Renewable Energy in New England

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Renewable Energy in New England

• John Moskal
• EPA New England

October 28, 2005
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Some Energy and Environment Basics

• Energy use is the number one source of air
  pollution in New England and the nation
• Electricity generation alone emits 48 of SO2 and
  8 of NOx emissions in New England
• Nationally, electricity generation accounts for
  43 of mercury emissions and 40 of carbon
  dioxide emissions
• New England has some of the highest energy costs
  in the nation
• Transportation sources in New England - cars,
  trucks and buses contribute 53 of NOx and 21
  of VOC emissions
• Energy demand is increasing by 2 per year
• This summer, New England twice set new records
  for daily electricity demand
• Reliability concerns remain about the regions
  electricity and natural gas supplies
• Vehicle use and gasoline consumption are
  increasing
• In 2003, there were nearly 130 billion vehicle
  miles traveled in New England
• Between 1990 and 2003, annual gasoline
  consumption increased 25 from 5.4 billion
  gallons to 6.8 billion gallons per year
• Recognizing these impacts, in 2001, EPA New
  England created an Energy Team to focus on energy
  issues in the region

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New England Electric Generation
Fuel Reliance has transitioned from Nuclear to
Natural Gas
Source EIA Power Annual
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Post Katrina/Rita Energy Situation

• Extreme disruption across oil and natural gas
  supply chains
• Upward price impact on both oil and natural gas
• Winter 05/06 is likely to bring significantly
  higher heating and electric costs
• New England is dependent on natural gas for
  electricity generation
• ISO New England believes that there is
  significant risk of insufficient availability
  from gas fired plants to meet peak electrical
  demands this winter

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What is EPA Doing?

• We are working with our partners in the states,
  local communities, businesses, and ISO New
  England to
• Increase the availability and use of cleaner and
  renewable supplies of energy
• Ensure adequate infrastructure to maintain
  reliability of electric and natural gas systems
• Promote new energy efficient technologies and
  practices that can dramatically cut emissions
  while saving money
• Promote energy conservation in transportation

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Infrastructure

• Continued investment in infrastructure is
  necessary including
• Fuel delivery
• Transmission lines
• Renewable energy facilities
• Several LNG terminals have been proposed to help
  meet the regions growing demand for natural gas
• Several renewable energy facilities have been
  proposed to provide fuel diversity and clean
  sources of electricity to the regional power grid

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Current and Proposed LNG Projects in New
England/Eastern Canada
Existing LNG Terminal
Proposed Onshore LNG Terminals
Proposed Offshore LNG Terminals
Proposed Canadian LNG Terminals
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Proposed LNG Projects

• Domestic Projects
• Weavers Cove Fall River, MA Approved by FERC
• Keyspan Providence, RI Project denied by FERC
  due to safety concerns Company has appealed the
  decision
• AES Battery Rock Outer Brewster Island, MA No
  applications filed to date
• Quoddy Bay Pleasant Point, ME - No applications
  filed to date
• Downeast LNG Robbinston, ME No applications
  filed to date
• Neptune LNG Offshore MA Deepwater Port
  Application currently under review by US Coast
  Guard
• Northeast Gateway Offshore MA - Deepwater Port
  Application currently under review by US Coast
  Guard
• Broadwater LNG Long Island Sound, NY
• Eastern Canadian Projects
• St. John, New Brunswick - Approved
• Point Tupper, Nova Scotia - Approved

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Current and Proposed Commercial Wind Projects in
New England
Existing Wind Projects and Proposed Expansions
Proposed Wind Projects
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Proposed Major Regional Wind Energy Projects

• Requiring Federal Review
• Cape Wind Nantucket Sound, MA
• 130 Turbines, 420 feet in height, 24 square miles
  of area in Nantucket Sound
• Deerfield Wind Searsburg, VT
• 20 to 30 additional turbines on National Forest
  land, 360 feet in height
• Non-Federal Review
• Massachusetts
• Berkshire Wind, Hancock, MA - 15 MW,
• Hoosac Wind, Monroe, MA - 30 MW
• Maine
• Evergreen Wind, Mars Hill ME, 50 MW,
• Reddington Wind, Phillips, ME 52 MW

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Proposed Major Regional Wind Energy Projects
contd

• Vermont
• Equinox Wind, Manchester, VT 9 MW
• East Haven Wind Farm, East Haven, VT 6 MW
• Glebe Mountain, Londonderry, VT 30 MW
• Lowell Mountain, Lowell, VT 40 MW
• Sheffield, VT 18 MW
• New Hampshire
• CEI New Hampshire Wind, Lempster, NH 25 30 MW
• Berlin NH, 2 3 MW

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Current and Proposed Solar Projects in New England
Proposed Solar Projects
Top Ten Existing Solar Projects
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Other Proposed Renewable Energy Projects for New
England

• Schiller Station, Portsmouth, NH
• Conversion of 50 MW Coal unit to Biomass
• Center Barsntead, NH and Springfield, NH
• Retooling of old biomass units with new
  combustion and emission technology
• Approximately 20 MW total

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Promoting Demand for Renewable Power

• EPAs Green Power Partnership
• Recognizes organizations that procure their
  electricity from renewable resources
• 30 Companies in New England
• Renewable Portfolio Standards
• Utilities in CT, MA and RI are required to
  procure a minimum amount of the electricity they
  sell from renewable resources
• Educating on renewable power
• Fact sheets, website, public outreach

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Energy Efficiency has Never Been a Better
Investment Than it is Today

• Technology is rapidly becoming cheaper and more
  efficient
• Lighting, variable frequency drives, and control
  systems are now twice as efficient and less than
  half the cost compared with ten years ago
• New federal energy efficiency standards for
  commercial and residential products including
  ceiling fans, refrigerators, clothes washers, and
  traffic signals will
• Save Americans 8.24 billion per year
• Reduce energy use equivalent to that produced by
  100 power plants
• Higher energy prices mean greater savings and
  faster paybacks on efficiency upgrades
• Utility rebates for businesses, consumers,
  governments and non-profits reduce payback
  periods even further often to less than one
  year
• Better management practices can further cut
  energy costs with little or no investment in new
  equipment

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EPAs ENERGY STAR Helps Everyone Improve Energy
Efficiency

• Businesses can cut energy costs in their
  buildings and operations by 30 on average
  savings that go directly to profits
• Consumers can choose ENERGY STAR labeled
  lighting, appliances, electronics, and heating
  and cooling equipment that cut home energy costs
  by hundreds of dollars per year
• Schools can save hundreds of thousands of dollars
  annually on energy costs in buildings that can be
  used instead for services and educational
  programs.
• Colleges and universities, hospitals, and other
  non-profits can save thousands on energy costs
  and lead by example in their communities

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Energy Planning Elements to Consider

• Natural Resources

Solar
Wind
Bio-mass
Hydro (Water)
Geo-thermal
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Solar Thermal Systems

• Solar collectors produce heat for many
  applications
• Domestic hot water
• Pool heating
• Space heating
• Absorption cooling
• Can provide 40-80 of building needs

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Solar Thermal for Air Heating

• Transpired Solar Collectors are solar air
  preheating systems
• Collector is dark metal wall with holes
• Typical system payback 3-12 years

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Solar Photovoltaic

• Solar Photovoltaic
• Uses solar energy to produce electricity
• Mostly mounted on rooftops
• Needs a lot of space
• Scalable
• Emission Free
• Expensive

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Wind Power

• Turns mechanical energy of spinning blades into
  electricity
• Pollution free
• Fastest growing energy source in world
• Most cost competitive of renewables
• Scalable 10 kw to 3.6 MW
• Intermittent
• Aesthetic and noise concerns

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Bioenergy

• Produced from organic matter
• Wood chips, digester gas, landfill gas,
  agricultural waste
• Direct combustion and gasification methods
• Gasification has cleaner emissions
• Not totally emission free
• Produces heat and/or electricity
• Much of renewable electricity currently from
  biomass and/or landfill gas
• Environmental impacts associated with all stages
  of fuel cycle harvesting, transportation and
  energy production
• Additional transportation applications for
  biodiesel fuel

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Ocean Energy

• Tidal
• Uses movement of tides to turn a turbine and
  generate electricity
• Wave
• Similar to tidal uses movement from waves to
  drive a turbine in a water column
• Many current patents pending
• Demonstration projects in NE for wave and tidal
  projects pending
• Costs are uncertain
• Thermal
• Use temperature difference between top and bottom
  of ocean
• Employ heat exchange cycles to drive a turbine
• Very far off from development

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Hydropower

• Dams
• Run of the river hydro
• Redirects a portion of a river to power a turbine
• Pumped storage
• Water is pumped up into a storage reservoir and
  released when demand is high
• Over 100 small hydro dams in MA

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Other Technologies

• Geothermal
• Little electric generating potential in NE
• Significant potential for groundsource
  heating/cooling applications
• Fuel Cells
• Use Hydrogen in combination with oxygen and a
  catalyst to make electricity, heat and water
• Small scale electric applications ( lt 1 MW)
• High cost
• Hydrogen infrastructure not yet developed

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Questions?????

• John Moskal
• US EPA New England
• 617 918 1826
• Moskal.john_at_epa.gov