Legalectric

Bill Grant, Midwest director of the Izaak Walton League, a national conservation organization, had this to say: “We can ignore this reality until it’s too late to avert the worst effects of global warming, or we can lead by example at home and implement low-carbon coal technologies and carbon capture.”

Low-carbon coal? Say what???? Really, I’m not making this up. This was in a Neal St. Anthony STrib column this weekend… I cannot believe. The full article is below. But this is no suprise given that Bill Grant was at the Sawmill in Grand Rapid, ostensibly to speak on “Conservation” per the program, but instead, like the others present, was promoting IGCC – coal gasification near the site Excelsior Energy has proposed for the Mesaba Project:

Bill Grant – Sawmill – Energy Efficiency and Climate Change

To let the Izaak Walton League know what you think, click on “CONTACT” at the bottom of their home page… and since that doesn’t work, I guess you’ve got to call STAFF and BOARD OF DIRECTORS. Here’s the contact info for Bill Grant in the Midwest Office:

Izaak Walton League – Midwest Office (MWO)
1619 Dayton Ave Suite 202
St. Paul, MN 55104
(651) 649-1446

To look up your IWLA chapter, CLICK HERE

Neal St. Anthony: ‘Clean coal’ possible, experts say, but needs federal help

Xcel Energy and others are embracing coal gasification, but government spending on crucial research has declined.

By Neal St. Anthony, Star Tribune

Last update: May 11, 2007 – 9:47 PM
Xcel Energy CEO Dick Kelly says the Minnesota-based utility will be a national leader in the pursuit of “clean coal” — including a proposed plant in Colorado that will divert carbon emissions to underground burial. But it’s going to need help.

“We’re first going after conservation from residential and business customers because we need to slow the growth in electricity usage,” Kelly said in an interview this week. “Then we’re going after carbon-free sources of energy such as wind, hydro, solar and natural gas. But we’ve got to eventually get to ‘clean coal.’ And we can’t do it alone.”

Kelly’s comments followed the release of a study by a coalition of utilities, state regulators and environmental groups that criticized the federal government’s feeble commitment to the challenge of reducing CO2 emissions from coal, America’s most abundant boiler fuel for power plants.

The report of the Coal Gasification Work Group, shepherded by the nonprofit Great Plains Institute of North Dakota, is significant because it has eight states from the heartland acknowledging the threat of global warming and the importance of U.S. leadership in fixing the problem.

Xcel has pledged several million dollars this year and is looking for other investors in a next-generation Colorado plant of up to 600 megawatts that would use integrated gasification combined cycle technology that can capture 90 percent or more of the CO2 and mercury emissions. The company hopes the technology can be adapted to existing plants.

Boosting efficiency

The “clean-coal” technology uses a chemical process to convert coal into a gas. It is burned in a modified combustion turbine to generate electricity, increasing the efficiency of the plant and reducing emissions. The captured CO2 can be stored underground or piped to depleted oil wells for storage and to aid in the extraction of hard-to-get oil.

A 1970s-vintage gasification plant in North Dakota already is capturing thousands of tons daily of CO2 for injection into an oil field in Saskatchewan, Canada. But integrating the technologies for widespread use is going to require the Bush administration to do more than talk about clean coal, critics say. The Great Plains report said federal spending on related research and development has declined over the past several years.

“Early adopters of these technologies face greater risks, especially with low-rank coals,” said Charlie Bullinger, senior engineer with Great River Energy of Elk River, Minn. “That’s why we’re encouraging an expansion of federal incentives to reduce the risk.”

President Bush has pointed to clean coal as a partial solution to America’s energy issues, including conversion of coal to liquid fuels, and approved some research funding. But the administration has barely acknowledged global warming despite mounting scientific evidence and even calls by industrialists for American leadership in “green technologies.”

Beyond wind and hydro

“We’re doing a lot with wind and some with hydro,” said Mike Gregerson, a retired Xcel engineer who was a technical adviser to the Great Plains group. “Down the road the feds are going to [limit carbon emissions], we feel, but the technology won’t be proven yet.

“The U.S. needs to get going,” he said. “My history in the utility industry says if you encourage the utility industry now, they’ll get to where they need to go.”

Xcel, under Kelly already the largest U.S. seller of wind-generated electricity, has joined with several other leading utilities calling on the industry to lead globally in carbon-avoidance. Kelly said Xcel will need industry and government partners to prove that large-scale coal gasification paired with carbon sequestration can work over the next decade.

“We need to invest in this technology and we can fix this,” said Kelly. “We do need some help from the government.”

Bill Grant, Midwest director of the Izaak Walton League, a national conservation organization, had this to say: “We can ignore this reality until it’s too late to avert the worst effects of global warming, or we can lead by example at home and implement low-carbon coal technologies and carbon capture.”

Neal St. Anthony • 612-673-7144 • nstanthony@startribune.com

Oh, it was a LONG meeting. It makes an equally long post.

As in Minnesota, it’s not quite dead, but the plug has been pulled and we’re waiting for the inevitable.

The good news is that the PSC did adopt the staff recommendation for a wind/gas hybrid! Sure makes my day when state agency staff recommend something I’ve been pushing for so long, and then the PSC actually adopts it, like wow, a bit of progress. And staff is recommending a big broad look at energy policy. I don’t have the exact quote, but in his presentation to the Commissioners explaining how they got to proposing the hybrid, Bob Howatt, PSC staff, said something like, having done all the work of analyzing the proposals, and seeing the necessary path, “It’s time staff just said what needs to be done” (Bob, if that’s off, let me know). They did a superb job on it, of course I can pick at points, but the overview was, indeed, just what was needed, and this is a trend that needs nurturing — FORETHOUGHT IN POLICY!

Delaware PSC staff – wind/gas combo!

Here’s the report from the News Journal, something to do while I’m finishing my write up:

PSC endorses offshore wind farm with gas backup for Delmarva

And yes, DNREC’s Phil Cherry needs a little awakening, spouting things about IGCC that are patently false. So much for his credibility as a public servent charged with protecting the state’s natural resources! I’ll be sending him his own personal copy of the ALJs’ recommendation that the Mesaba PPA be denied. He’s got access, they know the Mesaba info is all public record, and there’s no excuse for misrepresenting IGCC — which then leads me to question… WHY???

PSC DECISION

The PSC motion passed was to accept the staff recommendation of the wind/natural gas hybrid EXCEPT that both Conectiv and NRG are to negotiate at same time. Bluewater Wind is also to be evaluated as single supplier, and that the PPA shall be reduced but it shall not be a fixed figure, to provide flexibility. The precise words will appear in a PSC order soon.

Here’s the PSC Staff Recommendations (p. 63-71, click below for link) in its entirety — it’s too well done to omit any of it:

VI. PSC STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS

In order to integrate the complex components of the RFP process and develop a workable solution, the Commission must consider the possibilities from the State of Delaware’s perspective. It is important to have dependable energy sources, a reliable energy system, reasonable prices and price stability. The General Assembly seeks to ensure that innovative baseload technologies, environmental benefit, existing fuel and transmission facilities, fuel diversity and use of existing brownfield sites are valued in any generation solicitation. Staff recommends a course of action that gives back to Delaware more control of its energy future through a supply portfolio that satisfies the EURSCA’s underlying intent. Accordingly, Staff

recommends that the State craft a comprehensive package of energy options that will allow utilities, their customers, and Delawareans to reap maximum benefits over time.
The critical nature of efficient management of future energy supply options drives Staff’s recommendation. Delmarva should have the first option to manage future SOS requirements, with the caveat that such management would require a commitment to minimizing and stabilizing overall SOS energy costs. Staff believes that by requiring Delmarva to conduct an IRP, the EURCSA intended Delmarva to be responsible for managing the resources. Certainly, it is in the best position to do so. Nevertheless, Staff further recommends that should Delmarva decline its responsibility, the State should issue an RFP for energy management services, at Delmarva’s cost, to manage the supply options sought in Delaware’s portfolio.

Staff believes that each of the parties that submitted bids in this RFP are serious about bringing new generation to Delaware, and thus recommends granting Bluewater and Conectiv the first opportunity to negotiate within the construct of the RFP. Thus, Staff recommends that Delmarva be directed to negotiate with Bluewater for an offshore wind farm in the 200-300 MW range and with Conectiv Energy for a 150-200 MW CCGT with synchronous condenser capabilities, to be located in southern Delaware at a site to be determined. Although neither Bluewater’s nor Conectiv’s current proposal is a complete solution to Delaware’s energy concerns, they each provide value to the long-term energy supply portfolio in Delaware. Wind power coupled with the availability of a gas fired turbine provides a secure energy source with minimal environmental impact. Although Staff’s recommendation is not the least expensive solution, it is a complementary energy arrangement that will help to mitigate global warming and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Taken together, these projects, when appropriately managed, should have a positive impact on price stability.

Staff recognizes that this is not a perfect solution and that the bidders may be unwilling to support such a concept. Moreover, this option creates an additional layer of complexity, because additional natural gas capacity would be necessary to locate a natural gas turbine in southern Delaware. However, given the attendant benefits, Staff believes that this option should be pursued.

If Bluewater and/or Conectiv do not support Staff’s recommendation, Staff agrees with the IC that a renewable-only RFP is appropriate. Depending on the form of renewable resource bids submitted, Staff may recommend that Delmarva self-build a CCGT.

a. Essential Energy Portfolio
Staff’s recommendation to negotiate long-term contracts with Bluewater and Conectiv is not a final solution to Delaware’s energy needs. Staff recommends a portfolio approach, but the above recommendation relates solely to SOS customer needs. Staff recommends that the Commission endorse the portfolio planning approach for SOS supply and ensure that Sustainable Energy Utility concepts (to the extent they fit) are woven into Delmarva’s IRP.

b. The Hybrid Need/Benefit
Staff refers to the wind farm/gas turbine as the Delaware Hybrid. It is a combination that creates a synergistic benefit beyond that of either project standing alone. The wind farm may lack reliability on days when peak load is needed, whereas the gas turbine, while not the worst environmental offender by far, lacks the cleanliness and low fuel costs of a wind farm. The gas turbine provides peak supply, and the wind farm provides clean energy. In addition to environmental benefits, wind farms can provide voltage support, depending on the types of turbines incorporated in the plan. Because both projects would be located in southern Delaware, system reliability, particularly voltage and reactive support, for the entire Delmarva Peninsula will be enhanced. This coupling of innovative wind technology with veteran gas turbine technology can provide the equivalent of a smaller base load generation plant.

c. Risk Assessment
Several risks accompany Staff’s recommended proposal. First, offshore wind farms are more expensive and federal permitting practice is unclear. The exclusive utilization of a gas turbine for peaking and Voltage Amps Reactive (VAR) support is also expensive. Building smaller scale plants miss the economies of scale associated with larger generating units. Second, a long-term contractual arrangement could be overpriced. However, the financial risk of Staff’s recommendation is arguably outweighed by innovation, positive environmental impact, capitalization on existing fuel and transmission infrastructure, promotion of fuel diversity, and enhanced reliability. The addition of generation in southern Delaware can help meet Delaware’s needs and avoid the need for a $1.2 billion transmission line. In addition, the Delaware Hybrid will still be smaller in capacity than the projects offered by several of the larger sized bids and provide less energy than those projects, thereby reducing the overall risk associated with them. Staff concludes that the financial risks associated with its recommendation are manageable and limited and that its recommendation satisfies the intent of the EURCSA.

VII. PATH FORWARD

a. Delmarva Direction
Staff recommends that Delmarva be directed to negotiate in good faith with both Bluewater and Conectiv in an attempt to finalize a PPA for the energy needs defined above. Staff further recommends that Delmarva provide at least weekly updates on the progress of negotiations. Staff also recommends that Delmarva consider the options for regulated generation, to the extent that it may enrich the negotiated outcomes.

b. PPA Negotiations
Staff recommends independent oversight of PPA negotiations, either through an existing contracting organization or with a firm specializing in PPA negotiations.

c. Critical Concerns
There are several critical concerns that should be addressed in this proceeding. First, the potential for a non-bypassable surcharge, the need to curtail customer choice and the potential to re-regulate generation all must be considered. Because customer choice remains a distinct possibility, Delmarva is concerned with potential customer migration should SOS energy prices surpass energy market prices. In the event of migration, Staff recommends rolling generation capacity and ancillary service charges related to the PPAs into a non-bypassable surcharge payable by all Delmarva customers. Staff declines to address the issue of curtailing energy supply choice at this time. If management of the SOS energy portfolio is successful, customer choice will not likely be an issue. However, customer choice should remain an option for those customers desiring supply service from other parties. Accordingly, Staff recommends deferring any potential action intended to eliminate customer choice.

Finally, Staff addresses the suggestion to return to regulation of public utilities in Delaware. The EURCSA confers permissive authority to Delmarva to build regulated generation. Staff concludes that re-regulation should remain an option pending the conclusion of the RFP proceeding. The State Agencies may exercise the self-build regulated option if none of the bidders are willing to provide the requested generation.

VIII. CONCLUSIONS

The review and analysis mandated by the EURCSA was initiated in August 2006 and has continued over the last nine months. The process has provided a critical learning experience for the participants. More importantly, it has afforded all participants in this process a tremendous opportunity to be educated and have a better understanding through public input of the issues surrounding the building of new generation resources in Delaware.

Staff’s conclusions with respect to the process at this time are as follows:

1. Delaware needs additional generation in Delaware. Maintenance of the status quo presents enormous risks and uncertainties associated with the potential for older unit shutdowns within and outside the State, the possibility (indeed, probability, as evidenced in recent SOS auction results) of being held hostage to PJM’s new capacity “Reliability Pricing Model” and rapidly rising capacity prices, coupled with an unquenched growth in demand for energy on the Delmarva Peninsula. Although a meritorious argument exists that no single risk is imminent, the uncertain future indicates that it would be in Delaware’s best interest to take control now of its future generation needs before an emergency arises. With the potential for impending unit shutdowns in southern Delaware, and the consequences of aging generation resources, future reliability issues and more transmission congestion on the Peninsula are likely. It is critical that we plan now for the anticipated growth in population as people migrate to Delaware for better business opportunities and retirement advantages. It should be noted that only eight years ago, Delmarva was forced to implement rolling blackouts in southern Delaware in order to prevent a cascading event that would have potentially caused widespread outages on the Peninsula. The lack of sufficient transmission capacity and native generation located in southern Delaware contributed to the severity of the outage by limiting the amount of reactive power available to maintain the system. Without proper planning, future population growth will only exacerbate this problem as older generation units are retired.

2. In light of the need for both reliable electric service and clean renewable energy in today’s environment, negotiation with two companies that desire to build additional generation resources in Delaware sends the message that Delaware is serious about managing its own energy future. Staff recommends that Delmarva be directed to negotiate in good faith with both Conectiv and Bluewater for a hybrid energy supply that combines a 200-300 MW offshore wind farm with a 150-200 MW synchronous condenser CCGT in Sussex County to determine these bidders’ interest in meeting Delaware’s needs.

3. Staff also recommends the development of an energy portfolio policy that includes demand response, energy efficiency, distributed renewable energy, new Delaware generation, market contracts and spot market purchases with adequate transmission to support delivery of regional supplies as the optimal arrangement for Delaware.

4. Under this portfolio approach, Delaware generation needs to be the right size, in the right place, available at the right time, and developed with the right pricing structure to meet Delaware’s needs — not the needs of project developers. Moreover, Delaware’s energy portfolio should not be at the mercy of the regional energy market that, in the past, has not been kind to Delaware or its neighbors.

5. Delaware has the option to provide regulated solutions for securing SOS energy supply. Such an option could be pursued either through negotiations with bidding companies, through Delmarva’s delivery business or through other utility companies desiring to provide services in Delaware. If negotiations fail, regulated solutions should be considered to structure suitable deals through negotiations.

6. The economics of the current bid process provide the bidders with returns that are only marginally above a typical regulated project. This distinction is caused by the reasonable assurance of revenues to cover changing conditions in the longer term. Staff recommends that the risk of some level of future cost change may be assumed by the buyer in negotiations, but only to the extent it results in real initial bid price savings.

7. The current Delaware environment appears to disaggregate energy supply responsibility. While all the portfolio components can be complementary, the legislative mandate of 30% market purchases, set levels of demand resources managed by the Energy Office’s Sustainable Energy utility, new generation resources managed by the Commission, and the potential for market contracts negotiated by Delmarva might not be the most effective set of conditions. Staff recommends investigation of a unified authority (private, public or joint) to direct Delaware’s energy affairs (perhaps in cooperation with the State Agencies overseeing this RFP).

8. With respect to actively managing the energy portfolio, Staff has serious reservations about Delmarva’s willingness to voluntarily assume that role (and, to be fair, its attendant risks). Staff recommends that Delmarva be given the first option to serve as resource manager, with performance expectations set and understood. Staff further recommends that should Delmarva refuse the option, the State should contract with a separate party for such resource management, at Delmarva’s cost.

9. As reported in the IC’s Interim IRP Report, there is little or no impact on the relative bid evaluations with respect to Delmarva’s suggested IRP solutions. Staff’s additional review revealed no significant change in the relative rankings even with modified ranking weights. Staff recommends acceptance of the bid evaluation as completed by the IC.

It’s about as perfectly beeeeauuuuuteeeful a spring day as can be found anywhere.  From my desk looking out an easterly window towards the river, this Salem plume would be visible if a block’s worth of houses weren’t in the way — and unfortunately, not being able to see it does reduce its presence, much like the way my Prairie Island nuclear plant is nestled behind a bluff, but directly upwind and upriver…  Here in this nuclear zone, they don’t get calendars, they don’t get pottasium iodide, though they do have the nuke sirens.

The May 8, 2007 meeting of the Delaware Public Service Commission will be held at Wesley College, Dover, in Room 206 of the H.B. duPont College Center beginning at 10:00 a.m.

There have been some very interesting reports coming out of the PSC lately, things that look like thoughtful energy planning — and I hope it’s not a ruse. There was that staff recommendation of a wind/gas combo on the RFP side of things, and the recommendation focused on the broader policy issues that need to be addressed, those pesky little things like the need for a portfolio approach, the state’s dependence on transmission and need for its own generation… like wow!

Delaware PSC staff – wind/gas combo!

Then there’s a report about transmission and generator interconnection:

Generator Interconnection Study – Powerworld

And a short update/correction with additional runs on the RFP evaluation:

Independent Consultant Addendum

Overland’s take? The staff recommendation is a good option, in the public interest, and it gets wind going as dispatchable generation, removing one of the primary objections to wind, it’s variability. The IRP is the venue to make the larger policy changes, where, as staff noted in the RFP recommendation, a portfolio approach can be established. This is where the policy directives establishing DSM with TEETH (not present in DE yet), establishing the need for Delaware generation to prevent extortion by generation and transmission owners, demonstrating the need for specifically sited generation that would eliminate voltage problems in this electrical island. This RFP docket is one step and can propel the state into energy planning in the IRP — that’s what I’d like to see.

Imagine DE fulfilling its “baseload” needs with dispatchable wind — wind in combo with backup generation! Arizona is using concentrated solar and gas, Minnesota is using wind/gas and wind/hydro, Delaware can do wind/gas!

Imagine DE, through policy declarations, systematically choosing not to buy dirty coal! Indian River Units 1 and 2 are only 160 MW, not hard to replace. If Xcel can do it (well, we know, anything but IGCC!), imagine…

An MPR piece on the Bluewater Wind proposal in the RFP:

Offshore wind proposal gains fans in Delaware

Here’s the Delaware State Treasurer standing up for the public interest (stolen from Green Delaware): State Treasurer Jack Markell’s Letter to Delmarva Power.
Plus there’s a new report – a consultant’s view of reregulation! Where is it??? Can’t find it. I’ll post it as soon as I do…

Environmentalists expressed guarded optimism at the recommendation, which now goes to the commissioners for a vote.

“On the face of it, it seems like a sound recommendation,” said Alan Muller, executive director of Green Delaware, who cautioned that the wind project might not be economical if made smaller from the original proposal. “I think it’s a valuable step forward.”

Yes, in Delaware, IGCC coal gasification going down in flames! I just got the call moments ago, and am SO tickled. Delaware’s PSC staff gets it!
In Delaware’s RFP they have three “choices,” IGCC, gas and wind. So what does PSC staff do? They pick one from column B and one from column C, the wind/gas combo!

Delaware PSC staff – wind/gas combo!

Now what are the odds the PSC will do what staff recommends?

Here’s the full RFP docket

Here’s mncoalgasplant.com’s RFP Comments

… and mncoalgasplant.com’s RFP Exhibits

I am SOOOOOO tickled… hopeful even…

Here’s the entire News Tribune article:

PSC staff backs smaller wind farm, natural gas backup

By AARON NATHANS, The News Journal
Updated Wednesday, May 2, 2007 at 7:44 pm

Wind power generated off the Delaware coast took a step closer to a reality today.

A Public Service Commission staff report recommended building an offshore wind park, as well as a natural gas plant in Sussex County to back it up. The PSC released the report late this afternoon.

The wind park would be half the size of the development envisioned by Bluewater Wind, the New Jersey-based company behind the plans to build the wind farm. Bluewater had originally proposed a 600 mw facility; the report suggests the PSC instead approve a 200-300 mw facility.

Environmentalists expressed guarded optimism at the recommendation, which now goes to the commissioners for a vote.

“On the face of it, it seems like a sound recommendation,” said Alan Muller, executive director of Green Delaware, who cautioned that the wind project might not be economical if made smaller from the original proposal. “I think it’s a valuable step forward.”

Instead of building at the Hay Road facility as Conectiv proposed, the report recommended building its natural gas plant in Sussex County, at a site to be determined.

“Although Staff’s recommendation is not the least expensive solution, it is a complementary energy arrangement that will help to mitigate global warming and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Taken together, these projects, when appropriately managed, should have a positive impact on price stability,” the report read.

“This is a great day for Delaware,” said Jim Lanard, spokesman for Bluewater Wind, who cautioned that the proposal needed the approval of the commission itself, as well as three other state agencies.

Bluewater still hopes to build the larger wind park, and would attempt to convince Delmarva to accept more electricity, Lanard said. If it fails, Bluewater could seek other customers to accept the electricity Delmarva does not want, he said.

There was not yet word from Conectiv about whether it would be willing to build the recommended facility.

The recommendation comes after seven months of deliberations, and a series of public meetings in which speakers overwhelmingly backed the wind farm proposal.

The commission is expected to vote on whether to accept one or more of the bids at its meeting on Tuesday in Dover. The five commissioners are free to accept the staff recommendations or ignore them.

Bids went out last year after the Legislature asked the commission, and three other state agencies, to seek a home-grown source of electricity, with the intent of stabilizing and bringing down the price of electricity. That’s after deregulation, and the removal of rate caps one year ago, led to a 59 percent average rate increase for Delmarva Power residential customers.

Contact Aaron Nathans at 324-2786 or anathans@delawareonline.com.

In today’s STrib, a letter from my clients, neighbors to the proposed Kenyon Wind project:

MANDATING RENEWABLES

Price of wind energy

Legislation to develop renewable energy needs introspection. History shows when there’s a rush to implement new policy, unintended consequences prevail.

Such is the case with wind energy. People assume wind energy is “free” — no pollution, no greenhouse gases, no downside — but there’s more to consider.

Wind turbines have typically been installed in remote areas with sparse population. The legislative mandate has developers feeling they’ve been given “carte blanche,” but wind generators must be sited responsibly.

Utility-grade wind turbines are taller than the Foshay Tower, more than 400 feet to blade peak, with spinning rotors weighing 30 tons. Kenyon Wind proposes to site turbines within just 800 feet of residences of people not invested in the project, which is too close given safety and noise concerns. Turbines are annoying, noisy neighbors, and they generate not just electricity but “flicker” by casting shadows during daylight hours.

Like any “good” idea, there are consequences. Wind turbines on sparsely populated southwest Minnesota prairie are one thing — siting them among close residences here in southeast Minnesota is another.

MIKE CHASE, KENYON, MINN.
PRESIDENT, CITIZENS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS AND SAFETY