CWEB.076/Apr.30.2002
Seattle City Light will continue robust and diverse energy conservation offerings, thanks to a new agreement with Bonneville Power Administration.
Seattle and BPA have concluded a pact in which Bonneville will pay Seattle about $26 million over two years for 18 average megawatts of energy savings. This deal, announced April 1, falls under BPA's Conservation Augmentation initiative.
BPA will acquire Seattle's conservation for approximately 2 cents per kilowatt-hour, compared with 2.5 cents/KWh to 3.5 cents/KWh in current wholesale power markets, noted a joint news release. This provides a regional benefit, said BPA administrator Steve Wright. "Conservation takes the pressure off everyone. It means BPA doesn't have to go to the market and purchase expensive resources to serve its customer utilities."
And Seattle, long a regional conservation leader, will retain its varied and substantial menu of energy-saving initiatives, despite financial woes besetting the Northwest's largest publicly owned utility.
Without the BPA agreement, "It would have been a very much reduced [conservation] effort," said Marya Castillano, Seattle's energy management services director. "I don't believe that we would have not had any program," she added, but it would have been "very slim" and focused on the higher-volume, lower-cost efficiencies generally found in the commercial and industrial sectors.
In addition to the mutual benefits in this ConAug deal, Seattle's Jim Todd praised the agreement as straightforward and administratively simple, with City Light keeping control over conservation programs. "I really do think this is an excellent way for Bonneville to handle its role and utilities to work with them," he said.
ConAug Agreement
As a utility getting only some of its power from BPA, Seattle had earlier hesitated on Conservation Augmentation, because of a provision requiring non-full-requirement utilities to drop their BPA load by the same amount of energy savings. City Light (and others in similar circumstances) balked at cutting back on their lowest-cost wholesale power.
"Time and situations change," acknowledged Todd. City Light began negotiating with BPA on this deal last fall, "and at that time we realized that ... the utility was longer on power than it had been earlier and was frankly facing a financial crunch because of the power price crisis suffered in 2000 and 2001. Now, [ConAug] began to look like a reasonable thing for us to do ... The whole equation looked different in a new light." (The energy crisis, City Light reported on its Web site, caused a $590 million budget impact, a 60 percent increase in outstanding debt and retail rate increases totalling 58 percent.)
Todd outlined the advantages of this ConAug deal at a Northwest Energy Efficiency Council forum April 23 in Seattle. "It meets our need to reduce our expenditures at a time of the biggest financial crunch in the history of our utility," he told the gathering. "We can continue the aggressive conservation effort we've engaged in the last 20 years. And also, which is highly unusual, there are no administrative hoops to jump through. We're committed to deliver the savings and design and operate the programs." The agreement also treats conservation "very explicitly" as an energy resource, he added.
BPA and the region, meanwhile, gain a less expensive power source than the wholesale market.
Also speaking at the NEEC forum, Castillano referred to a Puget Sound Business Journal headline reading, "BPA sale salvages City Light conservation efforts," from the April 5-11 issue. "As embarrassing as that might sound to us," she said, "that's in fact what has happened."
Broad Range of Programs
The ConAug agreement, she reported, covers energy savings from a broad range of Seattle conservation programs (see City Light's Conservation Web site for more details).
On the commercial/industrial side are Energy Smart Services and Smart Business.
Residential offerings include multifamily weatherization and common-area lighting, low-income initiatives (both single-family and multifamily), water heater rebates, Neighborhood Power and new construction ventures for multifamily buildings.
City Light will receive slightly more than $26 million from BPA over two years, said Todd, covering federal fiscal years 2002 and 2003, ending in September 2003. The savings commitment totals 9 aMW for each year. "We can overachieve in one [program] and underachieve in another," he said. "We're selling them 9 average megawatts in energy savings from this package of programs."
Seattle and BPA officials noted that the agreement enables a wider variety of energy-saving initiatives, beyond the most cost-effective commercial/industrial ventures. Residential programs typically cost more, BPA energy efficiency vice president Mike Weedall said at the NEEC forum, but the agency wanted to "make sure it's a balanced package."
Separately, BPA is funding Seattle activities involving compact fluorescent lamp coupons and VendingMiser installations. Other City Light endeavors, including its participation in the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance and assorted green building efforts, are outside the purview of the ConAug agreement. "It's up for discussion right now what part the utility puts in," beyond BPA funding, Castillano said.
Smooth and Pleasant
Todd praised BPA officials for their work in putting together the ConAug deal. "It was, in all honesty, the smoothest, most efficient and most pleasant negotiation I think I've ever had with Bonneville," he said. BPA technical staff analyzed City Light programs (using Regional Technical Forum information) to ensure the savings estimates were reasonable, but BPA's former tendencies for "micromanaged" programs were absent, he said. And although the ConAug deal requires reporting, that will entail nothing beyond what Seattle already does for its own sake.
One divergence did come between the two entities, in the length of the contract. Seattle was open to a 10-year deal, but BPA wanted to start with two years, Todd said. The contract allows mutually acceptable extensions.
"I've heard from several other [utilities] since word came out about ours," Todd said. "I've encouraged them to pursue it; it's a good way to go."
Weedall also sounded a welcoming note. When a utility representative at the NEEC forum asked about a specific ConAug idea, Weedall replied, "Let's talk." --Mark Ohrenschall
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A planned new wind-turbine manufacturing plant in Portland is significant on many levels.
It represents an economic development coup for the strategically located Rose City, and a potential harbinger of other clean-energy businesses to follow. It expresses confidence in Northwest and U.S. wind-power markets by the world's leading turbine manufacturer. And it shows the importance of federal government tax policies--specifically the recently extended wind energy production tax credit--as well as renewable energy support by local and state officials.
Vestas Wind Systems A/S announced in early April its intention to locate a manufacturing facility in Portland, to assemble nacelles, produce blades and make turbine towers. It expects to eventually employ about 1,000 people, including sales and technical support workers.
A Vestas news release described the Portland plans as entering "final negotiations," although the firm's managing director told The Oregonian newspaper those were "more like a formality." Vestas expects the plant to open in summer 2003 and reach full capacity by early 2004, with an annual production capability of 300 1-megawatt turbines.
Portland and Oregon officials, along with renewable energy advocates, hailed the Vestas news.
"Just as Wacker Siltronics served as the cornerstone for growth of the high-tech industry in the 1970s, Vestas will serve as the vanguard for a new, clean-energy industry of this decade, putting Portland square on the map as an urban center for a sustainable economy," said Portland mayor Vera Katz in a news release.
Rachel Shimshak of Renewable Northwest Project called Vestas' announcement "a very big deal. The emergence of a strong renewable energy market in the region, along with the leadership of our local officials in supporting clean energy technologies, has combined to make Oregon the right place to locate this wind turbine manufacturing facility," she said in a news release.
PTC Extension, Bright Future
Vestas declared its Portland plans on April 3, less than a month after President George W. Bush signed economic stimulus legislation containing a two-year extension of the federal production tax credit for wind energy. The 1.7 cents per kilowatt-hour subsidy had expired at the end of 2001; the extension was made retroactive and continued through Dec. 31, 2003, for operational wind projects.
This figured prominently in the Vestas announcement of its Portland plant, which the company said was "based on the extension of the Production Tax Credit ... as well as general positive expectations for the future."
Managing director Johannes Poulsen elaborated in the news release: "For the coming years, we have very positive expectations to the American market. Therefore, we have been investigating the possibilities for establishing local production. The placing in Portland is optimal for our activities in the Pacific Northwest region. As well it has been important to us that the area is characterised by a good infrastructure and by having a skilled labour force available."
Poulsen also touted the support of wind energy generation and the PTC extension by Oregon officials--local, state and federal--that "confirmed our belief that Portland and Oregon is a good strategic fit for Vestas." (Con.WEB could not directly reach Vestas officials for comments.)
Portland Plans by Vestas
Although the Vestas news release conditioned the Portland facility on "final negotiations," Poulsen told The Oregonian, "It's more like a formality to have it finalized. It's our intention to get started as quickly as possible, and we need to do that to meet our deadlines."
"It's looking pretty certain," Martha Richmond of Portland Development Commission told Con.WEB. She said Vestas has signed a lease for downtown office space and is advertising jobs locally and on the Monster Web site (eight such jobs were listed as of April 26).
The Portland Tribune newspaper cited an April 10 report from PDC executive director Don Mazziotti: "While we feel confident in the (Vestas) announcement, we must not lose focus on these last final details because they are of such great importance to both the company and to the city, the state and the Port of Portland."
Vestas described the pending plant as about 70,000 square meters (roughly 227,000 square feet) in size. The company expects to lease buildings and invest about $35 million in production equipment.
This facility is planned for the Rivergate Industrial District on Port of Portland property in north Portland, according to a PDC news release. That location provides good access to rail lines, roads and the Columbia River--and to existing and prospective Northwest wind farms to the east. Vestas already supplies equipment to FPL Energy, developer of the Stateline and Vansycle Ridge wind projects. In the same news release announcing its Portland plant, Vestas publicized a new order from FPL for 175 660-kilowatt-capacity turbines and an option for 650-plus additional turbines.
The economic development impact from Vestas is considerable, especially given Oregon's 7.9-percent unemployment rate as of March, the highest in the nation. Along with the 1,000 jobs, which PDC's Richmond said includes about 200 office workers, local officials forecast a total Vestas investment in the range of $100 million to $150 million.
"I think the significant thing for us is not only the number of jobs, but the kind of industry it is," said Richmond. "We're hoping this will be a start of a cluster of companies, that either supply Vestas or are some way related to wind energy or green energy production." Oregon's high-tech industry grew in a similar fashion, she noted, starting with a core of locally based companies and expanding with suppliers and customers.
Portland beat out other Western U.S. locations for the Vestas facility, according to the PDC news release. In Pueblo, CO, the president of the local economic development corporation expressed shock upon learning his community had failed to land the wind-turbine plant, reported The Pueblo Chieftain newspaper.
" ... Vestas made the same announcement [as in Portland] in Pueblo two years ago and company officials have been working with the Pueblo Economic Development Corp. over the ensuing months to plan the move," wrote reporter John Norton.
Reactions to Vestas News
Portland and Oregon officials joined with renewable energy professionals in heralding Vestas' planned facility in the Rose City, in news releases and in interviews with Con.WEB.
"Vestas will be a major employer in Oregon, and its record as a productive, responsible corporation will no doubt play a positive role in our community," said Gov. John Kitzhaber. "I can't think of a company better suited to our business climate and to the Oregon way of life."
"The city is thrilled at this news," said Katz. "With the nation's and the state's highest unemployment rate, these jobs could not have come to Portland at a better time." The mayor cited a "real team effort" to lure Vestas involving Kitzhaber, PDC, Port of Portland and the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department.
"While Vestas will receive excellent river, rail and road access, Portland will get a new environmentally sustainable business and the opportunity to broaden the region's Northern Europe trade market," said Port executive director Bill Wyatt. "Our hope is the company will both bring in components via air and sea, and will also use our transportation connections for exporting finished product."
Dave Roberts of SeaWest WindPower called the Vestas plans "just more evidence of the maturity of the wind industry ... coming to U.S. markets."
RNP's Shimshak put the news in a state and regional context. "The foundation laid by the state's four new wind projects, our innovative restructuring legislation which supports renewables, and the strong public response to renewable energy products offered by our utilities demonstrate Oregon's commitment to renewable energy. The Vestas announcement stands as a symbol that a clean energy future benefits both the environment and the economy of the region."
When Climate Solutions published a recent market analysis of Northwest clean energy industry prospects, wind, ironically, "didn't rise up into the top three for industries where the Northwest has the most promising opportunities to establish a world-class presence," from an economic development/job creation/export perspective, said co-director Rhys Roth.
"This changes everything," he said. "Part of the problem was that the major players in wind were all located in Europe. Now this gives us a major manufacturing center right here in the heart of the Pacific Northwest," with possibilities for supplier and other spin-offs. Climate Solutions is organizing further research on clean-energy business potential for the region, Roth said, and, "We're going to add wind-turbine manufacturing and the opportunities Vestas might create." He said the Vestas plant and its 1,000 jobs will be the largest clean-energy manufacturing plant in the Northwest. --Mark Ohrenschall
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Bonneville Power Administration has pulled out of a proposed wind-energy project on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in northwest Montana, citing excessive costs.
BPA had long considered buying power from the prospective wind farm, but by late February the federal power marketing agency decided to discontinue an environmental impact statement. Several factors--including transmission constraints, less-than-anticipated wind resources and lower wholesale market prices--increased the forecasted price of delivered wind energy to more than 5 cents per kilowatt-hour.
"The accumulation of a number of things ended up putting the costs way out of range," said BPA renewables program manager George Darr. He called Bonneville's situation "death by a thousand cuts" for the project contemplated at up to 66 megawatts capacity.
Still, developer SeaWest WindPower left the door ajar for a wind farm on Duck Lake Ridge. "We have not withdrawn from the project," SeaWest development vice president Dave Roberts told Con.WEB. His company retains "a strong desire to see the project proceed," he said. "We think there's a lot of economic and other benefits associated with this project," for the Blackfeet tribe and the rest of Montana.
In the absence of BPA, "We would like to identify a power purchaser and/or a project purchaser," most likely from Montana, Roberts said.
Transmission limitations out of Montana remain a major impediment to developing the state's immense wind-power potential, estimated at 116,000 average megawatts by Renewable Northwest Project.
Darr said that when he talks to Montanans about wind energy, "The message is always, 'You guys have great wind resources, but there's no way to get the power to places that can use them.' All the transmission capacity from Montana to load centers on the West is completely subscribed." Meanwhile, BPA continues to review six other proposed wind projects received through its 2001 wind-power solicitation.
Economic Issues
In September 2000, SeaWest and the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council announced a development agreement for a 22-MW-capacity wind project on tribal land (see Con.WEB, Sept. 29, 2000). BPA expressed support, and in May 2001 announced it would prepare an EIS for a proposed 36-MW to 66-MW wind farm. However, BPA never signed any formal agreements with SeaWest or the Blackfeet, said a BPA fact sheet.
Two sites on tribal land were investigated: Houseman Hill and Duck Lake Ridge, according to the sheet. Houseman Hill was eliminated because its wind resources were deemed "not economically viable"--the same fate that also toppled Duck Lake Ridge for BPA.
"The wind resource on the Blackfeet Reservation was thought to be, is still thought to be, one of the best ones in or near the Bonneville service territory," said Darr. BPA hoped for capacity factors in the high 30-percent range, but wind resource data revealed that "it didn't come anywhere close to that."
This lower projected capacity factor contributed to higher power costs. So did transmission restrictions. "We explored all kinds of alternatives ... to try to get the output to the Bonneville system," through lines belonging to Glacier Electric Cooperative and Montana Power. "It was just very difficult to try to figure out how to do it," said Darr. The BPA fact sheet cited "wheeling, transmission and integration charges ... [that were] higher than anticipated" and "technical, financial and physical challenges" in delivering electrons through Montana Power wires to BPA.
"Finally," said the fact sheet, "the current forecast of the long-range marginal cost of power for the federal system has drastically declined. Wholesale market prices are currently at [2 to 3 cents/KWh] and long-range prices are expected to be [3.5 to 4.5 cents/KWh]."
Ultimately, BPA estimated it would pay 5 to 5.5 cents/KWh for delivered power from Duck Lake Ridge, even with the 1.7 cents/KWh federal wind energy production tax credit, recently extended through 2003.
"While the project would provide significant generation of nonpolluting renewable energy and would also contribute to the long-term economic development of the Blackfeet tribe and the tribal community at large, the premium currently required for the project output over conventional sources is simply too high for this project to be cost competitive," the fact sheet concluded.
Darr said, "It was a case where people made diligent efforts to try to make this project work. We weren't able to bring it together. That's not to say it won't happen in the future, but enough was enough for now."
Although Bonneville will discontinue the EIS, it will finish a bird study now in progress. With that information along with the documented wind resources, "The project will be permittable and buildable if the economics make sense to a power purchaser," said SeaWest's Roberts. Blackfeet officials could not be reached for comment.
Among the possible candidates, he said, is Montana Power, depending on the outcome of its disputed request for proposals process involving a planned 150-MW wind purchase (see Con.WEB, Dec. 20, 2001). Montana public-power utilities, possibly in some aggregate, represent another potential market for the project, he said.
"It might be a better fit for a Montana power purchaser rather than from Bonneville," said Roberts.
BPA Reviewing Wind RFP Proposals
Meanwhile, Darr said BPA officials are "working real hard" on the six remaining proposals from its February 2001 wind-power solicitation. "This whole effort was given renewed vigor with the renewal of the PTC," he said. However, this recent extension by Congress and President George W. Bush is good for less than two years, creating what he called "an extremely difficult deadline to meet." BPA's wind-development process, including a time-consuming EIS, typically takes about three years. "If everything went exactly right, it would be barely possible" to finish in 21 months. "We're going to run at it," he said.
SeaWest submitted four of these potential projects, and, said Roberts, "We're looking forward to moving ahead with Bonneville trying to get these projects going into the development phase." The company recently finished the 24.6-MW first phase of its Condon wind project in north-central Oregon, and the second 25.2-MW phase should be substantially done by June.
Roberts also noted a longer process for Northwest wind projects than elsewhere, such as Texas, where it takes months for permit approvals rather than years. "It puts an interesting challenge on Bonneville and companies like SeaWest," Roberts said. Wind developers have to take on substantial risks to squeeze in projects, and, "In some cases, you can't take those kinds of risks," such as ordering $200 million worth of turbines before permits are issued. --Mark Ohrenschall
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Tapping wind power is a little like drilling for oil. It's generally acknowledged where the resource is, but finding it at reasonable cost requires precise knowledge of the terrain.
Northwest utilities, rural communities, farmers and wind-power developers are now closer to having that knowledge, thanks to high-resolution, computer-generated maps produced by the Northwestern Wind Resource Mapping Project.
Unlike earlier, low-resolution wind atlases, the new maps will allow individual landowners to zoom in closely to find out whether the wind blows fast enough and steadily enough over their properties to indicate promise for a private or commercial-scale wind development.
Zooming for Wind
"You will be able to zoom into 40-acre grid cells. The landowner will see the potential at a much finer resolution," said Angela Shutak, outreach director for Northwest Sustainable Energy and Economic Development (Northwest SEED), one of the project sponsors.
Aaron Jones, manager of the Washington Rural Electric Cooperative Association, said the maps will help landowners and utilities minimize wasted effort in identifying the most promising wind-power sites for further exploration. Although the maps do not eliminate the need for on-site wind-resource assessments, he said they "give an indication of what works and what doesn't," to "ferret out the bad sites and reduce risks." The ultimate goal is to drive down the initial costs of wind development, to improve the economics and enlarge market potential.
Northwest SEED is using the maps to prepare analyses of acreage and wind-power potential for utilities, legislative districts, counties and tribal areas.
Shutak said a preliminary analysis derived from the maps shows that Washington has about 31,000 megawatts worth of commercial-scale wind resources rated at Class 4 or above, meaning the annual average wind speed is 16 mph or higher 50 meters off the ground. Total Washington acreage with Class 4 or greater winds exceeds 1.5 million acres. The three counties with the richest wind resources are Kittitas (233,000 acres, 4,720 MW), Yakima (202,100 acres, 4,090 MW) and Chelan (196,700 acres, 3,980 MW).
Wind maps for the four Northwest states and Wyoming are available on the project Web site: http://www.windpowermaps.org. The maps include assessments of offshore wind potential in coastal states, and show transmission lines to help developers resolve grid connection issues. Northwest SEED plans to provide maps to public libraries across the region. In addition to downloadable maps available on the project Web site, Northwest SEED sells wind map posters and various customized map options.
Wind maps also are available for the service territories of seven publicly owned utilities in Washington: public utility districts in Grant, Chelan and Douglas counties, Tanner Electric Cooperative, Nespelem Valley Electric Cooperative, Inland Power and Light, and Benton Rural Electric Association.
Mapping for Small Wind
The maps will play an important site-assessment role for a proposed project to install 10 small turbines of up to 10 kilowatts capacity each in rural areas. That project is designed to assess the viability of small-scale wind generation for meeting local loads. Now under negotiation, this would be a cooperative venture between the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and partner organizations including Northwest SEED, Northwest Cooperative Development Center, Bergey Windpower and others.
A key project goal is to offset some of the costs by expanding the pool of beneficiaries to include urban communities, through wind-power purchases via Bonneville Environmental Foundation green tags. BEF has agreed to buy up to 10 years worth of green tags initially, for a total take of 100 KW.
Wind as Cash Crop
With the Northwest agricultural sector distressed by low crop prices and commercial wind power becoming a competitive resource, farmers and rural communities view wind as a new cash crop that could diversify their economies, provide a steady income and stabilize small-town tax bases.
Acre-for-acre, cropland "planted" with wind turbines can easily earn many times the return possible with "any kind of grain," Jones said. He estimated that 20 to 25 farmers in Washington, Oregon and Idaho interested in wind development are "are at one stage or another from kicking the wheels to making a commitment."
Wind power is growing fast nationally and regionally. Last year, nearly 1,700 MW of new capacity were installed in the United States. In the Northwest, some 360 MW of new capacity were either installed or purchased by regional utilities in 2001 (see Con.WEB, Jan. 30, 2002, for an update report on Northwest wind energy. )
Wind development received an economic reprieve March 9 when President George W. Bush signed into law an extension of the wind power production tax credit through Dec. 31, 2003. The credit pays 1.7 cents for every kilowatt-hour generated.
Assessing Wind
A significant component of wind-power development costs is site assessment. Landscape-level maps estimating the Northwest's wind power potential have been available since the 1980s. However, the maps are based on dated information and methods that either underestimate or overestimate wind resource at specific locations. Moreover, their coarse resolution is unsuitable for assessing wind potential on an individual property. Wind has complex, site-specific characteristics that vary according to topography, elevation, season and time of day.
As a result, developers planning wind projects have been forced to undertake costly wind-measurement projects without an adequate tool to screen out less promising sites.
To address this problem, Northwest SEED began the wind-mapping project last year in cooperation with Last Mile Electric Cooperative, a group of cooperatives and municipal utilities working to increase wind-power development in the rural Northwest.
The project sought to better define the region's wind resources so assessments can be focused on the most promising sites, more accurate regional wind-power potential estimates can be made, and economics of development can be better understood.
The maps were produced with MesoMap, a computerized modeling system developed by TrueWind Solutions, an Albany, N.Y. wind resource characterization and forecasting firm. MesoMap takes into account topographical and weather phenomena, such as temperature inversions and mountain passes, that are critical for accurately characterizing wind resources at fine resolution, especially in the Northwest's complex terrain.
MesoMap was used to simulate wind speed and direction on a 400-meter grid at heights 30, 50 and 70 meters above ground level. Meteorological information from national databases was fed into the model, producing a three-dimensional record complete with wind roses, speed frequency distributions and color-coded maps of mean wind speeds in the seven speed classifications. TrueWind's data was validated by NREL and independent meteorologists. Based on previous model validations, the expected discrepancy between predicted and measured wind speeds in complex terrain is 3 to 7 percent.
Sponsors of the wind mapping project include the U.S. Department of Energy, NREL, Bonneville Power Administration, Northwest Power Planning Council, Montana Power, Wyoming Business Council, enXco, Zilkha Renewable Energy, Klickitat County, Enron Wind, ABB, Renewable Energy Systems and others. Besides Northwest SEED and Last Mile Electric Cooperative, in-kind supporters include the Northwest Cooperative Development Center, Washington State University Cooperative Extension Energy Program, National Center for Appropriate Technology, Climate Solutions, Renewable Northwest Project and others.
Shutak said that Northwest SEED hopes to expand on the wind-mapping effort to produce a renewable energy atlas assessing solar, geothermal and biomass resources throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, California, Nevada, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. Northwest SEED will work with the Land and Water Fund of the Rockies to develop the atlas, which will include resource potential estimates and areas with transmission congestion. ---Jim DiPeso
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Although Bonneville Power Administration has received few comments from regional stakeholders on its proposal to consider alternatives to building new transmission lines--including distributed generation and conservation--the agency plans to consider non-wire options for up to nine Transmission Business Line projects.
Bonneville has selected two guinea pigs for this project, which will evaluate strategic siting of generation, distributed generation and load-management activities before transmission construction. TBL plans to devise alternatives for these two pilot-project studies by the fall.
This initiative stems from a recent study by energy industry consultants examining "potentially lower cost and reliable alternatives" to expanding Bonneville's transmission system.
Two Guinea Pigs
Despite a tepid first response from utilities, BPA is moving ahead with plans to consider alternatives to new transmission lines for as many as nine Transmission Business Line projects.
Out of 20 transmission construction projects on TBL's list, Bonneville has picked two to serve as guinea pigs for the pilot project, in which transmission alternatives such as strategic siting of generation plants, distributed generation and load management, control and conservation will be studied and considered before construction of brand-new transmission lines.
A transformer and line addition planned in Shelton, WA and the Echo Lake 500-kilovolt line in Monroe, WA, (not the Kangley-Echo Lake 500-KV line near Seattle) are currently being evaluated for alternative strategies. Both projects have 2005 launch dates, which gives BPA plenty of time to conduct the evaluations, said Brian Silverstein, TBL manager for network planning.
Eleven of TBL's 20 planned transmission projects start too soon to accommodate evaluation of alternatives. Nine of the projects, including the two chosen for the pilot, are planned to begin in 2005 or later, leaving TBL plenty of time to consider alternatives.
Study Draws Limited Response
BPA's new non-transmission alternative strategy is based on "Expansion of BPA Transmission Planning Capabilities," a study and set of recommendations produced for TBL by San Francisco-based Energy and Environmental Economics Inc., Portland consultant Tom Foley and electric restructuring consultant Eric Hirst of Tennessee. (For more details on the study, see Con.WEB, Feb. 27, 2002).
Bonneville distributed the study in late January to Northwest utilities and stakeholders, asking for input. But only about a half-dozen parties responded with comments. "My guess is that people are just overwhelmed with so many other issues in the region, that this hasn't risen to the top of the list," Silverstein said.
While most comments filed were encouraging of the new approach, some utilities expressed worry that incorporating alternatives might hold up projects already in the pipeline. Silverstein said no projects will be held up because of alternative evaluations; only transmission projects due for launch in 2005 or later will be evaluated under the alternative program.
In the past, TBL has inadvertently sabotaged non-transmission alternatives by not completing the evaluations until too late in the process, Silverstein said. Now, BPA wants to "do it up front, before launching the environmental process," he said. "It's hard to respond with an alternative [to transmission] if it's not given time to be put in place."
Ted Coates, assistant power manager at Tacoma Power, said BPA's new approach makes sense. "This came along at the right time," Coates said. "To be able to manage the expansion of the transmission system in a responsible way; to expand it, reinforce it--whatever the particular need might be--it's a good start."
Planning Changes
In addition to evaluating non-transmission alternatives, TBL is tweaking its long-term transmission plan, including setting up a mechanism for broad regional input and cooperation so more people can get involved in TBL planning, Silverstein said.
One plan is to distribute biennial systemwide reports describing the expected use of the agency's transmission facilities over the following 10 years. The report would provide information needed for long-term transmission price signals and would inform customers of the transmission costs and benefits of planned new generation or other activities that would affect the lines. Utilities and other stakeholders would have chances to review and comment on these reports of plans affecting the grid. "It would give people something to look at and talk about," Silverstein said.
Bonneville's move to include non-transmission alternatives in its formal process and keep the public in the loop regarding long-term plans is a step in the right direction, said Ralph Cavanagh of the Natural Resources Defense Council. "It's extremely heartening that the agency is looking into alternatives," he said. Bonneville is wise to look into demand-side alternatives and other efforts to reduce demand in stressed areas of the grid and help reduce congestion on the system, he added. --Cassandra Sweet
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Idaho regulators have admonished Idaho Power to form an energy efficiency advisory group and submit a plan to implement demand-side management programs.
Both conditions are being addressed by the state's largest utility.
In a stern April 3 order, the Idaho Public Utilities Commission criticized Idaho Power for its failure to convene an advisory group and establish a blueprint for enacting long-term DSM initiatives. The IPUC had directed the investor-owned utility to do so in November, when regulators deferred a decision on a proposed rate surcharge to fund DSM programs (see Con.WEB, Dec. 20, 2001).
Idaho Power reported it was awaiting direction on DSM funding, now pending as part of the IOU's power cost adjustment process.
But commissioners dismissed that rationale. "We do not understand how Idaho Power could construe this language [from the November order] in a manner that would justify waiting until the program was funded before convening the Advisory Group," they ruled. "Although it would be helpful for the Advisory Group to know the amount of funding that will be available, there is no reason it cannot investigate and prioritize desirable conservation programs without this information ...
"In short, the Commission is disappointed that Idaho Power has done so little to comply" with the November directive. "Although we do not currently hold the Company in contempt, the Commission does find Idaho Power's inaction to be a serious breach in compliance." It ordered the utility to gather an advisory group, hold a meeting and file a DSM implementation plan (based on the group's recommendations) by May 2.
An inaugural meeting of advisors was scheduled for April 30, and the DSM plan was to be filed by May 2, said Idaho Power's Darlene Nemnich.
Meanwhile, Idaho Power has filed with the IPUC for a $262 million power cost adjustment, mostly for excess power supply costs and load-reduction programs stemming from the energy crisis. Future demand-side program funding is part of this PCA process.
DSM Surcharge Proposal
The advisory group formation and DSM plan submission extend from a Nov. 21 IPUC ruling that a proposed customer surcharge to fund Idaho Power DSM programs deserved consideration--but not right then, after substantial rate increases that had raised residential rates a combined average of 31 percent in the previous seven months.
Idaho Power in July had proposed a so-called tariff rider to generate about $2.6 million annually (roughly 0.5 percent of utility revenues) for conservation programs, which would have nearly doubled its then-current spending for ongoing energy efficiency ventures. The IOU submitted this funding vehicle along with 15 potential conservation options in response to an IPUC directive to craft a comprehensive DSM program (see Con.WEB, Aug. 30, 2001).
In addition to planning a further look at funding for a "comprehensive, long-term DSM program" for Idaho Power through the PCA process, the IPUC in November ordered the investor-owned utility to distribute energy-saving information to certain residential customers, expand its Home Energy Audit program, create a residential weatherization program and add funding to its existing Low Income Weatherization Assistance venture. These were to be funded through Idaho Power's share of Bonneville Power Administration's conservation/renewables wholesale rate discount.
Idaho Power also was directed to form an advisory panel for energy efficiency and to plan for implementing long-range demand-side ventures.
But it had not accomplished those tasks by March, when Land and Water Fund of the Rockies filed a motion with the IPUC to enforce the advisory panel order. The organization, according to an IPUC summary, said Idaho Power seemed to be "ignoring the Commission's clear direction" and accused the utility of "recalcitrance" and "simply delaying implementation of cost-effective DSM opportunities that are available, and should be fully exploited to the benefit of ratepayers as soon as possible."
Idaho Power objected to the characterization of recalcitrance. It noted controversy among customers over any rate increase tied to DSM funding, the IPUC summarized, and "understood it was prepared to move forward once the Commission had resolved the funding issue required to implement DSM programs." The IOU said it wanted regulatory guidance on DSM funding and programs before convening the advisory group.
"We were thinking that unless you have funding, you don't know what's going to happen," said Nemnich. Idaho Power "didn't want to use up a bunch of people's time" unnecessarily.
But the IPUC rejected that argument, referring to language in its November order that "explicitly contemplated that Idaho Power would form the Advisory Group and create an implementation plan so that the necessary groundwork would be in place once the funding issue was resolved this spring." A funding answer would be "helpful" but not essential for the advisors, ruled the commission, and in any case the group could update recommendations if needed.
Advisory Panel, DSM Implementation Plan
Idaho Power's advisory group for energy efficiency consists of 12 members, according to Nemnich: two apiece from the four customer classes (commercial, industrial, irrigation and residential) along with representatives of state agencies and interest groups. "We're looking forward to working with them and getting really good programs for our customers," she said.
The April 30 meeting was scheduled to include background information and a review of the utility's DSM tariff rider and programs proposal from last summer. "We have not really changed our ... plan proposal," she said. "We are just updating it and basically getting advisory group input on it." The DSM implementation plan was to go to the IPUC by May 2.
DSM funding, meanwhile, is under consideration in connection with Idaho Power's filing for a $262 million power cost adjustment. But the DSM component is relatively minor, said IPUC staffer Lynn Anderson; the PCA amount, a proposed $172 million revenue bond issue and tiered rates are "key" issues.
IPUC staffer Keith Hessing filed PCA testimony that included staff support for Idaho Power's prior DSM rate surcharge proposal, at the same amount (0.5 percent of utility revenues, collecting about $2.6 million a year).
Idaho Power has no particular timetable in mind for DSM funding, said Nemnich. "Where we are coming from is to be ready when the funding is approved. We have missed some opportunities," she acknowledged, "but I think there are always really good programs to do." --Mark Ohrenschall--
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The Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance plans to explore further energy-saving opportunities in the region's large and energy-intensive microelectronics industry.
An additional $1 million for that purpose was approved April 10 by the Alliance board of directors. The regional market transformation collaborative has already spent or committed about $3.4 million in microelectronics, directly saving 1.4 average megawatts and contributing to additional--if hard to quantify--efficiencies adopted elsewhere in this sector, Alliance officials reported.
They believe this is an opportune time to promote more energy efficiency in microelectronics, as companies recover from a slow period and plan new manufacturing plants. And those firms are now seeking assistance from the Alliance--a distinct change, said Alliance officials.
This extra $1 million goes into a microelectronics special projects fund, for which a previous $1 million allocation has nearly all been spent to implement ventures.
Also at its April 9-10 meeting near Olympia, WA, the Alliance board endorsed a matching-fund investment (and subsequent repayment with a return) of up to $175,000 for Energy NewsData's EnerNet energy technology information service. This will focus on covering small-scale supply- and demand-side resources--such as distributed generation, renewable resources/green power and energy efficiency--as the energy industry shifts from a centralized model to an energy web concept. (Editor's note: The publication you are now reading also is published by Energy NewsData, with Alliance funding support under a separate contract.)
Microelectronics Funding
Alliance involvement in microelectronics dates to the board's December 1997 adoption of a Microelectronics Industry Efficiency Initiative. This umbrella venture, said project development manager Jeff Harris, has led to specific efforts to improve efficiencies in silicon crystal growing and polysilicon production as well as industry workshops where the findings can be shared.
A $1 million fund established for special projects with Northwest microelectronics firm was intended for involvement in ventures on short notice, with approval of the board's executive committee. "This industry moves very quickly," Harris said, and the Alliance needed the ability to respond quickly.
"The special projects fund to date has focused on a lot of things that may look not very exciting, but are absolutely fundamental as building blocks," he told the board. Some of those include working with Intel on optimizing chilled water systems (demonstrating 19-percent savings), establishing efficiency benchmarking data for semiconductor manufacturers, a guide for energy-efficient facility design, and a group design exercise (known as a charrette) with Hewlett-Packard that identified more than $1 million in potential annual energy savings.
"We got some singles, maybe a double or two" from these special projects, Harris said. He also acknowledged "some lowlights." Chilled water optimization is not yet standard industry practice, nor has the Alliance worked on a brand-new semiconductor manufacturing plant. And only about 50 percent of prospective firms participated in benchmarking.
Still, microelectronics remains a tantalizing target for the Alliance. It is the region's largest single employment segment, said Harris, and uses considerable amounts of energy. Very competitive and reliant on information, the microelectronics industry quickly moves onto new products, offering "regular opportunities for change." And now it appears to be at the low point of a business cycle, looking up, creating what he called "a short window of opportunity to influence purchase and design decisions for the next wave" of manufacturing facilities. This chance might not come again for another three to five years.
Alliance officials also noted a more reciprocal relationship with microelectronics firms. "The biggest indicator of success is they're looking at us as a partner, as opposed to us begging them to talk to us," said board member Ken Keating.
Board member Mark Kendall also underscored this point. "This is a highly risk-averse industry. They are all in a really big hurry to be first to be second. They don't change very much. We have to appreciate how important it is that the work that's already been done has gotten us in the court ... Being able to influence the first [company's] change is a really keen opportunity."
Harris outlined near-term opportunities including process tool efficiencies, a design charrette for a new type of semiconductor manufacturing plant, and information dissemination within the industry.
In addition to this replenished special projects fund--approved on a 16-2 vote--the board's nine-member portfolio development committee now has authority to approve special microelectronics projects, rather than the six-member executive committee.
EnerNet
The Alliance board voted 16-4 to invest up to $175,000 (on a two-for-one matching-fund basis) in Energy NewsData's EnerNet project, a subscription-based information services venture designed to track energy resource dynamics. EnerNet was submitted to the Alliance as an unsolicited proposal.
EnerNet ties into the vision of a future interconnected energy system with a wide range of smaller/greener/more flexible resources and advanced communications to make it all work--the "energy web" idea, evolving away from the current model dominated by central-station generation, long-distance transmission and local distribution lines.
In a presentation to the board, Keating described EnerNet as "a whole way of looking at the delivery of information that combines end-use efficiency, system communications, distributed generation and a central network of existing systems, documenting these emerging and merging technologies" with "timely, credible news stories" for a broad audience.
"The main reason for favoring the proposal is because it's to the Alliance's advantage to be out ahead of these markets as they change," said Keating.
Alliance officials said EnerNet could help broaden interest in energy efficiency among people not typically engaged on the demand side, and spur more collaboration among proponents of different energy resources. "This is maybe a pivotal opportunity to think about these technologies, renewables, in a different kind of way, with efficiency integrated into it," said board member Stan Price.
Board members cited Energy NewsData's publishing record (including Clearing Up and California Energy Markets, as well as this newsletter), EnerNet's potential ability to generate unsolicited proposals to the Alliance, and the relatively modest investment with a repayment-plus-return obligation.
Concerns and questions included the timeliness of such a venture, its likelihood of success, distributed generation hype, and, particularly, whether EnerNet would sufficiently serve a Northwest audience and become a profitable enterprise.
NewsData already has $240,000 in committed funding for EnerNet, from entities including Bonneville Power Administration, Portland General Electric, NW Natural, Idaho Power, PNGC Power, Seattle City Light, Tacoma Power, Puget Sound Energy, Snohomish County PUD, Energy Northwest and the Northwest Power Planning Council.
NewsData plans to launch EnerNet this summer.
Marketing/Communications Budget, Board Changes
In other action, the board unanimously approved a $362,000 Alliance marketing/communications budget for 2002--pared from a $562,000 spending blueprint approved in January.
The board also recognized outgoing members Charlie Grist, Brian Hedman and Carol Brown, all board members since 1996 (the Alliance's first year of operation) and all former board chairs. Current chair Larry Bryant lauded their contributions over the years. Grist will be replaced by Mark Kendall of the Oregon Office of Energy and Hedman's seat is now occupied by PacifiCorp's Jeff Bumgarner. (Brown, of PGE, will not be replaced by another PGE person because of Oregon's new public-purposes funding. Margie Harris of the Energy Trust of Oregon will serve on the board representing Oregon customers of PGE and PacifiCorp.) Altogether the Alliance has welcomed 10 new board members in the past six months, out of 23 voting members, reported executive director Margie Gardner. --Mark Ohrenschall
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The Energy Trust of Oregon has adopted its first three non-utility energy-saving ventures.
These programs--approved by the Trust board April 3--target light-emitting diode (LED) traffic lights, duct sealing in manufactured housing and energy loan buy-downs for public and non-profit organizations. Total funding for the three is about $909,000, and projected efficiencies total slightly more than 1 average megawatt.
"These just turned out to be ones that could be implemented with relative ease, so we could get them on the ground and start saving energy with them," said Trust spokeswoman Jan Schaeffer. "We really wanted to get some stuff working of our own."
Oregon's new public-purposes funding agency in February reached agreements with Portland General Electric and PacifiCorp to continue their basic energy conservation programs through year's end (see Con.WEB, March 30, 2002, for more details). These are the predominant ventures for the Trust's inaugural year.
In November, the Trust board reserved at least $4 million for Trust-initiated conservation programs in 2002, of which these three are the first. Others are under consideration, while longer-range energy-saving efforts are in development, with requests for proposals anticipated beginning this summer and fall. The Trust in January approved its first renewable energy project, a solar photovoltaic installation in a downtown Portland development.
Three New Programs
The biggest of the three new Trust programs will seek energy savings in public and non-profit organization buildings in PGE and Pacific Power service territories.
Specifically, this $500,000 venture will offer lower interest rates for Oregon's Energy Loan Program (also known as SELP), dropping it from 5.75 percent to 2 percent. "This program would be targeted primarily to institutions that see the long-term value of capital improvements to save energy, but do not have the funds to pay back a loan at a higher interest rate," according to a Trust program summary. The summary also cited a recent survey of Oregon state agencies suggesting that lower-cost funding would generate more energy-saving investments. The Trust forecasts that its half-million-dollar budget will lead to about $2.5 million worth of efficiency projects.
In addition to state agencies, the program will be available to universities and community colleges, cities, counties and non-profit entities (although only for projects without utility rebates). Projects need to be contracted in 2002 and completed by mid-2003.
Oregon Office of Energy will market and administer this program, which the Trust anticipates will save 0.9 aMW. Levelized societal cost is 2.5 cents per kilowatt-hour saved, the summary reported.
Another approved project also involves government agencies, encouraging replacement of green traffic lights with energy-efficient light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs. LED green lights reduce energy use anywhere from 15 watts to 160 watts, according to a Trust summary, and typically last more than three times as long as standard bulbs.
This $67,000 program will feature $60 incentives for each LED installation in PGE and Pacific Power service areas. The city of Portland's Office of Sustainable Development will market LEDs to the state Department of Transportation and other entities.
The Trust predicts 750 replacements in 2002 through this program, and total annual energy savings of 400,113 kilowatt-hours (0.046 aMW). Levelized societal cost is estimated at 3.5 cents/KWh. This venture is expected to reduce maintenance costs, and, despite its modest size, also could help stimulate the market for green LEDs, the Trust reports.
Both the SELP and LED ventures should be in place by the end of April, Schaeffer said.
In the residential sector, the Trust board approved a $342,475 pilot program to seal ducts in about 1,000 manufactured homes in three different areas of Oregon.
"Manufactured homes present an attractive opportunity for repair and sealing of heating ducts," said a Trust summary. "Treatment is relatively simple and there are proven cost-effective savings. Due to limited incomes of many residents and high occupant turnover, little duct sealing is achieved in manufactured homes without financial incentives."
The Trust will choose three contractors through a competitive solicitation, one each focusing on manufactured housing parks in metropolitan Portland, Bend and Medford. Climate Crafters will manage the contractor training and quality control, with Delta-T as subcontractor.
Sealing ducts in these 1,000 or so manufactured homes should save 0.14 aMW, at a levelized societal cost of 2.6 cents/KWh, a Trust summary reported. The program is scheduled for completion by this fall.
In other Trust news, the organization continues its search for a permanent energy efficiency director; Joe Cade is serving as interim director.
The agency also is in the midst of seven outreach meetings. Still to come are sessions in Tualatin (May 2), Medford (May 6), Bend (May 7), Salem (May 16) and Coos Bay (May 20). These are intended for people with a particular interest in energy, Schaeffer said. Later in the year, after a draft five-year strategic plan is crafted, another series of meetings will be held statewide with a more general-public orientation.
By late summer, she said, the Trust should have a clearer idea of programs it plans to pursue in its 2003 fiscal year beginning Oct. 1. --Mark Ohrenschall
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Energy codes are making their mark nudging Northwest building markets toward energy-efficient technologies, but progress has been uneven, according to baseline studies released recently by the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance.
Codes, however, stop short of controlling design, a critical factor in improving building energy performance. "The underlying impact of an energy code is to serve as a minimum standard for building components," the non-residential sector study noted. "Building efficiency is not only a function of the energy code and the efficiency of the individual components, but of the design of how these components are sized, controlled, and integrated."
The studies, conducted by Seattle-based consulting firm Ecotope, examined baseline characteristics of non-residential, single-family residential and multifamily building projects in the four Northwest states. Researchers examined a random sample of buildings, most constructed in 1998.
In the non-residential sector, there is a consistent trend toward reduced energy use for lighting. Low-emissivity treatments and tints dominate the office and commercial glazing market. Packaged HVAC accounts for more than two-thirds of heating and cooling equipment. Ecotope's David Baylon said a "buzz" is developing among architects, especially in the larger non-residential building markets, about sustainable design practices.
Meanwhile, single-family homes built today are 35 percent more energy-efficient than dwellings built 20 years ago, but a trend toward larger homes has offset more than a third of the efficiency gains.
And in the multifamily residential sector, natural gas space heating is penetrating the market, a trend expected to accelerate as gas-heat technologies become proven.
Non-Residential Building Sector
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The non-residential samples included 8.2 million square feet of floor space in Idaho, Montana and Oregon, plus 6 million square feet of Washington buildings constructed in 1996, the last time a detailed non-residential baseline study was conducted in that state.
Energy efficiency trends in the non-residential sectors have been driven by an interplay among energy codes, component regulations, utility conservation programs and manufacturing standards, reports the non-residential study.
For example, T-8 fluorescent lamps and electronic ballasts have taken over the commercial lighting market as codes have tightened and manufacturers have changed out product lines. Prices have fallen and these systems have become the standard for office lighting designs.
At the same time, non-residential code implementation varies greatly among the four states. In Washington and Oregon, commercial energy codes set a mandatory statewide baseline for building heat loss. Idaho and Montana, in contrast, adopted the federal Model Energy Code (ASHRAE 90.1-89) by reference. (Editor's note: Idaho legislators and Gov. Dirk Kempthorne recently approved the International Energy Conservation Code as the new state standard, required by year's end for jurisdictions that issue building permits and enforce building codes; see Con.WEB, March 30, 2002 for details.) The ASHRAE standards for building heat-loss rates are tighter than the Washington and Oregon state codes, but enforcement in Idaho and Montana is spotty to non-existent.
Idaho has left enforcement to the discretion of local building departments. Most have ignored the code and building practices are dramatically different, the study reported, with lower-performing windows, less insulation and mean heat loss in sampled buildings exceeding the ASHRAE standard by 30 percent.
In Montana, local jurisdictions and the state Department of Commerce share enforcement responsibility. The state agency is responsible for code compliance across most of the state, but puts few resources into enforcement. In Montana, however, most commercial buildings are small and are built by many of the same contractors who construct residential buildings, said Jeff Harris, project development manager for the Alliance. "They tend to build with the same practices, so in Montana, you get really good insulation" in commercial buildings.
Glazing trends in non-residential construction vary among the four states. Nearly two-thirds of the regional sample used low-e windows, with Oregon and Montana the leaders. More than 93 percent of the Montana sample used low-e. "I was surprised by the degree to which low-e windows have taken over in Montana," Baylon said. These low-e windows have become an "amazingly cheap" glazing technology, he explained. "It's a very effective coating that cuts heat gain and reduces heating requirements, without affecting the visual performance of the window."
Another technology that has taken hold is packaged HVAC equipment, which represents about 70 percent of the region's HVAC capacity. Packaged systems have long been dominant for smaller commercial buildings, and are becoming common in single-story warehouses and office buildings.
Variable air volume (VAV) systems--in both packaged and built-up HVAC--account for 14 percent of non-residential floor area, primarily because of their use in larger Oregon and Washington office buildings. Outside metropolitan areas, however, VAV systems are not common. Adjustable-speed drives have taken over as the primary motor control for variable-flow air systems in large buildings.
In interviews with architects, Ecotope picked up on increasing interest in sustainable building design, especially in the Interstate 5 corridor. Sustainable design takes a whole systems approach and considers the full range of building design and operation issues, including siting, construction, operation and final disposition. In an integrated design approach, energy efficiency is not simply a matter of selecting components but optimizing interrelationships among building shell, glazing, lighting, HVAC and appliances to ensure efficiency throughout the building's life cycle.
However, Baylon did not see much evidence that sustainable design techniques are being widely adopted in non-residential sectors. For integrated design to be carried out effectively, architects need independent resources to assess what their engineering consultants are telling them about component requirements and performance.
Harris said the non-residential baseline study points toward the need to nudge architects and engineers to treat buildings as integrated systems. "Ignoring the fact that a building is a system can cost developers money," he said. "For example, with lighting power densities as low as they are, building designers are still specifying HVAC for lighting loads that are three times current codes and practices. Each additional ton of air conditioning you have to buy is not free." Another building integration opportunity is daylighting, he said.
Single-Family Building Sector
The most striking finding in the single-family residential study (covering 366 houses in all four states) is a socioeconomic trend over which energy codes have no control--the expansion in average house sizes. The regional average home size rose 22 percent between the early 1980s and 1998. If home sizes had not changed, the energy use of homes built today would be half that of homes built in 1980, the single-family study estimated.
Single-family homes in Washington, Montana and Idaho areas outside of Boise showed heat-loss rates of approximately 0.24 UA per square foot. Oregon homes performed about 8 percent better, with a heat loss of 0.22 UA per square foot. Homes in the Boise area, however, experienced markedly higher heat loss of 0.285 UA per square foot.
Except for the Boise area, single-family residential code compliance is high throughout the region, attaining 100 percent in the Oregon sample.
In Idaho, residential energy code enforcement is left up to local jurisdictions (Editor's note: Idaho's newly approved statewide code also covers residential building). "The problem in Idaho is that the (Idaho residential code) is not accepted in the Boise area," where two-thirds of Idaho homes are constructed, Baylon said. Home building in the Boise area reflects a "cowboy culture" that minimizes up-front costs to maximize profits, leaving buyers to pay the higher life-cycle costs of homes with relatively high heat-loss rates. "In the absence of quality control, that's what you get," he said. "It's caveat emptor or code, and in Idaho, it's caveat emptor, at least in those areas around Boise."
Fewer than one-third of home builders interviewed for the study said they market energy efficiency to buyers, since few customers show any interest in energy performance. The study recommended more education for builders and homeowners about techniques that improve energy performance.
Meanwhile, heating energy use is higher in Idaho and Montana than in Oregon and Washington. "This is due to the more severe climate, and suggests that Idaho and Montana would find additional insulation measures to be cost-effective," the single-family residential study noted. Gas-heated homes in Idaho and Montana use 0.37 and 0.38 therms per square foot, respectively, while the comparable numbers for Oregon and Washington are 0.19 and 0.23 therms per square foot, respectively.
Window performance varied greatly among the four state samples. In Oregon and Montana, which have tougher window standards, windows with U-values of 0.40 or lower account for 90 and 80 percent, respectively, of installed glazing. In Idaho and Washington, on the other hand, fewer than 30 percent of windows meet or beat the 0.40 standard. The study recommended updating Washington's window standard of 0.65, which was set in 1986, before efficient vinyl windows took over the market. (Washington's energy code was recently upgraded, including higher residential window efficiencies, effective in July; see Con.WEB, Dec. 20, 2001 for more details.)
For home heating, natural gas has become the predominant technology. Gas heat is installed in more than 90 percent of Idaho, Montana and Oregon homes sampled. In Washington, the proportion is nearly 78 percent.
Multifamily Building Sector
The multifamily sample included 49 buildings in Oregon and Washington, which accounts for 92 percent of the region's multifamily construction, reported the multifamily study.
In the multifamily sector, electric heat is much more common: 90 percent in Oregon and 50 percent in Washington. Marketing by Puget Sound Energy has helped increase penetration of gas space heating in the multifamily sector. Multifamily dwelling units exceeding 1,400 square feet in both states are almost always gas-heated.
The trend toward gas heat is expected to accelerate in Washington. "As the technologies associated with gas heating multifamily buildings become proven, an increased saturation of the Oregon market can also be expected," the multifamily study said.
In both states, quirks in the code structures result in reduced energy performance in multifamily structures. In Oregon, the size of the building determines whether residential or commercial codes apply, resulting in inconsistent interpretation and confusion among architects. That "largely explained" the approximately 20-percent non-compliance rate in Oregon, the study found.
In Washington, the code for gas-heated buildings is looser than the electrically heated code (the coming code changes make it generally fuel-blind, however). As a result, the sample of Washington multifamily buildings showed 12-percent greater heat loss than counterparts in Oregon, where the code is fuel-blind.
Overall, heat loss of multifamily buildings is less than single-family homes because of lower window-to-floor area ratios. The sample showed a heat loss rate of 0.164 UA per square feet in Oregon and 0.183 in Washington.
From a market transformation perspective, changing practices in the multifamily sector is more straightforward because the number of architects and builders who handle these projects is relatively small. ---Jim DiPeso
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This month's News Bytes section features Tacoma Power discontinuing commercial/industrial financial incentive programs; Portland General Electric reporting a doubling of green power customers; the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance announcing 6.5 million compact fluorescent lamps sold in 2001, a huge increase over 2000; and a variety of other items regarding utilities, renewable energy/green power, business, numbers, people, awards, the federal government and more.
Utilities
After analyzing its energy-saving programs for cost-effectiveness under current power market conditions, the municipal utility instead plans to focus more on lost opportunities and market transformation, said energy services manager Steve Hatcher.
"It's a combination of the fact we've got a surplus of power and very low prices in the market," he told Con.WEB. "Some of the programs that were very efficient last year when we had the energy crisis going on are not necessarily the most conducive to run in the current situation."
Still, the utility's energy services budget should remain the same. "We do not anticipate any reduction in budget or in services we'll be providing," said Hatcher. "What we'll be looking at is to make sure we tailor our program to our customers and our markets." Residential weatherization and low-income assistance programs are continuing, he noted.
Tacoma Power had only recently reinstated commercial/industrial incentives, after a hiatus of several years. "It's quite exciting for us to be back in the business again," Tacoma's Dalene Moore told a Northwest Energy Efficiency Council forum in November. She outlined rebates available for lighting and mechanical equipment, as well as site-based incentives for customized energy-saving projects.
But a subsequent cost-effectiveness review led Hatcher to shift the utility's energy services focus.
Under lost opportunities, he listed energy-saving potential in a new convention center, a new police headquarters and three substations and, particularly, new school facilities. "We feel very strongly that being able to help reduce their overall operations and maintenance costs to light and heat those buildings is definitely a big benefit to the taxpayers in the community, as well as making it much more comfortable for the students." Tacoma Power's role will most likely be design assistance initially, Hatcher said, although financial incentives are possible.
Market transformation activities include "collaborative partnerships" with the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, potentially in such areas as appliances, manufactured housing and light fixtures.
Tacoma could revive commercial/industrial incentives at some point, Hatcher said. "If we think that the incentive programs are the way to go, based upon cost-effectiveness and markets in the utility at the time, I could conceivably see we could go back with an incentive-based program. Right now, when you have just a glut of power out there, to pay people to do energy conservation is maybe not the best way to go."
Renewable Energy/Green Power
Fifty-six percent of new enrollees chose a 100-percent renewables blend, which consists of 85 percent geothermal power and 15 percent wind energy; 31 percent selected a salmon-friendly plan, also with 100-percent renewables. Both these options are offered by Green Mountain Energy. Meanwhile, 13 percent of new enrollees had selcted PGE's Clean Wind product, which costs an additional $3.50 per month for each 100 kilowatt-hour unit.
As of December 2001, PacifiCorp ranked sixth in customer participants with 7,300 and PGE ranked eighth. In customer participation rates, Orcas Power & Light Cooperative in Washington's San Juan Islands is listed third, at 5.1 percent; Central Electric Cooperative in Oregon came in seventh, at 3.7 percent; Eugene Water and Electric Board is eighth, at 3.3 percent; and Consumers Power in Oregon is ninth, at 3.1 percent. EWEB was seventh in new renewables supported through its program, with 6.5 megawatts of installed wind-power capacity. The Eugene utility also is listed sixth in lowest premiums charged for new, customer-driven renewables, at 1.32 cents per kilowatt-hour. Clark Public Utilities is tied for eighth at 1.5 cents/KWh.
Business
ASiMI recently closed most operations at its Moses Lake plant, and is consolidating production of polysilicon and silane for the semiconductor industry at its Butte, MT facility. The company cited a continuing depressed market for polysilicon.
Numbers
"We felt that if people tried the bulbs, they would see that they provide the same light as incandescent bulbs, but use a lot less energy," said Alliance executive director Margie Gardner. "We expect many of the consumers who bought CFLs using the coupon will return to purchase additional lights without the coupon."
Awards
People
Federal Government
Miscellaneous
Among its activities, the Institute managed a reanalysis of a landmark 1999 study that linked daylighting with higher standardized test scores among students in three school districts in California, Colorado and Seattle. This additional look found that elementary school students in well-daylit classes had a 21-percent improvement in learning rates compared to students in classrooms with the least amount of daylight. "These results, which are consistent with the original findings, affirm that daylight has a positive and highly significant association with improved performance," reads an abstract of the reanalysis. (See Con.WEB, Sept. 30, 1999, for a story on the original study.)
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