Volume 3.1 The Energy Breakdown (1977)

This issue of Carolina Planning focuses on energy. The magazine’s coverage includes a number of policy alternatives pertinent to state, local, and national decisionmakers in their deliberation over the energy problem. To provide some background information, the periodical begins with a short look at energy patterns and the institutional arrangements presently existing in North Carolina to manage resources. Next, an article and comment discusses national and state strategies for combating a future petroleum crisis like the 1 973 Arab oil embargo. Then, the benefits of a peak load pricing scheme are explained and proposed for North Carolina utilities. Following, are three articles on two widely discussed alternative energy forms: the Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactor and solar energy. The magazine concludes with an elaboration on energy conservation and the special role local governments might play in the effort. This collection, we feel, provides a broadly-based, yet in-depth assessment of important aspects of the state’s and nation’s energy problems, from the point of view of the planner, government official, and citizen.

Editors: Craig Richardson, Bruce Stiftel, and Dan Fleishman

A digital version of this issue is available here.

An Overview: Energy & Policy

Blair Pollock and Fleming Bell

Historical energy supply and demand data in North Carolina are presented, as well as the institutional framework of energy policy in the state.

A Blueprint for Short-Term Petroleum Supply Crisis Management

Thomas LaPointe

The author outlines the federal strategies for short term supply crisis management and comments on their implications to state & local policymaking.

Comment: The State is Prepared for a Short-Term Petroleum Crisis

John Sweeney and Jonathan Rogoff

Two members of the Energy Division in North Carolina’s Department of Military & Veteran Affairs assess the state’s Emergency Energy Program.

A Peak Load Pricing Policy for North Carolina’s Utilities

Miles Bidwell and Jean Bonnes

Rising electric rates, influenced by high construction costs for new plants, has encouraged exploration of more efficient & equitable pricing mechanisms. Arguments for a peak load or time of day pricing scheme are examined.

The Other Arms Race: The Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactor and the Plutonium Safeguards Problem

Eric Hyman

A large percentage of U.S. energy research has focused on nuclear technology, especially the liquid metal reactor. The author concludes that further research on the risk differential between the LMFBR and uranium based reactors be undertaken before continuing the program.

Single Family Home Solar Heating and Cooling

Donald Perry Kanak Jr.

The author describes a solar heating and cooling system for a single family home located in the Southeast, and examines the system’s lifetime costs & benefits.

The Feasibility of a Multiple Residence Solar Energy System

Ernest Coyman

Solar heating and cooling would only decrease our dependency on fossil fuels by a small amount. This article assesses the economic feasibility of solar electricity generation in North Carolina on the scale of a planned unit development.

Where Do Local Governments Fit into an Energy Conservation Strategy?

William Harrington

The author discusses alternative approaches to local government involvement in energy conservation. Local governments may seek energy savings in building, urban transportation, and land use through the proffered local energy conservation strategies.