay more money to buy natural gas to heat water and provide heating and cooking fuels. In the future, we will not do anything nearly so stupid. Humanure and urine will be retained on site and passed through bio-digesters to make methane gas for cooking and heating purposes and yield fertilizer as a by-product, which will either be used on-site or sold at a profit to urban gardeners. Water will be heated by solar panels, with methane providing back-up power. Methane can power electric generators. Building owners will advertise the amenities of their public restrooms in order to encourage people passing by to come in and use them, adding profit to the building’s systems. Don’t scoff, in ancient China, farmers alongside highways competed to build attractive roadside privies, to encourage travelers to use theirs and thus give the farmer the advantage of the additional fertility.

District power systems that serve neighborhoods can provide another level of resilience. These could be multiple hybrids using wind, active solar, PV, steam power generated by biological fuels or by biogas made from humanure and other biological input. Municipal governments can provide regulatory incentives and financial and technical support for such systems.

Start at your personal doorstep.

Cities are vulnerable to energy problems because households are vulnerable. We lack persistence — the ability to resist damage. If the energy grids go down, we freeze in the dark during the winter and swelter in the dark during the summer. In the spring and fall, we may be comfortable temperature-wise, but we will be in the dark and our freezers and refrigerators will be defrosting.

You need a household energy system to boost your persistence in case there are problems with the urban grids. The point of a household energy system is to have a comfortable life while caring for people, caring for the planet and having a care for the future. You need to remain safe and comfortable even in the absence of the urban energy grids in the event of a temporary outage or a longer term catastrophe.

Elements of a Household Energy System