New environmentally friendly technologies may not always be what they seem.

Lori Smith Schell, president of the Durango-based consultancy Empowered Energy, gave the example of plug-in electric cars. They require about as much electricity as a house, Schell said, raising the question of whether they’re truly an environmentally friendly technology.

Schell led a Lunch and Learn – the “ABCs of Energy Policy” – on Wednesday at First National Bank of Durango. Schell’s talk, organized by the Durango Chamber of Commerce, was a broad overview of energy issues in the United States.

The talk drew a full room to learn about energy policy. Many of the audience’s questions centered around the environmental trade-offs of certain technologies, such as electricity derived from natural gas versus coal.

Coal remains the top source for generating electricity in the U.S., followed closely by natural gas. In 2012, natural gas briefly overtook coal for the first time.

Schell also discussed the differing strategies taken by electric utilities. La Plata Electric Association, blessed by moderate summer temperatures, sees only a 35 percent difference between highest and lowest usage. In contrast, Gainesville, Fla., where air conditioning is widespread, has an 85 percent difference between peak and trough usage.

Schell called energy storage the “Holy Grail” for America’s energy industry. Current technology has not solved the problem of how to economically store electricity.

Schell briefly discussed hydraulic fracturing, the technique also known as “fracking,” whereby drillers inject water, sand and chemicals underground to free oil and natural gas for production.

Drillers use 1.2 million to 3.5 million gallons of water per well for fracking, she said.

“That’s a lot of water,” Schell said.

Swift Energy recently began drilling a shale-oil well in southwest La Plata County. The company has said it may not require fracking.

Schell also touched on ethanol in response to an audience question. Schell said U.S. ethanol policy is not effective.

“It’s not a good energy equation,” she said.

Schell’s Empowered Energy has clients across the nation and abroad, including the California Solar Industries Association, FuelCell Energy Inc. and the Advanced Power and Energy Program at the University of California, Irvine.

The chamber hosts Lunch and Learn monthly, with speakers scheduled about a year in advance.

“I thought it was very informative,” said Jack Llewellyn, the chamber’s executive director. “I appreciated the fact that Lori didn’t take a side, so to speak. She said, these are the facts.”

Schell said she enjoyed giving the Lunch and Learn talk.

“It’s always good when people ask a lot of questions,” she said. “I hope people walked away a little more informed consumers of the news.”

cslothower@durangoherald.com