Power from the Appalachians : A Solution to the Northeast's Electricity Problems?

This book grew out of a study that was commissioned by the West Virginia University Energy and Water Research Center. It was designed to assess the impact of electricity imports on West Virginia's economy and to determine what efforts, if any, should be made to increase electricity exports. Because organizations involved in the electricity industry operate on the multi-state level, the outcome is a work that considers the electricity trade from the Appalachians to the Northeast and the physical, political, geographic, and economic factors influencing this trade now and in the future.

Early chapters provide an introduction to and overview of the American electricity industry. Twenty years ago energy forecasters predicted that electricity demand would grow at a healthy rate and that the only way to satisfy future demand was to build new, and usually larger, power plants. Little, if any, thought was given to electricity conservation, alternatives to centralized power plants, or changing demand patterns. This mentality brought disaster to many utility companies that ordered unnecessarily expensive power plants. Recent thinking dictates that the nation has sufficient generating supply, conservation can reduce the need for power plants, and those plants that are needed can be smaller, locally-sited facilities. This perception is quickly changing, the authors contend, as certain regions are now in a dangerous position because energy demand is increasing and existing capacity is aging. The balance of the book discusses the steps that must be taken to insure cost-effective use of electricity and the addition of new supplies. Among the issues considered are the power trade alternative; the economic impacts of the electricity industry, (using West Virginia as a test case); acid rain; Canadian power imports; siting energy facilities; and the cost-effectiveness of the various strategies. Given the diverse backgrounds of the coauthors, this book will have widespread appeal in the fields of economics, electrical engineering, geography, mineral resource economics, and political science. Members of the electrical industry itself should also consider this book as they grapple with guaranteeing the nation's energy supply into the next century.

FRANK J. CALZONETTI is the Project Coordinator of the WVU coal-by-wire project and is also Associate Professor of Geography and Assistant Dean for Research and Graduate Studies at the West Virginia University, College of Arts and Sciences at Morgantown. He has been project director for several energy-related research projects. He is the author of several books and many journal articles concerning energy and regional development.

TIMOTHY ALLISON has recently completed his M.A. in geography and M.S. in mineral resource economics at West Virginia University and is now teaching in Spain.

MUHAMMAD A. CHOUDHRY is an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at West Virginia University. He is an expert in D.C. transmission systems and has published numerous papers on the topic. He is currently continuing research on D.C. transmission and superconductivity as a principal investigator on several research projects.

GREGORY G. SAYRE is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Political Science at West Virginia University. He has worked on many projects dealing with the public policy issues concerning energy development.

TOM S. WITT is Professor of Economics and Executive Director of the Bureau of Business Research of the College of Business and Economics, West Virginia University. He has been principal or co-principal investigator and project director of numerous studies and is the author of numerous reports and articles.