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Bill Introduced In Congress Aims To Bolster Weatherization Funding

March 15, 2022

by Peter Maloney
APPA News
March 15, 2022

A bipartisan bill introduced in Congress this week seeks to improve public health and lower household energy costs by bolstering the federal Weatherization Assistance Program.

The Weatherization Assistance Program Improvements Act, introduced by senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Jack Reed (D-RI), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Chris Coons (D-DE), aims to help low-income households that are unable to receive weatherization services because their homes are in need of significant repairs by authorizing a Weatherization Readiness Fund.

The Weatherization Readiness Fund would provide $65 million a year for five years to people whose homes need structural repairs to prepare them for weatherization assistance.

The bill also seeks to raise the amount of funding allowed to be spent on each home to keep up with current labor and material costs and would raise the cap on the amount of funding allowed to be spent on renewable energy upgrades in each home.

The Weatherization Assistance Program provides funding for measures such as window replacement, sealing air leaks, ventilation improvements, and other energy-saving improvements.

Since 1976, the Weatherization Assistance Program has helped more than seven million low-income families reduce their energy bills by making their homes more energy efficient and, on average has helped each household save $283 annually on energy bills, according to the Department of Energy (DOE). In addition, the DOE says that every dollar invested by the Weatherization Assistance Program generates $4.50 in combined energy savings and non-energy benefits such as job creation, and the more efficient houses also reduce greenhouse gas emissions that can cause climate change.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act – also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law — included a total of $3.5 billion for weatherization. And the final Consolidated Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2022 provides $334 million for weatherization, an increase of $19 million over previous funding levels.

In January, the DOE announced an $18 million funding opportunity made available through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to help enhance the impact of the DOE’s existing residential Weatherization Assistance Program.

California Community Choice Aggregator To Install Ultra-Efficient Space Heating Hot Water Systems

March 15, 2022

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
March 15, 2022

California community choice aggregator (CCA) Peninsula Clean Energy has partnered with Harvest Thermal Inc. to install ultra-efficient, all-electric space heating and hot water systems as part of a broader effort to replace methane gas-powered furnaces and other appliances.

At no cost, four Peninsula Clean Energy customers are receiving a system that operates a single heat pump to deliver both home heating and hot water. The system can cut carbon dioxide emissions by 90 percent compared with methane gas and 50 percent compared with standard heat pump systems, the CCA said.

The system is a smart device that operates the heat pump during off-peak times when electricity is cleaner and more affordable. It turns the hot water tank into a thermal battery, closely monitoring, storing, and delivering heat and hot water for customer use whenever needed.

“Incorporating the latest weather forecasts and energy needs, and using machine learning to optimize performance, the system reduces energy bills and maximizes customer comfort,” Peninsula Clean Energy said. 

The demonstration will show how this new system can lower the cost of upgrading homes by reducing the need for service upgrades, and lower heating bills by up to 40 percent from homes that are currently hooked up to gas.

The system also offers a “filtration mode” for clean indoor air on smoggy and smoky days, and “night cooling” to create a gentle indoor breeze on warm evenings.

The demonstration program will provide Peninsula Clean Energy with data to further promote energy use when renewable power sources are more plentiful during the day and relieve stress on the grid during evening peaks.

Peninsula Clean Energy is the official electricity provider for San Mateo County and, beginning in spring 2022, for the City of Los Banos.

Founded in 2016, the agency serves roughly 300,000 customers by providing more than 3,500 gigawatt hours annually of electricity.

The American Public Power Association has initiated a new category of membership for community choice aggregation programs.

EPA Proposes Good Neighbor Federal Implementation Plan For The 2015 Ozone NAAQS

March 15, 2022

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
March 15, 2022

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on March 11 proposed a federal implementation plan (FIP) to address the 2015 National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ozone under the Clean Air Act.

The Proposed FIP provides for ozone season NOx reductions from electric generating units and industrial stationary sources.

EPA is proposing rule under its Clean Air Act authority known as the “good neighbor provision.” 

EPA is proposing implementation mechanisms to achieve enforceable emissions reductions required to eliminate significant contributions of ozone precursor emissions in 26 upwind states that are significantly contributing to downwind nonattainment or interfere with maintenance of the 2015 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard.

The 26 states are:

In 2015 EPA revised the primary and secondary ozone standard to 70 parts per billion. States were to file state implementation plans to fulfill their interstate transport obligations by October 2018.

Where EPA made a finding that a state had not submitted a good neighbor state implementation plan, or if EPA disapproved the plan, EPA is required under the Clean Air Act to issue a FIP within two years to assure downwind states are protected.

Therefore, the initial phase of proposed emissions reductions will be achieved prior to August 2, 2024, attainment date for areas classified as moderate nonattainment for the 2015 ozone NAAQS.

EPA is proposing to promulgate new or revised FIPs for 25 states (Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming).

The new or revised FIPs will include new nitrogen oxide ozone season emission budgets for electric generating units (EGU), with the implementation of these budgets beginning in the 2023 ozone season.

Delaware, Minnesota, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming are not currently covered by any Cross-State Air Pollution Rule nitrogen oxide ozone season trading program.

EPA is also proposing to adjust these emission budgets in the 25 states subject to a new or revised FIP for each ozone season after that to maintain the initial stringency of the emissions budget, accounting for retirements and other changes to the EGU fleet over time.

EPA also wants to extend the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule nitrogen oxide Ozone Season Group 3 trading program beginning in the 2023 ozone season through the 2025 ozone season.

In addition, the federal agency is proposing new emissions budgets for the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule nitrogen oxide Ozone Season Group 3 trading program beginning in the 2026 ozone season.

Starting in 2026, emission budgets would be set at levels achieved by installing selective catalytic reduction controls at approximately 30 percent of largest coal-fired power plants in the covered states that do not now have them.

The proposed rule would establish a daily emissions rate limit for large coal-fired units, which would take effect in 2024 for units with existing controls and in 2027 for units installing new controls, to ensure environmental controls are operated effectively and consistently at these plants throughout the ozone season.

EPA is also proposing to retain Iowa and Kansas in the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule nitrogen oxide Ozone Season Group 2 Trading Program.

For non-EGUs, EPA is proposing to promulgate new FIPs for the remaining 23 states that include new NOX emissions limitations, with initial compliance dates for these emissions limitations beginning in 2026. The proposed standards would apply to the following emissions units in selected industries:

Once the proposal is published in the Federal Register, there will be a 60-day comment period.

Click here for additional information on the emissions budgets, fact sheet, and regulatory impact analysis.

New Generation Capacity Under Development In The U.S. Jumps 10% Over 2021

March 15, 2022

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
March 15, 2022

Nearly 412,000 megawatts (MW) of new generation capacity is under development in the U.S., a 10% increase over 2021. Of this capacity, 112,859 MW is under construction or permitted, and 299,053 MW is proposed or pending application, the American Public Power Association (APPA) said in a recent report.

Natural gas, solar, and wind continue to be the dominant forms of new generation capacity, accounting for 99.74% of all capacity additions in 2021, and projected to account for 98% of capacity additions in 2022, according to the report, “America’s Electricity Generation Capacity: 2022 Update,” which was prepared by Paul Zummo, APPA’s Director of Policy Research and Analysis.

All capacity figures in the report only represent utility-scale capacity and do not include distributed and other small-scale generating capacity.

The report said that solar capacity has increased dramatically, with more than 25,000 MW gained since 2020, a 60% increase over the amount added in 2020. Solar was the leading source of new utility-scale capacity in 2021, the first time it has been the leading resource.

Solar is also the top resource in all four future capacity categories. In total, over 188,000 MW of solar capacity is at some stage of development, with another 131,318 MW of wind capacity in the pipeline.

The net gain of wind capacity compared with two years ago is almost 30,000 MW, which is a 29% increase from 2020.

The report also provides information on retirements and planned retirements and cancellations over the past several years.

More than 27,000 MW of planned capacity developments were canceled in 2021. Wind and solar projects account for more than half of the cancellations from 2014-2021.

Capacity additions (26,000 MW) represented more than three times the total capacity retired (8,700 MW) in 2021.

More than 72% of the capacity retired in 2021 was coal-fired facilities, with more than 6,000 MW retired.

More than 40,000 MW in coal capacity is planned to be retired through 2026, which represents more than 17% of the current generating capacity of all coal-fired facilities.

Currently, the U.S. has just over 1.2 million MW of generation capacity. The largest fuel source is natural gas, accounting for just under 44% of all generation capacity.

Coal, with a share of 18.5%, represents the second largest source of generation capacity. Nuclear, hydro, and wind together account for just over one-quarter of capacity. Solar currently constitutes over 5% of all capacity.

Data analyzed for the report comes from the ABB Velocity Suite database, which was accessed January 2022.

The report is available here.

Burlington Electric Department Expands Electric Vehicle Charger Program

March 14, 2022

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
March 14, 2022

Vermont public power utility Burlington Electric Department (BED) is expanding an electric vehicle charging program for residents of various types of buildings in the city.

The original program deployed 14 chargers at rental and multi-family buildings in Burlington, Vt., with 10 made available to public as well as building residents.

Over the last six-month period for which data was available they provided about 6,000 kilowatt hours of charging, noted Darren Springer, general manager for the utility.

The program will now have funding for approximately 60 additional charger installations over the next few years at rental or multi-family or condo buildings, he said.

There will be incentives for smart chargers that use EVmatch software to make charging available during certain times of day to public and certain times just for building residents, or for house meter chargers available exclusively for residents. EVmatch is a nationwide network for sharing and renting private EV charging stations.

There will also be additional incentives for chargers at buildings that provide housing for low-income residents.

Incentives will cover between approximately 50-75% of a charger’s installation cost.

With 60 percent of residential customers being renters, BED, through its partnership with EVmatch, is able to provide charging opportunities to a previously underserved and wide portion of its community.

In doing so, BED is helping its customers take one more significant step down the path toward Net Zero energy, the utility noted.

DOE Lab Leads Investigation To Better Understand Geothermal Lithium Resources

March 14, 2022

by Vanessa Nikolic
APPA News
March 14, 2022

In a new project sponsored and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Geothermal Technologies Office, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) will work with scientists from the University of California (UC), Riverside, and Geologica Geothermal Group, Inc., to evaluate the lithium in the geothermal field beneath California’s Salton Sea. 

The need for the project results from a recent push by California and other states to expand the adoption of electric vehicles, which increases demand for more batteries, and the lithium needed to make those batteries.  

According to LBNL, the Salton Sea potentially holds enough lithium to meet all of the country’s domestic battery needs. Researchers hope to answer how much of the lithium can be extracted from the sea in a sustainable way.

There are currently 11 commercial plants at the Salton Sea producing geothermal energy, a renewable form of energy, in which the heat from hot fluids pumped up from the underground are converted to electricity.  

The project is the first extensive scientific effort to outline California’s “Lithium Valley” and get a thorough understanding of the sea’s mineral-rich underground geothermal system. 

LBNL and its partners will use an electron microscope and other advanced analytical tools to discover the mineral sources of lithium and its additional benefits. 

The project team will also research potential environmental impacts to assess how much water and chemical usage is needed for lithium extraction and air quality during the extraction process. 

DOE’s Geothermal Technologies Office says the project will provide critical insights about the subsurface that will help secure a domestic lithium supply chain using the most environmentally responsible and data-driven pathway. 

Various companies have kicked off pilot operations at the Salton Sea to extract lithium, including Berkshire Hathaway Energy, a holding company, and Controlled Thermal Resources, a lithium resource and renewable energy company. LBNL and UC Riverside will use data from the companies active in the area and field data from the state of California’s Geologic Energy Management databases.

The project’s vision is for the lithium from the geothermal field beneath the Salton Sea to one day form the foundation for a new domestic battery industry in the U.S. 

APPA Awards NYPA $102,000 Grant For Agriculture And Solar Energy Production Study

March 14, 2022

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
March 14, 2022

The New York Power Authority (NYPA) has been awarded a $102,000 grant through the American Public Power Association’s (APPA) Demonstration of Energy & Efficiency Developments (DEED) program to evaluate and report on innovative approaches to integrating dual-land use for agriculture and solar energy production. 

Funding through the DEED grant will empower NYPA, in collaboration with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), to encourage the establishment of best practices that will enable farmers, communities, developers, industry partners, equipment vendors, utilities and other stakeholders to better understand the benefits of sustainable land use practices and co-location of agriculture with solar generation

NYPA noted that agrivoltaics is the simultaneous use of land for typical agricultural practices, such as grazing, crops, and beekeeping, and photovoltaic (PV) power generation through the use of solar panels. 

Agrivoltaic systems can be designed in a variety of ways. For high-value crops like tomatoes, lettuce, or herbs, solar arrays must allow sufficient sunlight to pass to ground crops while capturing light to generate electricity. 

NYPA will study how native vegetation, pollinators, low maintenance plants, agricultural crops and grazing livestock may coexist within the space of solar co-land management. The results of the study will be published to advise proper techniques and tools that optimize sustainable vegetation, agriculture yield and PV electricity generation.

“The APPA’s DEED grant will help NYPA explore the potential benefits of solar generation in agricultural settings,” said NYPA Senior Director of Research, Technology Development and Innovation Alan Ettlinger in a statement. “By studying agrivoltaic systems, NYPA will be able to create a blueprint that will articulate sustainable land practices and help guide New York to a more sustainable, carbon-free future.”

“This is exactly the kind of innovation that the APPA’s DEED program is built to fund,” said APPA Vice President of Technical and Operations Services Alex Hofmann. “We can’t wait to see how the project plays out and to share the learnings with other public power utilities.”

This research initiative is one of NYPA’s many projects supporting New York’s goal to generate 70 percent of the state’s electricity from renewables by 2030.

In addition to NYPA’s agrivoltaics program, New York State has established the Farmland Protection Working Group and the Agricultural Technical Working Group. These working groups are designed to ensure solar siting that is responsive to the needs of New York’s agricultural communities.

NYPA is a long-time DEED program partner and received $250,000 to fund two demonstration projects in 2021, one that is analyzing the impact of ice on a hydropower plant and one testing an advanced technology that evaluates the health of high voltage assets in a substation.

The DEED program, which funds research, pilot projects and education to improve the operations and services of public power utilities. 

DEED members can learn more about the NYPA project in the DEED Project Library. Additional details about the DEED program are available here. 

Tacoma Power Joins CAISO’s Western Energy Imbalance Market

March 14, 2022

by Peter Maloney
APPA News
March 14, 2022

Tacoma Power has become one of the newest members of the California Independent System Operator’s Western Energy Imbalance Market (WEIM). 

“Gaining first-hand experience with centralized markets will better prepare us to engage in regional discussions about expanding such markets to advance our service delivery in safe, reliable, affordable, environmentally-friendly ways,” Clay Norris, WEIM sponsor and power manager for Tacoma Power, said in a statement.

Publicly owned Tacoma Power serves nearly 200,000 electric customers in the Tacoma, Washington, area.

Tacoma Power was joined in its March 2 entry in the WEIM by Avista Utilities, which serves more than 400,000 electric customers in Washington and Idaho. 
While Tacoma Power and Avista are the newest members of WEIM, they are expected to be joined later this year by Bonneville Power Administration and Tucson Electric Power.

Once all four utilities have joined WEIM, the organization will have 19 members serving nearly 77 percent of electric demand in the Western United States.

The WEIM uses the latest technology to find and deliver the lowest-cost energy to its members on a regional basis. Exchanging energy supplies across a wide, multi-state region enhances reliability and provides environmental benefits through the reduction of renewable energy curtailments, leading to lower greenhouse gas emissions because excess renewable energy in one area can be deployed elsewhere potentially offsetting the use of fossil fuels, the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) said.

As more utilities join WEIM, CAISO is developing an extended day-ahead market, that will be able to handle the majority of participants’ energy transactions. That initiative is now working through a stakeholder process that began in January.

Last March, the Turlock Irrigation District and the Balancing Area of Northern California Phase 2, comprised of the Modesto Irrigation District, the City of Redding, the City of Roseville, and the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) Sierra Nevada Region, began participating in WEIM. 

Four Western States Sign MOU To Develop A Regional Hydrogen Hub

March 9, 2022

by Peter Maloney
APPA News
March 9, 2022

The governors of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming have joined forces in signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the development of a regional clean hydrogen hubs.

Under the MOU the states agreed to compete jointly for a portion of the $8 billion allocated in the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act for hydrogen hubs.

The MOU calls for the governors to work together to develop a response to the request for proposals (RFP) that the Department of Energy (DOE) is expected to issue by May 2022 for development of four or more regional hydrogen hubs and to collaborate on the response to the request for information (RFI) issued Feb. 15, 2022 pursuant to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Each of the states also said the joint proposal would be the only proposal they would participate in for a hydrogen hub and that they will not submit their own standalone proposal in cooperation with other states or entities other than the signatories of the MOU. If all the signatories of the MOU agree, other Western states may be added to the MOU.

The MOU calls for each of the four states to appoint up to three representatives to a workgroup, who will coordinate the states’ collective work on development of the regional hydrogen hub proposals.

At least two of the three representatives to the workgroup shall be employees or representatives of a state agency, official board, or other state body or research institution in the respective states.

The aim of the workgroup will be to develop a multi-state action proposal to accelerate commercialization of, and demonstrate the production, processing, delivery, storage, and end-use of clean hydrogen.

The signatories further agreed that any external written communication about the regional Hydrogen Hub collaboration would be shared with the workgroup in advance.

The governors said the four signatory states of the MOU are uniquely situated to become a clean hydrogen hub because of their high-quality wind, solar, biomass, natural gas, and other energy resources, as well as their “world-leading national labs and academic institutions” and multiple industrial operations and large urban areas that could potentially be early adopters of clean hydrogen technologies.

Several West Coast utilities, including the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) and Douglas County PUD in Washington, have recently embarked on projects aimed at furthering the feasibility of using hydrogen fuels to offset the use of traditional fossil fuels.

Separately, the DOE last June launched an effort to reduce the cost of clean hydrogen by 80 percent to $1 per kilogram, from about $5 per kilogram, in one decade.

To help public power utilities understand the potential – and the limitations – of hydrogen, and why they should get involved, we developed Understanding Hydrogen: Trends and Use Cases.

To help public power utilities understand the potential — and the limitations — of hydrogen, and why they should get involved, the American Public Power Association developed Understanding Hydrogen: Trends and Use Cases.

CPS Energy In Texas Signs Deal For Underground Pumped Storage Project

March 9, 2022

by Peter Maloney
APPA News
March 9, 2022

CPS Energy, the public power utility serving San Antonio, Texas, has signed a deal with Quidnet Energy for a pumped energy storage project that could eventually be as large as 15 megawatts (MW).

The 15-year agreement calls for an energy storage project employing Quidnet’s geomechanical pumped storage (GPS) technology. The plan calls for the project to be developed in two phases, starting with a 1-MW, 10-hour storage facility.

Quidnet’s technology uses off-peak electricity to pump water from a holding pond into an impermeable rock under the ground where it is held under pressure until the pressurized water is released to power a hydroelectric turbine. The closed loop process is designed to conserve water by reusing it and minimizing evaporation.

The technology employs much of the same expertise, workforce, and supply chains that are used to drill for oil and gas, and it uses conventional drilling technology and off-the-shelf hydropower equipment, Quidnet said. The technology can also be deployed across a diverse range of geographic locations and be scaled by using modules that go from 1 MW in size up to 10 MW, the company said.

“Incorporating Quidnet’s homegrown-Texan energy storage solution allows us to create a cleaner electric supply while supporting our local energy industry workforce and lowering costs for our customers,” Rudy Garza, interim president and CEO of CPS Energy, said in a statement.

CPS Energy also said the energy storage project would support its Flexible Path Resource Plan that aims to reduce the utility’s net emissions by 80 percent by 2040.

Under its Flexible Path Resource Plan CPS Energy’s intends to close coal plants, integrate technologies like energy storage and electric vehicles, expand the use of renewable resources, and add more programs and services such as energy efficiency and demand response. CPS aims to increase its renewable resources by 127 percent by 2040 while decreasing gas- and coal-fired generation by 72 percent and 61 percent, respectively.

Last year a Department of Energy study found that hydropower, including pumped hydro storage facilities, could be critical to ensuring the reliability of the nation’s electric grid during extreme weather events.

Quidnet has developed energy storage test sites in Medina and San Saba counties in Texas and is working on pilot projects in Ohio, New York, and Alberta, Canada. In addition to venture capital backing, Quidnet has received support from the Department of Energy, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, and Emissions Reduction Alberta.