HomeMy WebLinkAbout3 Renewable Energy Agenda Item # 43
iu
17FPublic Utility District
To: Board of Directors
From: Peter Holzmeister
Date: July 11, 2003
Subject: Renewable energy
I am expecting Rolf Godon and others to address the board under public input to
express an interest in renewable energy. Attached is an article from the Sierra
Sun related to this. Steve Hollabaugh will be able to discuss the status of
renewable energy opportunities in general terms, if the board wishes to spend a
few minutes on the topic.
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yr tl ct i� w, uinnan o� ad s?il e 4h l and Gererill Tire- r et ,l s .ottom life Tile cost of producii g a 1. (onzt
tun.. ice's of nnllivrs o. c all r i wind ope aeons deetriat} 4em woind has ftflen boo more than c) Fo tell�,t c
is unt;Io + ,c :° Mass <ev<ett Its car, etcrr< firms fsttvindrtnstcerenstalLdif-C'alifomiainit c d 5l t nn on wu r+p-ejee>i t�c Uni ed States,in .tic cost st.nds rs bete een 5 and 6 cents per wlc w v`ho- I,n is s d r: v r p;cin b, some 60 p scant, to more than ing on location—comparable to car better than, i t Torre 9t' tat _w iu> .;h to provide elet tut, to 1 milh„n homes. standard 2 to 5 troll for conventional fuels. ?,d vi n a<r t >
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seen. >�a px>_ovolta c celk cur enily.uppl about 200 naomentmn from state mandates—at least a d<n_- sate;"'Thl hie ltzers who didn't cro, a hoot bouuthis: -her- uti( tres to getsome of their energly s
frog eresr.
t T a .re a t I .:c'ti a., ,a t ac gate,' tpws Ronard Lehr, a powe,is» me midst of a Lull-blown boom.
o '
cornrn s> o❑ td a votrid ne rgc The bis st Projects on file drawing board ut ; is e e< ��t t , ,kr-
kci<u is I-r osc y v.hays needed to n e wind a viable la's Rollins Thunder wind farm, a massive 3,0t T t Beater t :
t t11,e . tha' once it begins operation in 2006, i 1 -ed
on
t tile eec si g owth v rd pow tills only about one- ,s rnuch e csrncity as three average nuclear pla, t, a L.
vIt o ICc.tt of tl c c:;unm s total electricity demana; the Ell- camas in t tashington and Oregon will add
r is 't" 1 a °till pctpui a t.n; onk ,;,.a-t w,e third larger watts by 2001 Off the coast of Nantucket,
A` .Tact ,tit I ,
r n .�d d a e> Ills four ones a<much w nu pewcr capaci- c ountry's first o'fshore wind farm is slated to tit g n is „ fret
nu c•cbt r t 2a percent vi r`s se cciclt suppl} from re- next near, it is erected to generate 420 meg t ts, :, n.e a o,
t< ti
c t. 2910 1 t a rowing oum u r o� udustry experts say displace two standard coal-fired plants.
r t� �i r s red S a« le its it
ce t et i t:, rra l ct and its And these c ee'T
the sixxas,w Years nee Bun G=vens sthero managing
alcsw'=p r) t. T and 'i'd farmsni ind pw beco
o erhas methe state's begllln*.ng. 't iu [<;s .. oil,.,
t .,ia,,the fasteshgrowing see cc of elec ndty=. courin 's h
t<nt al or Leo !)(,,letand the size c ,ell, 1% To:_Ku, I
Tr r .t trorn surd. And the econom cc o Iit �I tic
�rin t rchea-c is `he tend ? right past wt
i,,to n. to a n Texas— - ,'r FurcIsayT I e r :
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"The big players who didn't give a hoot about this a few years
ago are finally getting in the game," says wind expert Ronald Lehr.
"Which is precisely what's needed to make wind a viable energy source."
' sa ',:ogle just`ooh'and `ahh'the closer they get to them,espe- His phone rang off the hook last year when namnl as i ics �
u ll the littl" Inds. Ifwe ever went belly up, heaven forbid, we spiked. "People in the'energy business want predictab Lt,,.,,iu you
r coin always make a tourist attraction out of this Hate." can get that now with wind."
,t t Easy to see why visitors are intrigued.Givens an affable West ?'..
* 7ex s .hatiVe rho is the plate's operations manager, sides off a tG ENERGY'S SURGE OF INTEREST in %vinl p o to has p
stline of imp asalve facts: The towers' foundations take up a mereBerargy
been along time coming. 4ddiopgh some large nipinies
150 square feet of ground, but their rotors sweep an area nearlybegan research and development efforts dune h Pw -
t u v the size of the mainsail on a large clipper ship. Perched atop crisis,federal funding all but dried u t r t tineIs "
a h c worrectangular box the size ofa school bus that contains Reagan and Bush years,and file United State;tc hno c r cad was
cb to»u of pod er equipment.Sensors send streams ofdata to a cen- lost to firms from Europe.
�. real s er the helps fine-tune the turbines'operations and directs a The U.S.wind industry didn't begin to royal e unit;li 199'I al=
to a --about 590,000 megawatt-hours'worth of electricity,enough ter Congress created a wind energy tax credit and the D par moue !
to power r abour 35,000 homes,to a nearby substation. of Energy Iaunched a program to finance thedevelopn [it of h a t,
1)v e arrive at the base of one tower,we have to crane our necks turbines:All entetprisrng team at a Texas utility caHtci r itr in d
to se he top of the structure,where we can just make out the now- South West Corp. was the first to take adv r age of ill riles ..,,d Fz
note ions nitcd E.Enron was an early player in the revival ofadnd soon set up a dozen experimental turbines cn a 11111110l, ❑i iMi S "
crerev, one of its most profitable subsidiaries, E ion Wind, sup- Fort Davis,Texas.Walker,the 1t.P executive,vas C,enm nd eouth 3is
ld all all the tarbines for Trent Mesa and developed bout one-third West's research director at the time. "W,e Ind all kinds pro:ems l
of die 900 m-gawatts of wind power that came online in Texas last at first,"he recalls.`Whe,x it got too windy some of the p,irts ou?d ttI
ae fir When the company was sold after Enron's dernise,nsP and break and fly off.Then there was the lightning storms— n bs-c:;t `
s? of hers snapped up its wind farms,while its turbine manufacturing ed blowing up left and right:."But the broken parts anti nee-out `{
of er Bons went to General Electric. gen€ratois provided just he trial 6y nre lire industry r re tJ
ns opens a po hole-shaped door on one of the towers and company that built those turbines,a startup called Zc rc r ,;gy 'I
wdlo ins de.A steel ladder leads upward through the darkness;,,it its - Systems later became Enron Wind. :!
b c I. computer console keeps track of the turbine's operations. To gauge whether the market was ready for wind, ll !ter e r-,,- f
lr h h he started work at one of Texas'first wind farms six years ago, nized a series of"deliberative polls,"town li ill stvle rh t gs lhaldi'
C`ve n recalls,state-of-the-art turbines put out 550 kilowatts e x
-each. in three Texas cities to 1997 at which c s onrs coi:ld r rr 1-out liI
"71 e new machines can do three times that," he.cotes, "and for thenevv technology and rank their preferred er erg} sour s In �-h
Ill outhalf the cost per kilowatt-hour." of the polls,renewablcs came in first or second_only c i cry—ii n
T-. new generation of wind turbines aren't just bigger than their was more popular. "None of us re.hzed how much pe ole vv ould
:i p e Gesso-s;they're more reliable,easier to maintain,and better at support the idea,"recalls Walker. "It really turned the h_,'I-Isof cur t ac I .r fig to changing wind conditions And they're more popular. management." Walker was soon given,the go ahead to( Veto ';c !
D,cL.0 some wind projects have been criticized ter marring the compan}'s first commercial wind firm. Setting out i1<e
Tau cape and posing hazards to migrating birds most environ- in search ofm oil patch, he and his team F nned oat rot vs.sr j
m r iahsts strongly support the technology. Here in West Texas, Texas,scouting savor rble locations in hopes or striking i fro log- ale
Ti i t Mesa ha<brought more than a dozen permanent jobs and a ical pay dirt-1 hey eventually settled on a parr of h m igh e s a i b1
r )f lucn<uve land leases for area ranchers. "The taxes alone are gen erecting the Treat Mesa turbines,
:nal irg a big difference for the schools and hospitals here,"says By 1999,Texas legislators were taking note As part c 7 bill d icg-
G enn Wo:tham,a city commissioner in nearby Sweetwater. "This plating the state's energy market,lawmakers v+t6 sup re t tr
h s `seen awin-win situation." voeacy groups like Public Citizen and the Environrier a D �nic -
4, le such praise makes for great P.R.,it's the bottom tine that's Fund—crafted a provi,ion requiring that power comp lies
pig it in wind.Richard Walker,AE P s director of least2,000 watch,or approximately 3 palcento,their I r rom:e- ggl'
re cc bye energy business development, says company executives newable sources by 2009. It was the biggest such mar-at_ . Diu &I
ar c f silhiy enthusiastic aboutwind power's ability to deliver oleo- country-"[The provision]was strongly resisted by most t t is uti:i- ;d
tr cit a at a stable price. "You can give them a firm number for 20 ties,"says Steve Wolens,a Democrat and the 7ili's co-ai her i.; lie
yc l rs,' he notes,"which is something you can't do with natural gas." state House, "But it was the right thing to dc.And in o,, of g run,
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BEYONDTNE FRINGE
-, It'S ti GtfUSt wind.Renewable subsidize the technology,and in zoos.Nearly 65o,000 geothermal '�'� a �•�
if energy technologies such as solar remote places far from the electric systems have been installed
{: panels geothermal pumps,and grid,espedaily in the developing around the nation,according to
hydrogen fuel cells—long world.But now,some U.S.utilities. . the industry-government
d sm isc d as costly,whole-earthy and government agencies are Geothermal Heat Pump tvf =u
fantasies by the Dick Cheneys beginning to offer their own Consortium—saving the equiv-
a, $ ;
oftheworid—have quietly incentives in New York and alent of some 14million barrels of
' beer,-gat ng mainstream.Some, California,subsidies can pay for up oil annually. soLnz'A.eLsc Lrc IW EEc n r
co
OF rUN VENiIOt f RI,13 T -E11E4
particularly photovoltaic solar to half the cost of a photovoltaic And then there are fuel cells, 01T-E DECIDE.
cells,hase nearly reached the system large enough to power perhaps the Hely Grail of eh,
�. ,
tipping point at which they can ahouse—typically between alternative energy.Wei veils, whose largest to rehcle,er 'of le
_t,
match or beat the cost of $zo,000 and$3o,000.Similar,if which operate much like batteries, are lord and D i r e ays r i E'
.d cancer tonal sources;others, less generous,programs arealso in produce power from pure aready produc ii,fcc Col b s
including fuel cells,are drawing place in Maryland,Arizona,Florida, hydrogen or front hydrogen-rich for use is Eu o)e and .Ilforma. `f v3p
multimi'dion-dollar investments Washington,and othet states, fuels such as natural gas, For now,m u i ce i, �I
i > from major companies hungry Geothermal technology,which methanol,and even gasoline. finding theirwaynto 1,21cr ars t�'
for an a lternative to fossil fuels, uses the constant temperature Quiet,extremely energy-efficient, and small powur pl sI p.t< i ce
Tire cost of solar-powered of the earth to heat and cool and,in many cases,completely prc,ide dell,oaDle e cctticItyE.
r
` energy,for instance,has dropped buildings,may already have pollution-free,they promise Yp inpependent the hr:C.The II�_,j
more than Be percent since 1982, reached its tipping point.In t992,� revolutionize the production of Conde Nast bu ❑lacau
from$r'to$4 per watt,and New Jersey's Richard Stockton energy in everything from the York's Ti mes Sc La re,•:pplcmens
y . some t s perts say it will reach$T— College built the world's largest family canto homes,shops, its power suprywit itwo wr
4 depot the cost of coal-fueled "closed loop"geothermal and factories. top fuel cells the ear.vood k�
eiecni ity—by the end of the installation to replace an obsolete Mass production of fuel-cell cars Hotels chain i3 insta l i n1j,
decade.And solar installations, heatingand cooling s stern. isn't expected until the end of the g Y P court-sae lost <elgu era r �.
while still a tiny fraction of world According to Stockton physicist decade.But Ballard Power Systems, attivoolf its S[e[ct"H-rota > txo-
ene rgy production,are growing Lynn Sti les,the system red aced aVancouver-based company in New Jersey rdC erye ilr :ilXo
fast:lK hBe it took nearly three peak electric demand by nearly a recently anncuric d,t Ins ro
decad ss—untili999—forthe million watts and will have saved- rueR-ML LUSES THAT RUN fuelcell unit debt ids wi hr
industry to produce its first billion the college roughly$r million by ON HvoaoaEN ARE 8EINc its rig diesel t xu,.
•., , ROAD-TESTED IN CALIFORNIA.
watts A-oridwide,solar is expected Fuel cells'be rfte't a
' .o hit[I e 2-billion-watt mark as f
�. •.� thoagh Is h he i f 7 ll to
early as next year.Making yk yT run them wit Lin i b v c
photo Eoltaic solar panels has }`"' s 'C's us f ,t L u} v produced rct filtm n i iai E s `#
becone profitable enough 1
- p g - p ,y but from waf users =cctr a v r `
s+' _ aHracc pig energy and technology r j `--fi.fc tr Dec g rsl sx -- ,r fro m so la r eels K inj rrrr rd �l f
I compzries:Once dominated by e u r- as P
}h i� 1 -' cdnerrereNa 1 sou cs.Cte x
startup-,the industry is now
11
1 widely avail e,tink'cciriclo,e
s
¢ i motrciled by multinational giants Y , would soleec anp e rr's t `'
a such as Shelf,BP,and Mitsubishi. r •T " "' ma,or di,emias hcv,to sate r '
- Most of solar's growth so far c ``z d :r;#"'a t lill energy when the SUo dcas t a
has come in countries like Japan sh ne or the„ nd w„t"nla, cf,
and Geimanythat aggressively ''` To run rung Luc na �
I ,
Offfr$t,`t$ , �Fire to 5
4steru,Z:"le
te
r vas booming success because the utilities finally r,alited dreg the cctr•,miss.on directed coannie, to draw ai s act
Iouid make money with wind." theirenergy from renewable sources within the vt l, [ ; i
i
x law has spark. d wind a m ror�nuctiva ix�oi i ,,t
AW9 REQUIRING POWER CO.MPANIFS to get some portion thousands of SttptrsiZe till LIu OL fi}lout tl-, v�i vial r
ex
i Sfrheir energy—typically b_-rvee„ 3 a1d S percent icon re- d I a ccastS of il•c Ui itud Ct I rycan D ,.mark, Iu C li-at
,tewables are now or, books in a dozen states,including Europe s agpeessivc approach is a te•suh, in la „ ,rti of u c
i:it I T» :'ennsylvania Nawje�sey.Wisconsin, and Arizona.I ce mam Lope z D;uoars comnn ua_nt to th_l l:uted D. t .s wale ? ,
dates are widely credited with pushing wind to the top of the indus- col,which e,a k for reducing produrIttou of
tw's agenda.Yet they pale in comparison to z measure passed by the climate change thing is driving it tote,"sal',JJili C,oe °il,. L
is Lai opcan Commission last year:LouUlg, ua pan,to Texas' legisla of smtuinable energy policy for li ain's Dcaat n.I .,-`E _ X• i
i# r o.a ns a model for creating Ina.Ifet-based. v I nd energy incentives, Industry, which is dis r.baring 5331 m ilEur tIl a ,al _ ..
42 No H F R I oN£S I .�..a/auGUs-3G0]
PREr ,I tING WINDS
One recent report estimates that,together with other renewable sources,
wind could supply a full 20 percent of the nation's electricity needs
while actually reducing the average price consumers pair
t
ru renewable energy projects. "There's a growing recognition from those sources by 2020.Like the Tex.,.e>_tJatien la.t .:Jso
t of the scrioussless of the problem and that we need to reduce creates a credit trading system to help power compan i feet die
S o -si:mpton of energy and obtain the energy we do use tMin new requirement."Utilities that aren't ha wind ndi aiei lc:buv L
c reue s z1ble sources." credits from those where the wind is,tlenrlful totes 1 1 car '
I'f Bush administration,which last year pulled out blithe met Colorado utilities commissioner, "w u h helps so s i l0i'l( Of
i " n"tionanegotiations that produced the Kyoto agreement, the geographic constraints that power genera ors race [ i, i,lrs ,
a,refused to rake a similarly House counterpart i •,_ ;rut ?#
.« role tc aromote renew- „ v i year,has no such pro.i,.v,,.
able,. Thoul,h Bush recently 4 Whether or not th n, i'ure
t wr c the,vna energy tax cred- ' ultimately tecomcs ir n ea :E
i h c s lergy plan includes no has alf acts d some 1 i u.. tad
r a u t al mandates for renewa' t eke > 1-he uric
b4 s arld instead looks largely to lo'nll:can set pa>P.c t
cis,i, 3il,and nuclear power to m - and Ism L,the tzc i u i,c 1
teed ll-e nation's future energy
r i f ' �� uc{e how tl cti r. ac i .:s � t
Robert ( t -, senio tt s,k
J course, wind alone could ;a " ' dent of de,�loprn t C e a•r
sever fully supplant those al Elecrric's new cn: it,
son ; Whue the fuel is essen- Civisio a 7e did the t .g
t free, rht vagaries of the with cat iivtic cot Ave '
s cat tl don't guarantee enough aecided to nake the i ih .ter.
r it c keep -he lights on 24s7 but we drmt't tell - i- c it .es
Lf r ver,wl iie wind resourceshow to do it—just tk c. pad Ei1
2 i >ices like Texas,North Da- ;
to"Anational rerr;. I s
kota arldK>nsas—the nation's Off shore wind farms like this one near Copenhagen are cafe, Gies adds,we t opt i �.
tilfe, sandiest states—are abun- expected to help the European Union generate za percent t
oflts electricity from renewabies by zo,o. eompantes Mice G. [s i,p :f
a a at a=y tend to be far from the more money into w i c um-
t c ts 1.tuna centers that most er renewable teclmo'> e ' i ia;
t e c flower, and transmission lines lose a great deal of elecu-ieuty in,down the cost even further. "We're now ci v lopinc, n > tile
3.t
< ong distances. biggest wind ?udsires vet," se note sand , _re dot ° ut
the nation's wind resources are vast.According to Depart- manly to meet the growing demand in catorc.' ;
tin (if Energy estimates, those same three windiest states could Futurists also envision a day when wind power ca e ,r;d ?c
ilr,ct die nadon's entire electricity demand. With improvements to electrolyze water to produce hydro eo,which can sewn c of r
c a :.ansm+ssis
-en system, "there's absolutely no doubt that wind everything from cars to genera tors. `We am n6w see a i I,i I'lls a ae
e _cjL ;upp!y at least 10 percent of the country's electric power," farmers and ranchers can supply not only much of ti c ra , I r
fj, s ;Lindall Swisher, executive director of the American Wind electricity,but much of-the hydrogen to tile,its fleet cf c, a_lianas
I r c Assoc cnon,an industry research and trade group."And it as well,"predicts Lester Brosvn, president or.ire Er:rth i I v "t,fr
co ,la aio it wthout raising electricity rates."A recent report by the tute. `]nor the list tine,the United States has die tech: (I
Li1o;a of Co,nerned Scientists estimated that,together with other vorce itself from Yfiddle Eastern oil."
reneltble sources,wind could supply a full 20 percent of the re- Of course, Brown and other envirenmcntalists hart Ie ll .tak-
t c electricity needs while actually reducing rite average price in,grand predictions about wind for decades, only to is s: , le I i
cc ts..,ners p�.y ideas undermined as falling energy prices and the resu
3cn_,wabee:ergy would get a modest boost under the energy bill investment rcndered alternative techno.=--ogres unpru ie Ei,.t
Fa sari by the Senate in April.The measure requires companies to with the economic winds firalh b.owir_g in their favor.r .cies
g a_reast1fie.cent of their power from renewable sourcesby2005, proponents now sound Tess like Doti Quixotes than I .at,e'd.
ar i a sets a goal of generating 10 percent of the nation's electricity forward-looking businesspeopie.■
ru raiw cusx moo' , Moll,;, jl,m s 43
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