Next Upcoming Event
AESP 31st Annual Conference 2021
AESP
January 25-28, 2021
Next Upcoming Event
The Role of Renewable Natural Gas in State Climate Policy
World Resources Institute
Tuesday, January 26, 2021 1:00pm EST
The number of projects producing RNG from organic wastes has increased dramatically in recent years, providing fuel for trucks, building appliances, and other downstream sources while lowering emissions in the process.
As the industry grows and state policies and incentives promoting RNG expand, questions remain on how easily projects can be deployed, the extent to which RNG can contribute to ambitious climate and environmental goals, and the trade-offs of supporting RNG versus alternative decarbonization strategies.
During this session, experts will discuss WRI’s newly released guidance paper on RNG as a state climate strategy, followed by speakers from U.S. states and regions that will highlight local developments, current barriers, and opportunities moving forward.
Questions to be addressed in this session include:
• What is renewable natural gas and what is its role in decarbonization?
• How much RNG can be produced and what are market opportunities for deployment?
• What are the emissions impacts of RNG projects and how are they evaluated?
• What are current market barriers and key policies impacting RNG development in the U.S.?
• What is the current experience, policy context, and opportunities in different states and regions?
Speakers:
• Dan Lashof, Director, WRI United States
• Rebecca Smith, Senior Energy Policy Analyst, Oregon Department of Energy
• Sam Spofforth, Chief Executive Officer, Clean Fuels Ohio
• Chris Voell, Head – Waste, Recycling & Biogas Advisory,
Danish Trade Council, North America
• Tom Cyrs, Research Associate, WRI United States
• John Feldmann, Research Analyst, WRI United States
• Other speakers to be confirmed
News
DOE Looks to Stimulate U.S. Energy Tech, Including for Carbon Capture, with New Funding
Natural Gas Intelligence
Jan 19, 2021
News
Federal circuit court scraps Trump administration’s power plant rule
Washington Post
Jan 19, 2021
In sweeping away the Trump administration’s regulation, dubbed the Affordable Clean Energy rule, the decision by the D.C. Court of Appeals raised hopes among environmental groups that the new Biden administration might be able to replace some Trump administration rules more easily than it feared.
News
2021 Rate Hikes and Sticker Shock
Energy Central
Jan 18, 2021
Typically, utilities write off uncollectible bills, and the costs are recovered from all customers in the form of higher rates. But things are far from ‘typical’ lately and if Dominion is unable to increase rates at this time, the situation can only worsen. Dominion says the rate hike would boost its finances and help the utility recover money it invested in its power plants, electric lines and other infrastructure over the past eight years. The utility agreed to wait six months to address the request again. Rhonda O'Banion, Dominion's spokeswoman, said they would use the next six months to try to reach a settlement with the state's utility watchdog agency, Office of Regulatory Staff (ORS) and the other groups that opposed the rate hike. "We look forward to continued collaboration with the parties as we seek to find compromises to reach a resolution to this case. We value the input from all customers who took the time to voice their concerns. We will continue to focus on providing the safe, reliable service they depend on.”
Florida Power & Light (FPL), owned by largest rate-regulated electric utility in the United States, NextEra Energy, proposed a rate hike that was met with a little less opposition. FPL’s projected rate increases will still keep FPL bills “well below the national average” through 2025.” said, FPL spokesman Christopher McGrath. Their press release stated, the revenue increases are “necessary to support continued investments that benefit customers as the company builds a more resilient and sustainable energy future for Florida in the face of climate change and strong, frequent severe weather.” Their immediate costs include moving transmission lines underground to improve reliability during extreme weather and reimbursement for the cost of building 900 megawatts of new solar generation capacity. Oklahoma may follow suit by pushing for underground electrical distribution systems but customers are reminded that these upgrades cost money and to reach that goal, rate hikes will be necessary. Last month, the state of Michigan approved Consumers Energy’s substantial rate hike. “We understand there may be some sticker shock when customers see their bill going up," said Consumers spokeswoman Katie Carey. "In the end, our goal is to provide safe and affordable electricity to the 1.8 million households and businesses we serve.” But they assured the public, the additional revenue will go toward vegetation management, updating infrastructure and eliminating coal-fueled power. The increase will also replace infrastructure and cover the rising costs of operations, maintenance, financing and environmental responses. In Southeast New Mexico, Xcel Energy is seeking a hefty 9.2% increase for new substations and transmission projects along with the massive Sagamore Wind Project. According to a study from consumer research firm Ownerly, New Mexico had the third-highest electric bill increase during the pandemic, more than triple the national average. Vermont had the highest rate increase at 20.8 percent, followed by Michigan at 14.4 percent. Pennsylvania had a 1.8% increase but nearly a million of the state’s utility customers are past due on their bills because of COVID-19 and many are asking, ‘Who will pick up the bill?’
Rate increases allow utilities to cover the costs of repairs, updates and uncollectible bills. Timing is everything but how long can utilities wait to recoup costs? Georgia Power is taking a different approach. The Smart Usage plan should change consumer behavior to reduce costs for everyone. It charges higher electricity rates for certain peak energy use that puts extra strain on the electricity grid — 2 p.m.-7 p.m., Monday through Friday, in the months of June through September — and much lower-than-normal rates for all other periods. Despite much debate, Georgia Power spokesman John Kraft is confident that those who do make changes “stand to recognize savings, by using large appliances at different times and shifting usage away from summer afternoons.” Could a change in consumer behavior strike the balance required to maintain profitability in the utility sector? Or can rate hikes help them break even?
News
Building a Resilient Energy Future
American Gas Association
Jan 15, 2021
A resilient energy system is vital to every critical function and sector of the US economy and to the communities that depend upon its services.
Resilience is defined as a system’s ability to prevent, withstand, adapt to, and quickly recover from a high-impact, low-likelihood event such as a major disruption in a transmission pipeline. In comparison, reliability refers to a systems’ ability to maintain energy delivery under standard operating conditions, such as the normal fluctuations in demand and supply.
Disruptions to the US energy system can create widespread economic and social impacts, including losses in productivity, health, and safety issues, and—in the most extreme cases—loss of life. The energy system’s resilience must be considered and appropriately valued as utilities, system operators, regulators, and policymakers contemplate future energy infrastructure designs and operations.
The American Gas Foundation commissioned Building a Resilient Energy Future: How the Gas System Contributes to US Energy System Resilience to provide a framework for regulators, policymakers, and other stakeholders to examine energy system resilience and the role of the natural gas system.
This study addresses four key questions:
What are the characteristics of the US gas system that contribute to its resilience?
How do those resilience characteristics allow the US gas system to contribute to the overall resilience of the US energy system?
How can the US gas system be leveraged more effectively to strengthen the US energy system?
What are the policy and regulatory changes needed to ensure that gas infrastructure can be maintained and developed to continue to support energy system resilience?
These questions were explored through a qualitative assessment conducted by the firm Guidehouse, including discussions and interviews with energy industry experts. The report features several case studies to illustrate and provide a framework for assessing the US gas system’s attributes contributing to broader energy system resilience.
The report highlights the gas system’s ability to support resilience through its inherent, physical, and operational capabilities that enable it to meet the volatile demand profiles resulting from resilience events. Guidehouse found that the gas system supports a quick response to events and provides long-duration storage resources to meet peak and seasonal energy demand. The findings presented in this work also identify issues that merit consideration and further exploration when developing future energy policy and regulation to ensure a resilient, reliable, and clean future energy system in all regions and jurisdictions.
News
Combined Heat and Power and a Changing Climate: Reducing Emissions and Improving Resilience
Combined Heat and Power Alliance
Jan 14, 2021
The global climate is changing, and many are working to reduce emissions and build up resiliency across sectors, including electricity generation, transportation, industry, and commercial and residential buildings. Combined heat and power (CHP) can help to confront climate change challenges on both fronts: as an electric and thermal energy generation resource with lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than other generation options, and as a resilient asset that can keep the lights on during grid outages.
The report examines CHP’s role as a climate change solution due to its ability to reduce emissions and serve as a resilient energy resource, reliably providing electric and thermal energy even as climate change threatens and causes further disruptions to the grid. The report begins with an analysis of these key CHP benefits and is followed by an overview of the state of the market and recommendations for policymakers and other key stakeholders to increase CHP deployment.
Combined Heat & Power eCatalog of Recognized Package CHP Systems
Packaged CHP Systems:
Rigorous Recognition Process
The Packaged Combined Heat and Power Catalog (eCatalog) is a voluntary public/private partnership designed to increase deployment of CHP in commercial, institutional and multi-family buildings and manufacturing plants. The core of the eCatalog are CHP Packagers who commit to provide pre-engineered and tested Packaged CHP systems that meet or exceed DOE performance requirements and CHP Solution Providers who commit to provide responsible installation, commissioning, maintenance and service of recognized Packaged CHP systems and also provide a single point of project responsibility.
Customer Engagement Partners: Incentivizing CHP in Your Area
Maximize Your CHP Investment When You Install Recognized Systems
An essential element in market success of energy efficient technologies, such as CHP, is a robust customer engagement partner to educate end-users and provide assistance through the project development process. States, localities and utilities that are implementing programs and policies to increase the use of CHP in support of key economic, security, efficiency and environmental goals can integrate the eCatalog into their efforts by linking recognized CHP packages offered by Solution Providers or Packagers in their region to their programs. The eCatalog provides a unique platform for convening recognized CHP equipment and suppliers with state, local and utility market outreach, customer acquisition and incentive programs.
eCATALOG PACKAGED CHP SYSTEM PERFORMANCE
Packaged CHP System standardized1 electrical and thermal performance data presented for comparison in the eCatalog have been reviewed and recognized as accurate based on engineering data and available performance test data submitted by the Packagers. Emissions data presented in the eCatalog are based on either third-party emissions test results when available, or prime mover manufacture’s emissions certification data, both using standard EPA test methodologies or equivalent. When evaluating CHP performance for a particular project, it is important to use final performance data from the Packager or Solution Provider that reflects specific site conditions such as actual fuel characteristics, ambient temperatures and altitude, and thermal load temperatures or pressures. As an example, hot water thermal capacity ratings in the eCatalog are based on a standard hot water supply temperature of 180 F, with packager specified return temperatures for each system. Actual hot water available from a packaged CHP system for a project will depend on the specific temperature requirements of the hot water supply and return at the site, and may vary from data presented in the eCatalog.
“Even a small blip on the power grid can disrupt our production equipment and cause six to eight hours of lost production time. With the CHP systems, if there is a power blip we go into island mode and don't experience any disruption.”
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What are the benefits of CHP?
Combined heat and power (CHP) systems can provide reliable, flexible, low-cost, energy efficiency to a variety of industrial, commercial, and institutional energy consumers.
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CHP IN ACTION
Is there any potential, and are there real opportunities in my market? Where has CHP been installed? Is CHP a good fit for my facility?
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Interested in what others in your field of use are doing with CHP Systems? Case studies provide even more information about CHP solutions in neighborhood or in your business world.
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