EC December 2014

ec@lists.wvsierraclub.org

5 participants
13 discussions

Re: [EC] AREPS (was: (E&E)Some states use laws and rules to slow growth of renewable energy
by James Kotcon 29 Dec '14

29 Dec '14

??I did not get very much feedback when I first sent this around last week, so I am trying again. At this point, I have about two votes each for Option 1 and 2, and no votes from the other 20+ people on these lists, so I don't feel like there is a consensus yet. Has anyone spoken to any Republican about the proposed repeal? I am leaning toward option # 2, and would preface our approach by saying that we counted votes to repeal AREPS as "anti-environment" in our 2013-14 scorecard, but would not do so in 2015 if the repeal legislation preserved net-metering. Anyone else want to weigh in on the Options below? Options: 1) We could oppose any effort to repeal the AREPS? It is the best we have, and improving it later might be easier than bringing it back, once it is repealed. 2) We might acquiesce in the repeal provided that they retain the net metering provision. 3) We might support a repeal for small utilities only, pointing out that large utilities really don't have to do anything to comply. ________________________________ From: James Kotcon Sent: Sunday, December 21, 2014 10:34 AM To: Vickie Wolfe Cc: Connigl(a)aol.com Subject: Re: AREPS (was: (E&E)Some states use laws and rules to slow growth of renewable energy ?Attached are the reports filed by AEP and FE. The formats differ, but in both, Exhibit # 3 illustrates their future plans. Neither of these utilities has any need for new renewable energy generation until after 2030. If we did not have to work with them, it would be fun to go on the offensive and call the claim that the AREPS hurts coal a bald-faced lie. But I would recommend we bite our tongue, try to talk to the Republican leadership first and try to appear reasonable and based in reality. Perhaps we could tell them we want to do them a favor by preventing them from appearing unhinged, irresponsible, and hysterical. JBK

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Natural gas prices below $3.00 per MMBTU
by James Kotcon 26 Dec '14

26 Dec '14

?Lowest prices since 2012. An unseasonably warm December coupled with record supplies means prices have fallen 30 % since October. While not yet at the point where it is cheaper than coal, that price shift in 2012 triggered a massive shift by electric generators to gas, resulting in plunging coal prices and broken contracts. While temperatures are supposed to return to "seasonal norms" next week, a warm winter would put more downward pressure on gas prices. This will be an important point to make as the Republicans and DINOs in the WV Legislature try to boost coal production. JBK http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-26/natural-gas-futures-drop-below-3-f… Natural Gas Drops Below $3 for First Time Since 2012 - Bloomberg Natural gas slumped below $3 per million British thermal units in New York for the first time since 2012 on speculation that record production will overwhelm demand for the heating fuel. Read more...<http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-26/natural-gas-futures-drop-below-3-f…> http://finance.yahoo.com/news/natural-gas-prices-plunge-mild-193800337.html… [http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/6rik6AZwuPGCiADf_9dhPQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7…]<http://finance.yahoo.com/news/natural-gas-prices-plunge-mild-193800337.html…> Natural gas prices plunge in mild winter - Yahoo Finance >From Yahoo Finance: Heating bills across the United States are falling this winter as unusually warm temperatures in the Eastern United States have crimped demand for natural gas as a source of heat. The diminished demand ... Read more...<http://finance.yahoo.com/news/natural-gas-prices-plunge-mild-193800337.html…> http://www.cnbc.com/id/102289402 [http://fm.cnbc.com/applications/cnbc.com/resources/img/editorial/2014/12/22…]<http://www.cnbc.com/id/102289402> Nat gas collapses-'This is panic selling' Call it the perfect nonstorm. Mild weather forecasts, a supply surplus and a general energy market swoon are crushing natural gas on Monday. Read more...<http://www.cnbc.com/id/102289402>

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Horizontal well drill waste rules passed
by James Kotcon 21 Dec '14

21 Dec '14

?Barbara has been our hero on this one. Watch for it to come back in January. JBK http://thedpost.com/Horizontal-well-drill-waste-rule TheDPost.com - Horizontal well drill waste rules passed Horizontal well drill waste rules passed- CHARLESTON - Delegate Barbara Evans Fleischauer, D-Monongalia, succeeded this week in slightly beefing up proposed Department of Environmental Protection rules to govern horizontal well drill cutting waste dumped in certain municipal landfills. The... Read more...<http://thedpost.com/Horizontal-well-drill-waste-rule> Horizontal well drill waste rules passed David Beard TheDPost.com CHARLESTON - Delegate Barbara Evans Fleischauer, D-Monongalia, succeeded this week in slightly beefing up proposed Department of Environmental Protection rules to govern horizontal well drill cutting waste dumped in certain municipal landfills. The rules stem from HB 107, passed during a special session in March, allowing the DEP to approve certain commercial landfills to receive drill cuttings and drilling waste above their monthly tonnage limits, provided they place the cuttings in separate, specially designed and lined cells. The Legislative Rule-Making Review Committee has been working with the DEP on the rules and expects to deliver them to the full Legislature for approval after the session begins in January. The committee approved two of Fleischauer's three proposed amendments, rejecting one dealing with radiation. The first deals with toxins in the waste. The rule includes a list and members OK'd Fleishauer's proposal to add toulene and xylene. The second deals with leachate from the liner. Fleischauer added quarterly testing for toxins to certify the liner's integrity.

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Fwd: Koch Bros., AFP come to Richmond to kill climate protections!
by James Kotcon 19 Dec '14

19 Dec '14

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Glen Besa <glen.besa(a)sierraclub.org> Date: Thu, Dec 18, 2014 at 5:45 PM Subject: Koch Bros., AFP come to Richmond to kill climate protections! To: CONS-FRED(a)lists.sierraclub.org --------------------------- cc:Mail Users----------------------------- ** Remember to DELETE the 'Sender: ...' lines above before REPLYing ** ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi folks, See what we are up against below. This letter went out to VA legislators today. Their RASP Act is attached. Glen *MEMORANDIUM* *To:* Members of the Virginia General Assembly *From:* Sean Lansing, State Director of Americans for Prosperity-Virginia *Re:* RASP Act *Date: *Thursday, December 18, 2014 ------------------------------ Dear Members of the General Assembly: On behalf of more than 70,000 Americans for Prosperity activists living in Virginia, I encourage you to support efforts to push back against the overreaching Environmental Protection Agency. The new proposed carbon emissions rule from President Obama's EPA will amount to a federal takeover of the electricity system. EPA proposes that Virginia cut power sector CO2 emissions by 43 percent from 2012 levels by 2030, which will threaten jobs and energy affordability here in our state. That's why I'm writing to urge you to support the Reliable, Affordable, and Safe Power (RASP) Act. This legislation takes a number of common sense steps to protect families and businesses in Virginia from harm brought on by the regulations. First, this legislation prohibits our state from submitting or implementing a State Implementation Plan until the legal questions surrounding the new rules are resolved. This will prevent Virginia from wasting precious resources until EPA’s legal authority is clear. Second, it would empower state legislatures, who are accountable to the people, to approve or deny the state implementation plan before it is submitted to the EPA. Lastly, it includes several provisions that instruct the state agencies developing the plans to ensure that it will protect the affordability and reliability of the state electricity system for its citizens. This legislation also enjoys broad support from conservative organizations. AFP is proud to lead a large coalition of organizations in supporting the the RASP Act, which is online here <http://americansforprosperity.org/article/coalition-supports-state-resoluti…> . I urge you and your colleagues to support this important legislation and protect Virginia families from the harmful impact of these new proposed EPA rules. I look forward to working with you over this upcoming session. Sincerely, Sean Lansing State Director AFP-Virginia - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the CONS-FRED list, send any message to: CONS-FRED-signoff-request(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp Sign up to receive Sierra Club Insider, the flagship e-newsletter. Sent out twice a month, it features the Club's latest news and activities. Subscribe and view recent editions at http://www.sierraclub.org/insider/

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AREPS data
by James Kotcon 18 Dec '14

18 Dec '14

?I finally tracked down the reports to the PSC regarding utility compliance with the Alternative and Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (AREPS). The AREPS requires utilities to hold "credits" for each MWh sold in WV. In essence that means that 10 % of their electricity must come from alternative and renewable sources by 2015, rising to 15 % by 2020, and 25 % by 2025. Republican legislators have pledged to repeal this Act in 2015. Sounds pretty aggressive right? But up to 10 % of their required credits can come from natural gas, another 10 % from supercritical coal (Fort Martin, Harrison, John Amos, etc.). Unlimited credits can come from coal-fired fluidized bed boilers such as MEA or Grant Town, or from pumped storage facilities, or from burning tires, or from coal with IGCC or CCS. Because utilities get 2 credits per MWh for electricity from wind or hydro, these sources are "favored", but it also means that they need less wind or hydro to meet their demand. Based on the data in their filings, it appears that First Energy (Mon Power and Potomac Edison) is getting most of their credits from fluidized bed boilers such as Grant Town and MEA. They do claim something just under 20 % from a hydropower facility at New Martinsville. But because excess credits can be "banked" for later use, it appears that First Energy would not need to acquire ANY new renewables until after 2035. AEP (ApCo and Wheeling Power) gets a lot from four wind farms they acquired, and from hydro (including pumped storage). Their supply is not quite as robust as FE, as they start drawing down banked credits after 2020. But they also would not need new renewable credits until after 2030. I conclude that, although the utilities are actually using some renewables to meet their AREPS requirements, these are almost all existing facilities. No NEW renewables would be needed before 2030, at the earliest. One other note, the PSC filings included compliance reports from five small utilities in WV (e.g., Harrison electric coop, Philippi, New Martinsville, etc.) Some of these will have to acquire "credits", and the purchase of these in future years may run into the tens of thousands of dollars, so that is a potentially significant burden. In addition, Bill Howley pointed out that the AREPS is the only place in state code that establishes net metering. Any attempt to repeal AREPS in its entirety could also eliminate net metering. (This might be considered a regulatory "takings" for those home-owners who bout solar panels or wind mills on the assumption that the utilities would help pay them back, so that is an argument we might explore.) Options: 1) We could oppose any effort to repeal the AREPS? It is the best we have, and improving it later might be easier than bringing it back, once it is repealed. 2) We might acquiesce in the repeal provided that they retain the net metering provision. 3) We might support a repeal for small utilities only, pointing out that large utilities really don't have to do anything to comply. Whaddya Tink? Jim Kotcon

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Fw: Interesting Article for Context on IRP Planning
by James Kotcon 17 Dec '14

17 Dec '14

?More from Danny. JBK

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Fw: IRP vs. EERS: There's one clear winner among state energy efficiency policies
by James Kotcon 17 Dec '14

17 Dec '14

?Great study out of ACEEE comparing state policies. An EERS clearly produces more EE investment, more energy saved, and better cost savings per customer than an IRP. An IRP alone rarely produces much, although it can be helpful if it includes rate de-coupling and other incentives, especially if it helps utilities meet an EERS (some states have both). Read more below. JBK ________________________________ From: Mark Kresowik <mark.kresowik(a)sierraclub.org> Sent: Wednesday, December 17, 2014 2:36 PM To: Bill Price; Daniel Chiotos; James Kotcon; David Muhly; David W. Sturm Subject: Fwd: IRP vs. EERS: There's one clear winner among state energy efficiency policies Interesting take from ACEEE ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: "ACEEE News" <aceeenews(a)aceee.org<mailto:aceeenews@aceee.org>> Date: Dec 16, 2014 11:42 AM Subject: IRP vs. EERS: There's one clear winner among state energy efficiency policies To: <mark.kresowik(a)sierraclub.org<mailto:mark.kresowik@sierraclub.org>> Cc: [logo] ACEEE BLOG POST Media Contact: Patrick Kiker pkiker(a)aceee.org<mailto:pkiker@aceee.org>, (202) 507-4043 IRP vs. EERS: There's one clear winner among state energy efficiency policies By Martin Kushler, Senior Fellow With Ohio<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001isYeK1dbZTwih7-myTESlNExPgalEzWWNIhdn8-pHm4S…> and Indiana<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001isYeK1dbZTwih7-myTESlNExPgalEzWWNIhdn8-pHm4S…> having recently made major changes to their utility energy efficiency policy, and other states like Florida<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001isYeK1dbZTwih7-myTESlNExPgalEzWWNIhdn8-pHm4S…> and Arizona<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001isYeK1dbZTwih7-myTESlNExPgalEzWWNIhdn8-pHm4S…> considering it, this is an important time to review the evidence about the relative effectiveness of state policies designed to encourage cost-effective energy efficiency. States have embraced energy efficiency policies because the energy savings result in lower customer energy bills, investments in the local economy, improved reliability, and reduced emissions. But not all efficiency policies are equally effective at delivering results, so let's take a closer look at two commonly touted policies for achieving energy efficiency as a utility system resource: integrated resource planning (IRP) and energy efficiency resource standards (EERS<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001isYeK1dbZTwih7-myTESlNExPgalEzWWNIhdn8-pHm4S…>). ACEEE has examined the relationship between these two widely utilized state energy efficiency policies and their outcomes on efficiency. The two key indicators we used to measure performance are spending on energy efficiency programs ($ as a percent of utility revenues) and annual electricity savings achieved (kWh<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001isYeK1dbZTwih7-myTESlNExPgalEzWWNIhdn8-pHm4S…> as a percent of annual sales). We drew upon data on customer-funded energy efficiency programs from the recently released ACEEE State Energy Efficiency Scorecard<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001isYeK1dbZTwih7-myTESlNExPgalEzWWNIhdn8-pHm4S…> and supplemented that data with information from Synapse and the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP)<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001isYeK1dbZTwih7-myTESlNExPgalEzWWNIhdn8-pHm4S…>, and Pamela Morgan<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001isYeK1dbZTwih7-myTESlNExPgalEzWWNIhdn8-pHm4S…>. It is important to note that every state has a unique mix of circumstances and traditions, as well as a mix of particular individuals in leadership positions at utilities and state government. These factors influence the performance of energy efficiency policies in any particular state. Nevertheless, we believe it is instructive to look at how patterns of performance vary across many states under different policy conditions. These results will be presented and discussed in more detail in a report to be released early next year, but here are our top-line observations... To continue reading the blog post, visit: http://aceee.org/blog/2014/12/irp-vs-eers-there-s-one-clear-winner-<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001isYeK1dbZTwih7-myTESlNExPgalEzWWNIhdn8-pHm4S…> About ACEEE: The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy acts as a catalyst to advance energy efficiency policies, programs, technologies, investments, and behaviors. For information about ACEEE and its programs, publications, and conferences, visit aceee.org<http://aceee.org>. ### Forward email<http://ui.constantcontact.com/sa/fwtf.jsp?llr=4rt7cun6&m=1011065179711&ea=m…> [http://img.constantcontact.com/letters/images/SafeUnsubscribe_Footer_Logo_N…]<http://visitor.constantcontact.com/do?p=un&m=001vfp2I8x5D_0Nl7ICqtN-YA%3D%3…> This email was sent to mark.kresowik(a)sierraclub.org<mailto:mark.kresowik@sierraclub.org> by aceeenews(a)aceee.org<mailto:aceeenews@aceee.org> | Update Profile/Email Address<http://visitor.constantcontact.com/do?p=oo&m=001vfp2I8x5D_0Nl7ICqtN-YA%3D%3…> | Rapid removal with SafeUnsubscribe<http://visitor.constantcontact.com/do?p=un&m=001vfp2I8x5D_0Nl7ICqtN-YA%3D%3…>(tm) | Privacy Policy<http://ui.constantcontact.com/roving/CCPrivacyPolicy.jsp>. ACEEE | 529 14th Street., N.W. | Suite 600 | Washington | DC | 20045

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New article to explain climate denial
by James Kotcon 14 Dec '14

14 Dec '14

?This provides very interesting insights into how to talk to climate deniers, and it questions some of our current approaches. Enjoy. JBK http://www.vox.com/2014/4/6/5556462/brain-dead-how-politics-makes-us-stupid [https://cdn2.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/zFR3s_x08FFQsqDVyAFCULyfTuM=/0x149:2040x12…]<http://www.vox.com/2014/4/6/5556462/brain-dead-how-politics-makes-us-stupid> How politics makes us stupid - Vox There's a simple theory underlying much of American politics. It sits hopefully at the base of almost every speech, every op-ed, every article, and every panel discussion. It courses through the... Read more...<http://www.vox.com/2014/4/6/5556462/brain-dead-how-politics-makes-us-stupid>

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from ScienceDaily e-newsletter: Chesapeake Bay region streams are warming
by Paul Wilson 09 Dec '14

09 Dec '14

may be worth considering during your meeting on Friday.... Chesapeake Bay region streams are warming <http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/aVf…> Posted: 08 Dec 2014 11:57 AM PST The majority of streams in the Chesapeake Bay region are warming, and that increase appears to be driven largely by rising air temperatures, research has concluded. Researchers found an overall warming trend in air temperature of 0.023 C (0.041 F) per year, and in water temperature of 0.028 C (0.050 F) per year over 51 years. This means that air temperature has risen 1.1 C (1.98 F), and water temperature has risen 1.4 C (2.52 F) between 1960 and 2010 in the Chesapeake Bay region. <http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment?a=aVf…> <http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment?a=aVf…> <http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment?a=aVf…> <http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment?a=aVf…> <http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment?a=aVf…> -- Paul Wilson Sierra Club 504 Jefferson Ave Charles Town, WV 25414-1130 Phone: 304-725-4360 Cell: 304-279-1361 "There is no forward until you have gone back" ~Buddha "In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous" ~ Aristotle

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FRACKING. IT'S FUCKING BRILLIANT
by William V. DePaulo, Esq. 07 Dec '14

07 Dec '14

FRACKING. IT'S FUCKING BRILLIANT <https://vimeo.com/113010398> -- William V. DePaulo, Esq. 179 Summers Street, Suite 232 Charleston, WV 25301-2163 Tel 304-342-5588 Fax 304-342-5505 william.depaulo(a)gmail.com www.passeggiata.com

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EC December 2014