Report: RGGI Could Do More than Reduce Emissions

A new report aims to make the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative more effective. The Acadia Center’s report finds since the RGGI’s creation in 2009, states like Connecticut have seen a 50% reduction in carbon-dioxide emissions from power plants. States in the program saw a 91% decrease in coal-generated electricity, and a more than 800% increase in solar and wind energy.

Amy Boyd, vice president of Climate and Clean Energy Policy at the Acadia Center, said RGGI could do better in some areas – by investing 40% to 50% of its proceeds in environmental justice in communities burdened by the harmful effects of emissions.

“And allow ‘EJ’ community members to participate in such decisions – and as I said, transparently track and report actual data that shows whether those investments are delivering the results that they’ve intended,” Boyd said.

Other recommendations include having additional air-quality monitoring for nitrogen oxides or ‘NOx.’ Bridgeport’s Harbor Station Plant ranked low on a list of ‘NOx’-emitting plants – despite emitting 969 tons into the air yearly. The EPA’s new Good Neighbor Plan aims to cut smog-forming NOx in a handful of states, including Connecticut.

12 states along the East Coast are part of RGGI, and the program provides an important framework for a federal cap-and-trade program to reduce carbon emissions, Boyd noted.

“I think RGGI sets a really good example for a way that it can be done,” she said. “And I think that, even if the feds were to somehow put together such a program, I think RGGI could be a way that these 12 states can sort-of get a jump on implementing it.”

The RGGI states are in the midst of the third program review, with a series of public meetings being held to get feedback.

Click here to read the original article from Public News Service.

A greenhouse gas reduction program has improved air quality in Connecticut and New York

Connecticut and New York are among nine states that have benefited in health and finance from the Acadia Center’s Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Assessment (RGGI) is a cap-and-invest greenhouse gas reduction program. Twelve Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states, including New York and Connecticut, have participated since 2009.

RGGI reduces carbon dioxide pollution from electricity plants in the region by placing a limit on emissions. Plant owners have to purchase carbon dioxide allowances from states at auction. States then use that money to invest in environmental programs.

Acadia Center’s director of Climate, Energy & Equity Analysis, Ben Butterworth, said RGGI has financially benefited the states that consistently follow it.

“Consistent RGGI states have achieved a 50% increase in GDP per capita since RGGI was launched in 2008,” Butterworth said. “This is 13% more growth than the rest of the country over the same time period.”

Despite some positive findings, the report also shows a disparity among the communities who benefit. Over a third of RGGI plants that have significant carbon dioxide emissions are located near high asthma communities.

“States could significantly improve quality of life in environmental justice communities by making targeted investments of revenue generated in RGGI auction to improve the quality of housing, lower energy burdens, improve air quality and reduce associated health risk,” Butterworth said.

Twelve Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states participate in the initiative, nine states are considered “consistent.”

To read the article on WSHU, click here.

A Maine jury will decide the fate of the embattled CMP transmission line

RGGI speeds declines in power plant emissions and spurs economic growth: Acadia report

Dive Brief:

• Economic growth and declines in carbon dioxide power plant emissions and retail electricity prices have been more significant in nine states that have consistently participated in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative than in other states, a clean energy research and advocacy group said Tuesday.
• The report by Acadia Center coincides with efforts by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, R, to pull Virginia out of RGGI and legal challenges blocking Pennsylvania’s participation in the group of 12 Eastern states.
• Acadia Center also called on member states to reduce the RGGI reporting threshold for generators to 15 MW in communities with high rates of asthma as it says has been recommended by some environmental justice stakeholder groups.

Dive Insight:

Acadia Center says the nine states that are consistently active in RGGI are Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont. New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia also are RGGI members.

With legal action pending, Pennsylvania is not participating in CO2 allowance releases, RGGI said. New Jersey withdrew in 2012, but returned in January 2020.

Participating states have established budget trading programs that limit CO2 emissions from power plants, issue CO2 allowances and participate in carbon dioxide allowance auctions.

Between 2008, when RGGI was launched, and 2021 CO2 from power plants has declined nearly 50% in the nine states, which Acadia Center said is 10% more than in 40 states that have not “consistently had a price” on greenhouse gas emissions.

In addition, economic growth per capita increased 50% in the nine states, or 13% more than the rest of the country, according to the report. And retail electricity prices in RGGI states have fallen 3.2% compared to a 7.7% increase in prices elsewhere in the U.S., the report says.

Economic growth is the result of many factors, such as a trained workforce, taxes, transportation, a mix of industries and other state characteristics. Amy Boyd, vice president of climate and clean energy policy at Acadia Center, said in an interview that a drop in CO2 emissions and economic growth correlate, but the report does “not try to prove causation.”

Critics say RGGI’s model isn’t cheap. An executive order Youngkin signed in January 2022 to re-evaluate Virginia’s participation in RGGI and begin the regulatory process to end participation is based on information “that points to higher costs for residential and industrial ratepayers,” the governor said.

Because of the “captive nature” of ratepayers, the ability of power generators to pass costs onto consumers and the requirement in Virginia that RGGI proceeds be dedicated to grants programs, participation in RGGI is a direct carbon tax on all households and businesses, Youngkin said.

Pennsylvania businesses, too, question cost advantages cited by RGGI. Kevin Sunday, director of government affairs at the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, which represents 10,000 member businesses, said in testimony to state lawmakers in March 2022 that with environmental policy, “markets are, broadly speaking, more effective than command-and-control approaches to regulation.”

Dynamics are at play in the RGGI design “that are producing compliance costs that are beyond equitable,” he said.

Unlike other Pennsylvania air quality programs that prohibit credits traded by third parties except in limited cases, third parties such as investors, funds and institutions that do not have direct compliance obligations under RGGI are “welcome to participate” in auctions, he said.

Futures market activity also has increased significantly, he said. And exchange-traded funds, mutual funds and 501(c)3 organizations “have acquired and held RGGI allowance by the millions, further pushing prices upward,” Sunday said.

Leveraging the RGGI market construct for financial gain or using it to offset emissions from sources other than power plants “are beyond the goals of RGGI as it was originally constituted,” he said.

The two large states have an outsized role in reducing emissions. In 2021, Virginia accounted for 25% of greenhouse gas emissions among RGGI states, Acadia Center said. If Pennsylvania participated in the program last year as planned the two states combined would have accounted for nearly 57% of total greenhouse gas emissions in RGGI, Acadia Center said.

Read the original article from Utility Dive here.

With the future of natural gas in RI on the line, what to do with the aging infrastructure?

WARWICK — In past years, state utilities regulators have approved, as a matter of course, the annual replacement of as much as 70 miles of aging natural gas mains made of outdated materials that are prone to leaking.

But times have changed. With the adoption two years ago of a sweeping state law to slash greenhouse gas emissions, the Public Utilities Commission is rethinking every aspect of the state’s energy regime, including how Rhode Islanders heat their homes and businesses.

And because one possibility on the table is the eventual abandonment of the underground network of pipes that delivers natural gas around the state, the PUC is now questioning how much is worth sinking into Rhode Island Energy’s replacement program and what the impacts of continued spending are for the utility’s 273,000 gas customers.

Advocates with the Acadia Center and the Conservation Law Foundation called for an investment in electric heat pumps to shore up the island’s heating system rather than increasing dependence on gas, which is delivered by a single pipeline across the Sakonnet River. The state Energy Facility Siting Board turned down that petition a year and a half ago, but wouldn’t rule out a moratorium on new gas connections on the island in the future.

Read the full article in the Providence Journal here.

Acadia Center Releases Third RGGI Program Review Report

Acadia Center RGGI Report Press Release

Today Acadia Center released its third RGGI Review report, which analyzed the programs impacts to date and offers recommendations for adjusting RGGI in coming years. Acadia Center’s analysis found that the nine states which have consistently participated in RGGI have experienced a more rapid increase in GDP per capita and a more rapid decline in power sector CO2 emissions and retail electricity prices than other states. RGGI has significantly contributed to state efforts to reduce climate pollution and benefit consumers. However, the report recommends RGGI address the impacts of power plant pollution on local communities, as these communities are disproportionately impacted by NOx emissions which have detrimental health impacts.

RGGI states will be providing public comment and listening opportunities in the coming months. Acadia Center will be offering a webinar on April 11, 2023, at noon (EST) to provide information from our RGGI Report that can be used in commenting to RGGI states in the public processes they will be starting soon. If you would like to register for this webinar, please do so here.

Media Contact:
Amy Boyd

Vice President, Climate and Clean Energy Policy

617-742-0054 x102; 940-367-4992 cell

After Fourteen Years of RGGI, Air Quality’s Up Next

Acadia Center today released a much anticipated sequel to our 2019 report RGGI: Ten Years in Review, taking stock of the impacts of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) as it turns 14 and making recommendations for improvements as the participating states embark on the Third Program Review – happening now!

What is RGGI?

RGGI is a cap-and-invest greenhouse gas reduction program by 12 states in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic designed to limit the amount of carbon dioxide pollution (CO2) from electricity generating plants in the region. RGGI has been a pioneer of climate policy, generating $6.2 billion in proceeds for participating states over the last 14 years. RGGI is the United States’ first multi-state program designed to reduce climate change-causing pollution from power plants and has provided a wealth of lessons to be incorporated into the next generation of climate policies, including successes to build on and opportunities for improvement. 

Has RGGI provided benefits to participating states?

Yes! The nine states that have consistently participated in RGGI (Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont) have experienced a more rapid increase in GDP per capita and a more rapid decline in power sector CO2 emissions and retail electricity prices. From 2008 through 2021, Acadia Center found that the RGGI states experienced:

· A nearly 50% reduction in CO2 from power plants: 10% more than the 40 states that have not consistently had a price on greenhouse gas emissions (hereinafter “the rest of the country”)

· An increase in economic growth per capita of 50%: 13% more than the rest of the country

· A 3.2% decline in retail electricity prices compared to a 7.7% increase in the rest of the country

· A 91% decline in electricity generated from coal, and 808% growth in solar and wind

· An 85% reduction in nitrogen oxides (NOx) in RGGI-regulated power plants over the entire region. Criteria emissions, particularly NOx, can have significant detrimental health impacts including damaging the respiratory tract and increasing vulnerability to respiratory infections and asthma.

Are air quality benefits seen equally in all communities?

No. While air quality improved across the region, differences exist in localized impacts of power plants covered by the RGGI program. Acadia Center analysis found that, between 2008 and 2021:

· Over a third of RGGI plants that emit significant levels of NOx emissions are located near high asthma communities (census tracts above 90th percentile in CEQ data for adults with asthma).

· NOx emissions from power plants within 3 miles of an EJSI community (above 90th percentile on at least one of U.S. EPA’s EJScreen socioeconomic indicators) declined by 85%, compared to the rest of the RGGI power plant fleet, where NOx emissions declined by 88%.

· Over two-thirds of RGGI plants do not have an active air quality monitoring site within a 3-mile radius – and over three quarters of these unmonitored plants are near an EPA EJSI or high asthma community.

Acadia Center analysis also found that although only 41% of the census tracts in the region are classified as EPA EJSI Communities, 81% of RGGI power plants are located within 3 miles of EPA EJSI Communities. Similarly, although only 11.5% of all census tracts in the region are considered high asthma communities, 37.5% of all RGGI plants were located within 3 miles of a high asthma community. Although complicated by the fact that the 3-mile radius around each power plant often touches multiple census tracts, this comparison suggests that RGGI plants may be more likely to be located within 3 miles of an EPA EJSI community or high asthma community than a random distribution would create.

What should we do about that?

The Third Program Review in 2023 offers communities, affected groups, and the public a key opportunity to advocate for changes that create a more equitable and direct distribution of investments in environmental justice communities, use the power of regional cooperation to improve air quality and health of communities that surround the power plants covered by RGGI and better align RGGI with state climate and clean energy mandates.

What improvements does Acadia Center recommend?

Acadia Center recommends that during the Third Program Review the RGGI states should:

Align the Cap and Market Mechanisms with State Climate and Clean Energy Goals: Set the RGGI cap level at or below the emissions allowed under state clean energy and GHG reduction laws and adjust market mechanisms to support higher levels of decarbonization.

Ensure Environmental Justice Communities Directly Benefit: Require that no less than 40-50% of RGGI proceeds are invested in EJ communities, ensure meaningful participation in investment decisions by EJ community members, and transparently track and report expenditures and impact.

Use the Power of Regional Cooperation to Improve Health and Air Quality: Accelerate decreases in NOx emissions at the power plants that pose the largest respiratory health risks, and increase funding and enforcement of air quality monitoring, especially in EJ communities.

Lower the 25 MW Threshold Capacity for RGGI Regulation to 15MW: 91% of smaller generating units are within 3 miles of an EPA EJSI or high asthma community. By including all generating units of 15MW or higher, and lower for co-located units, RGGI could have a significant health benefit in these areas.

How do we know which plants should be targeted?

To help identify some of the most problematic power plants in the RGGI region, Acadia Center developed a “NOx pollution threat score”, based on how much NOx the plant emits, how many people live within 3 miles, and whether the plant is near EPA EJSI or high asthma communities. With this tool, we identified a RGGI NOx Threat Ten list of power plants that pose the largest respiratory health risks to EJ and high asthma communities and should be considered as a starting point for targeted emissions reductions.

How can I participate?

RGGI states will be offering public comment and listening opportunities in the coming months. Acadia Center will be offering a webinar on April 11, 2023, at noon (EST) to provide information from our RGGI Report that can be used in commenting to RGGI states in the public processes they will be starting soon. We will be preparing additional materials to help interested parties provide comments to the states.

A ‘way too persistent’ man will get his own electric car charging station. Other Bostonians may not be so lucky.

Wind Energy is Needed for Electrifying our Economy

Recent disputes between offshore wind operators and Massachusetts regulators highlight how our clean energy future is far from guaranteed. The two projects in dispute, Commonwealth Wind and SouthCoast Wind (formerly Mayflower Wind), together with Vineyard Wind Project 1, make up 3.2 gigawatts of offshore wind energy Massachusetts has planned for 2030. These offshore wind projects are essential to decarbonizing our electric grid and meeting the growing demands of key sectors, such as electric vehicles and heating buildings.

Fossil gas utilities, however, are asking regulators to use new wind projects to create green hydrogen as a heating fuel to replace fossil (natural) gas. But the data is clear; using renewable electricity directly – for example in heat pumps or electric cars – will always be more efficient than using that same electricity to produce hydrogen and pipe that hydrogen through the leaky gas distribution system. It’s a matter of physics. If regulators allow gas utilities to use renewable energy to produce green hydrogen to heat Massachusetts buildings, utilities will hijack our offshore wind energy resources and/or other sources of clean electricity, endangering our climate goals.

Buildings generate 27 percent of Massachusetts greenhouse gas emissions, one of the largest sources of emissions in the Commonwealth. In 2020, then-Attorney General Maura Healey urged the Department of Public Utilities  to open a “Future of Gas” investigation to determine how we can rapidly decarbonize our buildings sector. The result of this utility-led process is not surprising, but also not a low-emissions or low-cost solution. Gas utilities assert the need to continue using their pipelines (replacing some and building more) to distribute a blend of green hydrogen and “renewable natural gas” as an alternative to using electric heat pumps to heat our homes and other buildings.

The gas utilities claim that using this blended gas for heating would reduce demand for electricity, compared with switching to electric heat pumps. As they have provided little or no evidence to support this, we investigated two simple questions:

• If gas utilities rely on green hydrogen, made using renewable electricity to convert water into hydrogen with electrolysis, how much renewable electricity would be needed?
• How much renewable electricity would be necessary to provide the same amount of heat to homes and other buildings using heat pumps, as proposed by the Massachusetts Clean Energy and Climate Plan for 2050?

Our finding disqualifies the use of green hydrogen for heat, without even considering the myriad issues of climate impacts, cost, equity, health, and safety that also should disqualify using green hydrogen to heat buildings.

We found that a 20 percent volume blend of green hydrogen (which would only replace 7 percent of the total gas) in the fossil gas distributed in Massachusetts would use 3.4 times as much electricity as heat pumps. While Massachusetts utilities have procured only 3.2 gigawatts of the mandated 5.6 gigawatt offshore wind by 2027, about 3.9 gigawatts would be needed to produce enough green hydrogen for this 20 percent blend. Thus, producing sufficient green hydrogen to satisfy the utilities’ plans to add it to the gas pipelines would deplete limited renewable energy and derail our efforts to decarbonize the electric grid.

Gordon Richardson has worked as an independent consultant, a consultant with Arthur D. Little, and as chief engineer at Houston-based Eastman Whipstock Inc. He is the coauthor of a report on green hydrogen production for Gas Transition Allies.  Ben Butterworth is the director of climate, energy, and equity analysis at the Acadia Center.

To read this article in Commonwealth Magazine, click here.

Connecticut needs a plan — and a definition — for ‘clean hydrogen,’ stakeholders say

Hoping to tap into the billions of dollars in federal incentives coming available for renewable energy projects, Connecticut is preparing to lay out a strategic plan for developing a hydrogen economy.

A bill approved last week by the House Energy and Technology Committee charges the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection with developing a hydrogen strategic plan that encourages the use of hydrogen produced from renewable energy, and prioritizes its use in the sectors of the economy that are hardest to electrify.

The department would also have to write regulations defining “clean hydrogen,” a process that will likely generate considerable debate.

The legislation is based on recommendations from the Connecticut Hydrogen Task Force, which was established by law last year and led by the Connecticut Green Bank. A January report from the task force concluded that Connecticut is well-positioned to pursue the production and use of clean hydrogen as a fuel or energy source.

Environmental advocates had objected to a portion of the legislation that would have granted tax exemptions to projects related to clean hydrogen. The committee subsequently removed that language.

“It was a very broadly defined exemption for anything touching the hydrogen economy,” said Ben Butterworth, director of climate, energy and equity analysis for the Acadia Center. “You would end up incentivizing technologies that aren’t in line with the task force recommendations, like hydrogen passenger vehicles and hydrogen boilers for homes.”

You can read the full article from Energy News Network here.