Currently, the United States is experiencing what some might call a “sputtering” economy: high unemployment, corporate belt-tightening, high personal debt levels and no clear way to remedy it. The Keystone XL pipeline was proposed by TransCanada to transport approximately 500,000 barrels per day to refineries located on the Gulf Coast has gained a lot of attention from the media, environmentalists, labor groups and policy makers. The “XL” is an “extension” of the Keystone pipeline; however the “XL” follows a completely different path, but arrives at Cushing, OK all the same. The current system is estimated to produce more than 500,000 barrels per day, which would be doubled by the “XL” upon completion. The United States requires large amounts of energy in the form of oil byproducts. Our very friendly neighbor, Canada, has lots of oil beneath its surfaces. This oil can be refined at massive refining complexes located on the Gulf of Mexico, but this is more than 1,500 miles from the oil rich tar sands.
With the USA’s current economic climate and the actions of The Federal Reserve in holding rates very low in an attempt to draw out big investors; many proposals have called for infrastructure banks to be created for improvements and capital investments in high-speed rail (HSR), smart electric grid and green technologies and highway systems. Not only will these projects all create jobs in the USA, but additionally important is an understanding how these areas are all critically interconnected. For example, the future HSR may run on electricity that is connected to the future smart grid powered by green technology. This example is simple enough, but where is the connection? It is in the time and money. The smart gird has yet to be constructed, the HSR is a fragmented system at best, and green technology is underfunded so these improvements crawl at a snail’s pace.
The up-coming reports sponsored by Urban Maintenance seek to outline a context for longer-term planning projects that align with time and money and will bring a benefit to society overall. The team’s research goals and objectives are to quantify some of the planning mechanisms for a project of this nature by providing costs estimates, job creation estimations and vehicle emissions as a result of the proposed plan. The number of jobs created will be taken from the Perryman Group’s Report used by TransCanada to describe and explain the nature of the Keystone XL pipeline. The report indicates that 118,935 “person years” of employment will be created as a result of the pipeline project. This amounts to approximately the same as 23,787 full time jobs for 5 years or 11,893 full time jobs for 10 years or 5,946 full time jobs for 20 years. The report indicates that approximately $20 Billion will be expended over the life of the project; this figure will be used to create a proportion of “jobs-per-dollar” as a simple source of comparison. There will be some differences in the assumptions about jobs and those will be covered in their respective sections but the aim is to present an alternative based on the findings and highlight the benefits of those findings with respect to the overall project.
The TransCanada Keystone XL Pipeline project produced by The Perryman Group can be found here: http://www.transcanada.com/docs/Key_Projects/TransCanada_US_Report_06-10-10.pdf
The Keystone XL pipeline project was recently shelved, but the need for oil and its byproducts is still very much alive. As a result, the need for an attractive alternative has presented itself to many stakeholders. The plan proposed in this project includes utilization of the existing North American Rail Network (NARN) to transport to crude extracted in Canada to the refining facilities on the Gulf Coast. This will create an “American Energy Corridor” that will cross through the heartland and create many jobs along the route. As the aim of the project is longer-term solutions, the bigger picture must be examined. The energy supplies in Canada are limited; meaning the useful life of the “American Energy Corridor” is also limited. This provides a complication when approaching the end of the useful life of the benefits produced by an economic activity. In order to remedy this problem, a more comprehensive approach is needed. Knowing that the useful life of the energy source will end, the project plans the route for additional usefulness afterwards. The fix is routing the “American Energy Corridor” near major cities to be later used as HSR routes between the metropolises. If this could be coordinated, other regions looking to HSR would be assured that they will be connected to a critical transportation artery in the future. This type of long-range plan can create stability for municipalities along the routes, businesses, developers, planners, farmers, home buyers, and everyone. Having a plan, goal or destination provides confidence in understanding that the “bumps along the road” are worth it. The benefit to this particular plan is that jobs are created in two waves: first, when the train cars are built, tracks are improved and people move to towns and cities along the route to service and maintain the “American Energy Corridor”; and second, when the oil is gone the tracks will be retrofitted for HSR, people move to towns and cities along the route to service the HSR and the tourism, development or growth that will occur because of HSR accessibility.
Below is a map of the first draft of the project, routes are subject to change as the results of the analysis provide better information for "arriving at a decision." Although there is some empirical reasoning for the first draft of routes that is not explained here, it will be covered in the next posting. However, feel free to share any criticisms you may have now, it will help to better guide to dialogue.
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