Notes on Green Power Electricity - SE BIOENERGY Conf 7/31/07

Written by: publius on Aug 28, 2007 11:15 AM EDT

Linked to groups: Georgians for Clean Renewable Energy DFA

NOTES from Southeast BIOENERGY Conference 2007
July 31, 2007 - University of GA - Tifton Campus Conference Center -
Tifton, GA  -  Shortcut to: http://www.sebioenergy.com/

Session: Green Power Renewable Electricity
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Highlight Preview:
Georgia Power Company green power portfolio targets:
(per GA PSC joint stipulation of 2004)

2 % of green power must be from solar by 2009
or
10 % of green power from solar/wind by 2009
15 % of green power from solar/wind by 2010

[Side post note - may have a note taking typo here with
two different 2009 targets, but regardless, this is a big deal
here if the stipulation has teeth.  Subsequent GSEA conference call
checking out the green power program stats via PSC web site
(docket 16573) indicated that GPC would have to increase its
solar purchases by a factor of 4 to meet 2 % solar portfolio target
and therefore would have increase solar / wind generation by a factor of
20 to meet 10 % solar wind portfolio target.]
------------------------------------------------------------ Mike Brown
Santee Cooper (Carolinas Utility)

2519 Green power customers in Co-Ops (EMCs?)
1527 Green power customers Santee Cooper

284 Commercial Customers buying much more volume than
more numerous residential customers.

More than 99 % of green output from landfill gas, less than 1 % from
solar.  Showed slide of solar pavilions at Coastal Carolina U.
(This picture also in One World brochures)

"Solar works, but it is expensive."

"Off shore wind hard to permit past 3 miles."
Level 7 winds are 100 miles out at 50 feet high.

Looking at agricultural wastes as fuel for RE.
83300 hogs per MW.  16700 cows per MW.
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David Barclay
Gainesville (FL) Regional  Utilities (GRU)

GRU has 611 MW summer capacity - small amount of solar.
Renewables have assumed premium in costs and customers can't be
expected to pay that premium.
The renewable premium is shrinking - Florida seeking 20 % RPS.

"Solar doesn't work on a utility scale.  Site solar is cost effective -
11 years payback with fed 30 %, state $ 4/watt, GRU $ 1.50/watt."

2 or 3 coal plant permits have been denied in Florida.
[ Side post note - GA EPD has okayed a permit for private industry
coal plant in Early County, GA that will sell power to Florida energy
market.  Do we have a problem with this? Yes. ]
GRU has conducted customer surveys:
Customers -
Very interested in solar.
Question biomass - concerned with the fuel resource and emissions.
Most are not well informed of energy specifics.
80 plus percent say 50 percent or more of power should come from RE.
70 plus percent Okay with $1 or less per month to support solar.

GRU planning a 250 KW solar demonstration project.  Promoting project
visibility to its customers.
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Doug Akin
Entire career at Georgia Power
GA Power Green Energy Program Director

"GA Power and GA Public Service Commission (PSC) agreed that non
participants should not be impacted (in rates) by  green power program.
GA Power Co  (GPC) is prohibited by PSC to profit from green power
premiums."

[ Side post note - Contrast this iron fist policy with GRU finding that
"70 plus percent Okay with $1 or less per month to support solar."]

Minimum purchase amounts and customer class are based on typical 10
percent of monthly usage - residential minimum purchase $ 4.50/month
for 100 kwh block of green energy.

Presents PSC pertinent docket history on green power program.

More than 99 % of green output from landfill gas.
Some solar, 12-13 solar system owners participating.
Paying 17.4 cents per kwh.

Has people call him when they are considering solar systems.
By end of conversation he can tell that they probably won't do it.

Landfill and other renewable fuel combustion generating systems can
qualify as green power so long as nitrous oxide (Nox) emissions are less
than 1.5 pounds per MW-hr.  
Georgia Power Company green power portfolio targets:
(per GA PSC joint stipulation of 2004)

2 % of green power must be from solar by 2009
or
10 % of green power from solar/wind by 2009
15 % of green power from solar/wind by 2010

[Side post note - may have a note taking typo here with
two different 2009 targets, but regardless, this is a big deal
here if the stipulation has teeth.  Subsequent GSEA conference call
checking out the green power program stats via PSC web site
(docket 16573) indicated that GPC would have to increase its
solar purchases by a factor of 4 to meet 2 % solar portfolio target
and therefore would have increase solar / wind generation by a factor of
20 to meet 10 % solar wind portfolio target.]

GPC has 3898 green energy customers [at least 3899 now since my
purchase] 99 % of these are residential.

14,783 blocks of green energy are currently purchased through the
program.  This is about 78 % of the production capacity from the Dekalb
County landfill which is equipped with two 1.6 MW generating caterpillar
engines.

Under federal DOD mandates, Robins Air Force Base has purchased
8000 of the 14783 blocks sold by the program.
------------------------------------------------------------------


Michael Whiteside
Green Power EMC

[Side post note - EMC's are customer owned co-ops which are not under
the regulation of Georgia's PSC] 
Presents GA map slide showing EMC green power sites.
Counted 14 solar sites on map. **

4 MW Taylor County landfill.  1 MW in Fayette County.
Sierra Club blocked permits for the landfill generators but GA EPD ruled
in favor of EMC.

Poultry project in Franklin County in works - 20 MW.
4400 poultry houses within __?__ miles of project.
1800 poultry house required for 20 MW.
19 poultry house built per _?_ in GA.

Privately owned - CABE Energy - 12 acre tracking solar array planned
near Sandersville, GA.
Expandable to 40 acres - 2 MW.

Installing 1KW solar PV systems on schools for demonstration and
educational purposes.  Not grid tied.  11 complete, 35 planned.

[Side post note - in after session one on one Q&A, I informed Mr.
Whiteside of the annual Solar Tour that GSEA coordinates and asked if
he could provide contact info for the 14 or so EMC solar sites showed on
his map slide.  As it so happens, all of the map solar sites are these
1 KW school demo kits.  He was supportive od including them in the tour
if we could get someone at a school to be ther on a Saturday.]

Initial EMC customer surveys indicated that 35 % of the membership
was supportive of 2 to 5 $ per month increase in rates to promote use od
solar/renewables.  However, only 1 % have actually purchased the
voluntary green energy blocks offered by EMCs.
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Follow up Q&A

Green electric energy programs are not accentuating woody cellulose
because of anticipation that ethanol production will push those feed
stock prices up to point that electric generation can not compete with
transportation fuel production.

Acknowledgement that PV enhances, rather than compromises, reliability
of grid.
One on one Q&A with EMC's Whiteside -
mentioned GA Power's 07 IRP
revelation that with exception of NE Georgia, present generating capacity
is projected to be sufficient until 2025 and that this fact countered the
tone of Georgia's State Energy Strategy that load growth was a near term
concern.   He responded that EMC's project capacity limits for their
territories by 2015.  Annual growth rate in GA Power territories is 2 %,
EMC territorial load annual growth rate is 4 %.

One on one Q&A with GPC's Akin -
followed up about those solar prospect phone calls that he mentioned.
He says that typical payback on
solar system getting 17.4 cents per kwh is about 45 years on a 25 year
life time system.

Since both GPC and PSC are currently opposed to green energy costs
being imposed on all (involuntarily) rate payers, I asked which entity
would be most likely to change its position.  His reserved reply was that
since PSC is subject to political/electoral pressures, the PSC rather than
GPC, would be the first to yield on this point.

Asked about the environmental balance of landfill gas use as electric generation source.  Worst option is to leave it in the ground and allow
natural emissions, it, the methane,  must be burnt off.  The extra
environmental cost of electric generation is the Nox emissions from
generator engines.      RC Aug 25, 2007

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