The "climate crisis" is driving our energy debate. Recently Al Gore announced a goal that in 10 years, 100 percent of our nation's electricity will be generated from renewable resources. For Mr. Gore and others who share his vision, this policy is necessary to save the planet and, therefore, cost is no object.

As the costs of such a policy become apparent, however, many will argue that we cannot afford it. Certainty about the scope of the climate crisis or low-cost energy solutions to solve that crisis would make energy policy work quite simple. If neither exists, developing sound energy policy will require reconciliation of what we need and what we can afford.

Energy efficiency -- deriving the benefits of electricity while actually consuming less of it -- will increase in the coming years as never before. Unfortunately, even the best energy efficiency programs will not lead us to the point of negative usage. We will still need electric supply, and that supply has to come from somewhere.

Renewable energy has an undeniable appeal to everyone -- including electric utilities. At the risk of throwing cold water in the face of Mr. Gore's dream, it is unlikely that renewable energy will provide all of our supply in the next 10 years -- at least in the absence of a major technological breakthrough or a seismic shift in public policy.

We will see the use of more renewable energy, though. In Kansas, the renewable energy focus is primarily on wind energy. Electricity supply solely from wind, however, is like the wind itself: present some of the time and absent at others. Integrating wind resources into an electricity system while maintaining balance between electricity load and electric supply requires the continued use of traditional generation resources.

Experts in both the wind and utility industries believe that we can reasonably expect to integrate roughly 20 percent of our energy from wind in the future. Utilities in Kansas have made steps toward that goal. Wind power could be generated in Kansas and exported to regions that do not have renewable energy alternatives. The transmission lines and facilities needed to move bulk power, including wind energy, between regions will need to be more fully developed.

If less than 100 percent of our power is generated from renewable resources, the remainder will likely come from new versions of generation resources that build on established technologies -- coal, nuclear and natural gas in combination.

Concern with carbon dioxide emissions and global climate change resulted in the current Kansas debate about the use of coal generation. If this concern drives our energy policy, it would predict a movement toward more nuclear energy, which does not have the emissions of coal plants. Proposals for more nuclear energy will likely bring equal, but different, objections from the same people that oppose the use of coal. Improvements will continue to be made in both coal and nuclear technologies. With coal, technological innovations to sequester or reduce carbon emissions will develop. Nuclear has a strong safety record and the industry will build on that success.

Any discussion of the energy future in Kansas should include consideration of the cost. Ascertaining the cost we are willing to bear requires that we discern our priorities. If we want more renewable energy, need to limit carbon dioxide emissions and want to maintain reliable service, we can do that.

If we want to provide the most reliable service at the lowest possible cost, we can do that.

The correct policy answer is found at the intersection of what we want and what we can afford.

Stuart Lowry is executive vice president of Kansas Electric Cooperatives and a member of the Kansas Energy Council and the governor's Kansas Energy and Environmental Policy Advisory Group.

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