Implications for a Downward Trend in Emissions

Numerous news stories have documented how the pandemic and resulting economic crisis have reduced air pollution around the world , bringing emissions down globally by 17%. As Americans have been forced to shelter in place to stop the spread of COVID-19, the air around us has become noticeably cleaner and climate pollution has fallen. While no one would seek to lower emissions in this way, a recent article in the Boston Globe explored the extent of the pandemic-induced pollution reduction while highlighting opportunities to rebuild a cleaner, more equitable economy.

“[E]missions from cars, trucks, and airplanes have declined in metropolitan Boston by about 30 percent, while overall carbon emissions have fallen by an estimated 15 percent,” writes David Abel, the author of the article. That level of pollution reduction is unprecedented but offers a challenge to better envision and implement an economic recovery pathway that delivers a just transition to a sustainable future.

That’s why Acadia Center is pushing harder than ever for policies that will make that transition possible. One of the efforts discussed in the article is the Transportation & Climate Initiative (TCI). Through TCI, 11 states from Maine to Virginia are working to develop a regional program to reduce vehicle pollution and spur investment in a cleaner, modern, more equitable transportation future. In the Boston Globe, Acadia Center’s Jordan Stutt described it as “a public health program and an economic stimulus program wrapped in one.” The program would generate billions of dollars each year for investment in transportation infrastructure, helping the local workforce rebound while delivering better transportation options and cleaner air to communities across the region.

Acadia Center has long championed the point – supported by data and research — that well-designed efforts to reduce climate pollution provide many benefits for all citizens: improved public health, greater economic opportunity, safer, more efficient buildings, lower energy bills, and more accessible, less-polluting ways to get around. Those benefits are more important now than ever before, particularly in the communities that have been hit hardest by COVID-19. Those communities must be front of mind and at the head of the table as we look to build a resilient, sustainable economy. Acadia Center is committed to doing the research, providing the data and making the case for the large-scale reforms and investment in a cleaner future that will improve the quality of life, health and economies of this region.

The Maine Climate Council: What You Need to Know Webinar

May 27, 2020, 12:00 – 1:30 p.m.

Despite the public health crisis, the Maine Climate Council has continued its important work developing a climate action plan for Maine. The Climate Council’s six working groups have been meeting virtually over the last few months to develop their recommendations to reduce Maine’s greenhouse gas emissions at least 80% by 2050, a target set it Maine law.

Please join Acadia Center and our partners for a Zoom webinar to hear from Maine Climate Council working group members about strategies they are developing to help Maine meet its climate goals and how you can take action. In addition to Working Group updates on forests, power and utilities, transportation, Acadia Center’s Jeff Marks will be presenting on the strategies being considered by the Buildings, Infrastructure, and Housing Working Group. Register to attend here.

The Public Utilities Commission and Why it Must be Reformed

State Public Utility Commissions (PUCs) regulate the rates and services of public utilities that provide electricity, gas, sewage, or water. These governing bodies formed to provide oversight to utilities to whom they have granted monopoly markets. Generally, the mission of PUCs is to approximate the prices of a competitive market, which requires balancing the needs of consumers and the utility. Traditionally, PUCs are charged to keep rates low, ensure reliable supply, and allow utilities the opportunity to earn a profit on their business.

To make swift progress on climate goals, we must change the way PUCs respond to clean energy and climate efforts.

With a vast array of effective clean energy technologies existing today, regulatory changes can revolutionize how energy is delivered and consumed in the time of this climate crisis. Currently, PUCs operate in ways that fail to treat clean energy resources on a level playing field, often furthering the region’s dependence on fossil fuels. These regulatory bodies have the potential to advance a low-carbon future, but outdated mandates keep them from doing so.

For example, National Grid, Rhode Island’s only electric and gas utility, filed a stakeholder-supported plan in 2019 with the state’s PUC. The plan recommended using the state energy efficiency program to install heat pumps in oil and propane heated homes. The PUC denied that provision, ruling that the benefits to electric customers —including lower rates and climate and health benefits —did not outweigh the costs. The PUC reached this conclusion in part because it could not consider the benefits to oil and propane customers – including lower bills and improved indoor air quality. In general, PUCs throughout the Northeast are required to focus on rate impacts, rather than addressing a more complete assessment of ratepayer benefits, including meeting state climate goals and utilizing clean technologies to improve indoor air quality or provide other consumer benefits that overall lower bills. As a result, the additional consumer, health, economic and equity benefits that can be achieved through climate action are often overlooked in cost comparisons.

Acadia Center advocates for regulatory changes that benefit the climate and consumer.

Too often, clean alternatives —including clean heating— are harmed by the PUC mandates, slowing down the transition to a clean energy economy. As evident in the Rhode Island example, a view that considers only the short-term rate impacts misses the potential future costs of energy investments that lean heavily on fossil fuels. These costs will accrue to utilities and ratepayers in the form of more-expensive grid hardening expenses and storm recovery from increasingly common extreme weather, and to all of us in the form of costs of disaster response and recovery. PUC enabling statutes throughout the Northeast do not appropriately account for these continued impacts and are misaligned with the states’ push for dramatic emission reductions. These statutes are overdue for reform. If we were to update the enabling statutes to clarify the PUCs’ responsibility to regulate in alignment with state policy goals, we could require consideration of the full costs of energy investments in all decisions and mandate minimizing climate impacts. This would allow utility regulators to make decisions that support greenhouse gas reduction and consider climate change impacts, and that appropriately value societal health impacts, job creation, improved reliability, and other quantifiable costs and benefits. This screen could minimize long-term costs to ratepayers from climate and other impacts that now fall outside the scope of the PUCs’ prime responsibility in just keeping the cost of energy low. Implementation of this change would require updating cost-benefit tests to utilize a consistent set of total costs and benefits, including those borne or received by society, the environment, or consumers as described above. This can ensure that PUC decisions continue to benefit today’s customers, but not at the expense of future customers.

by Amy Boyd

The Northeast’s New Year’s Resolution – Get Serious about Climate Change

January is a great time to start fresh. Whether it’s signing up for a new gym membership or cutting back on social media, the New Year is an opportunity to envision a better future and eliminate bad habits. And the Northeast has one that can’t be ignored for another year: an ongoing, dangerous reliance on fossil fuels. In 2020, Acadia Center’s resolution is to help the region break up with dirty energy.

The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) served up a harsh reality check: the world has until just 2030 to act to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change. In the Northeast, we risk severe storms, declining public health, the destruction of our scenic coastline, and upheaval in important regional industries like farming, fishing, and tourism. Fossil fuels are like smoking: hard to quit, but unmistakably bad for you. The IPCC report makes it abundantly clear that it’s time to quit.

Acadia Center is committed to Making the Next Decade Count—using the next ten years to advance ambitious climate policy that will transition the region to a stronger, cleaner, more just energy economy. The good news is that states around the region have set unambiguous climate pollution reduction goals, and there are policies and programs available to meet them. These solutions can also improve public health and strengthen the economy for the future by keeping our dollars in the region instead of flowing to other states and countries. Even better, if designed conscientiously, these policies and programs can also address the financial and health disparities between our communities that the fossil fuel economy has exacerbated.

Acadia Center recommends that each Northeast state embrace these three bold but achievable actions in 2020 to make real progress on its climate pollution reduction goals:

1. Require that state agencies assess the long-term climate impact of their decisions. Empowering state agencies to act in ways that support state climate goals will unify the agencies that regulate utilities, transportation, buildings, and more in addressing the defining challenge of our time. For example, public utilities commissions might begin to reject fossil fuel energy projects in favor of clean energy options like solar and wind. New York has taken steps to do this in its 2019 Climate Change and Protection Act, and other states should follow their lead, with specific and immediate deadlines for action.

2. Phase out fossil fuels, including gas. Natural gas is a fossil fuel. It consists primarily of methane, a greenhouse gas at least twelve times more potent than carbon dioxide. It leaks out of poorly maintained pipeline networks, creating safety hazards and more emissions. It releases carbon dioxide and other harmful gases when burned. And as this region knows all too well, it can explode—with dire consequences. Fortunately, the Northeast has economically beneficial alternatives that can replace fossil fuels now, including efficient electric heating systems and real potential for a significant amount of offshore wind energy. The region must immediately halt the expansion of gas infrastructure—including power plants and pipelines—that consumers will be paying for decades from now and start embracing better alternatives.

3. Implement the Transportation Climate Initiative (TCI). The transportation sector is our region’s largest single source of emissions. This regional policy will reduce transportation emissions while raising revenue for states to invest in cleaner, more equitable transportation solutions, such as public transit, walking and bicycling, and vehicle electrification. TCI is the most effective way to address the climate impacts, health repercussions, and horrendous traffic congestion of our transportation system. It should be designed to provide real alternatives for those most adversely impacted by our past transportation decisions: communities of color, lower-income communities, and rural communities.

Now is the time for states to move forward on these bold solutions. Like any transformational goal, the path to success will require discipline and persistence. But as the IPCC report makes clear, the Northeast must lead the way toward a cleaner, healthier, more just, and more vibrant economy. Acadia Center will be working to make this future a reality. Will you join us?

by Matt Rusteika and Arah Schuur

Clearing the Path for Clean Heating

With the winter solstice just around the corner, the Northeast’s heating season is in full swing and greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) from buildings are at their seasonal high. About 85% of homes in New England and New York rely on fossil fuels for heating, and this consumption accounts for about 30% of total regional GHGs. Fossil fuel use for heating also poses health and safety dangers like carbon monoxide poisoning and risk of explosion. The average home in the Northeast spends $1,000-$2,600 on heating fuel every winter, and because the Northeast imports all of its fossil fuels, this money flows out of local economies and the region is beholden to price fluctuations out of its control.

A clean alternative to fossil fuel heating is efficient, electric heat pumps.

What is a Heat Pump and What Are Its Benefits?

A heat pump is an electric heating and cooling technology for buildings that works by moving heat between the inside and outside of a building. A standard air conditioner is a type of heat pump that extracts heat from inside a building and moves it outside.  A heat pump uses this same cooling process in the summer, and it is able to reverse the process in the winter for heating.

Heat pumps offer many benefits over fossil fuels, including:

 

• Pollution reduction and improved health and safety – Full replacement of an existing heating system with heat pumps can reduce greenhouse emissions 60-70%, depending on the fuel being displaced. In MA, HVAC improvements in low income homes led to $265 in annual health and safety savings per household.
• Winter fuel savings – Fully converting an oil or propane-heated home to heat pumps can save residents between $800-1600 on average.
• Avoided natural gas infrastructure – Customers can access greater fuel savings and cut pollution more by converting to heat pumps rather than natural gas. Plus, converting homes to heat pumps does not require addition of new gas pipes, which lock in higher greenhouse gas emissions for decades and increase costs for all gas customers because the utility passes on these infrastructure costs.

Clearing the Path for Clean Heating

No state or city can reach its climate and clean energy goals if fossil fuel heating continues. With their significant pollution and consumer benefits, heat pumps deserve to be more widely adopted in the Northeast. Acadia Center supports 7 key solutions to overcoming barriers to heat pump adoption:

• Educating consumers and vendors
• Coupling heat pumps with home efficiency
• Installing only clean electric heating in new homes
• Decreasing operating costs through smart electricity pricing
• Removing incentives to promote natural gas
• Aligning retrofit incentives with state policy objectives
• Establishing state-level thermal decarbonization targets

 

Acadia Center is in the final stages of developing a report called “Clean Heating Pathways” that identifies  supportive policies across New England and New York to accelerate these 7 solutions and compares state progress to advance clean heating.

 

by Emily Lewis O’Brien, Director, Climate and Energy Analysis (CLEAN) Center and Matt Rusteika, Senior Policy Analyst

Climate Justice for Providence

Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza had powerful words about the role equity must play in climate work when the city released its Climate Justice Plan in late October.

“Despite being one of the three pillars of sustainability, equity is often an afterthought when it comes to climate action planning,” Elorza wrote in the plan’s introduction. “In creating this plan, we chose to lead with equity and partnered with those who are most impacted by the climate crisis and other environmental injustices.”

Acadia Center is proud to have supported Providence and its Racial and Environmental Justice Committee (REJC) in developing a plan that charts an equitable, low-carbon, climate-resilient future for residents.

Overall, the Climate Justice Plan is built around carbon-reduction targets in two key sectors – buildings and transportation – and a complete transition to carbon-free electricity sources like solar and wind. Acadia Center developed those targets in a two-step process. First, analysts in our CLEAN Center projected the city’s emissions out to 2050 assuming no new climate action and taking into account existing technologies and trends. Next, Acadia Center built another scenario to put Providence on track for at least an 80% greenhouse gas emissions reduction — and carbon neutrality — by 2050. Figure 1 below shows the emissions reduction trajectory by sector.

In addition to recommending targets, Acadia Center supported the REJC’s development of approaches to achieve deep reductions in carbon emissions and local air pollution to improve community health. The policies listed below are among those that will help Providence reach the necessary emission reductions.

Buildings:

2050 Target	2035 Interim Target	Policy Examples
90% of residential heating and 85% of commercial heating converted to high-efficiency electric heat pumps	48% residential and 45% commercial heating converted to heat pumps	• Increasing energy efficiency program participation and total energy savings for low-income residents • Passing a Building Energy Reporting Ordinance requiring large building owners to report energy use and emissions to the city • Launching a formal stakeholder process to explore mandatory emissions reductions for large buildings

Transportation:

2050 Target	2035 Interim Target	Policy Examples
20% reduction in Vehicle Miles Traveled in Providence; 80% of VMTs in Providence electrified	11% reduction in VMTs in Providence; 43% of VMTs electrified	• Investing in cleaner, more accessible public transit through electrification of RIPTA, prioritizing routes in communities of color • Converting 100% of the city’s vehicle and school bus fleets to renewable vehicles

 

Clean Energy:

2050 Target	2035 Interim Target	Policy Examples
100% of electricity is carbon-free	50% of electricity is carbon-free	• Implementing a community choice aggregation program that prioritizes local renewable energy sources and includes principles of energy democracy • Increasing access to renewable energy for frontline communities via community solar • Exploring the use of municipal buildings to support a community solar project for low-income residents and renters

Figure 2 below shows that the three sectors contributing the most to the city’s overall GHG emissions reductions in 2050 are clean electricity (44%), fuel switching to heat pumps (25%), and penetration of electric vehicles (22%). Eliminating energy waste through energy efficiency and reducing reliance on vehicles are also contributors.

Much hard work remains to put the plan into action. In addition to carbon reduction strategies, it calls for systems-level changes in the city’s governance structure and economic system and assurance that frontline communities will not be displaced as Providence becomes climate-ready.

Pol Tavarez, a member of the REJC, told The Providence Journal, “I have faith that this report is really the first step in community members coming together to recognize their influence and their power to reach these objectives.”

 

Visit Providence’s Climate Justice Plan home page for more resources including a Spanish translation and audio “future stories.” Complete information on Acadia Center’s modeling approach is found in the Technical Appendix.

 

by Erika Niedowski

Make the Next Decade Count

Last month, young people around the world marched to demand action from decision makers. They echoed what thousands of the world’s climate scientists have concluded: only a short period of time remains — 10 years, from now until 2030 — for the world to reduce climate pollution by at least 45% from 2010 levels and shift to clean energy systems so the globe can avoid the worst impacts of a warming planet. For twenty years, Acadia Center has been accelerating strong state, local, and regional action to address climate pollution. Now, it will draw from its strengths in analysis, thought leadership, relationship building, and informed advocacy to meet these urgent climate deadlines and implement a refined strategy it calls Make the Next Decade Count _TM.

Make the Next Decade Count seeks to bring greater attention to the need for policy action on climate and address the biggest challenges and opportunities to transition to a clean energy future as quickly as possible. Working together, Northeast states can take bold, effective, and broad-reaching action now to aggressively phase out fossil fuels and expand clean energy to achieve necessary reductions in climate pollution by 2030. Done right, these actions will grow the region’s economy, create jobs, enhance public health, improve the quality of housing, and increase access to transportation. Acadia Center will:

• Ensure that decision makers and stakeholders embrace a clear framework for aggressive climate action on the necessary time frame
• Cut emissions drastically by addressing transportation, buildings, and power generation—85% of climate pollution comes from these three sectors
• Reduce the region’s reliance on fossil fuels, including heating oil, propane, gasoline, and natural gas
• Shift the public narrative to grow understanding of the power of existing solutions and enthusiasm for the changes needed to achieve a clean energy future

Acadia Center believes this region can set an example and benefit all of its residents beginning with the big picture in four related areas:  

 

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Announcing New Staff

Jeff Marks, Senior Policy Advocate & Maine Director

Jeff joins Acadia Center on October 23, 2019 as Senior Policy Advocate and Maine Director. Before joining Acadia Center, Jeff served as Executive Director of E2Tech, a business trade association of Maine’s energy and environmental companies. Jeff was Deputy Director of the Maine Energy Office where he advised two Governors, Legislature, and State agencies on energy, environmental, and economic policy. Read Jeff’s full bio here.

Camille McDaniel, Public Engagement & Communications Associate

Camille McDaniel is Acadia Center’s Public Engagement and Communications Associate. Camille coordinates storytelling initiatives across digital media to raise awareness of Acadia Center’s work and develops compelling and original content for social media and web publication while supporting other Public Engagement tasks. Camille comes to Acadia Center with a broad background in communications, having worked in the non-profit, sports, and advertising industries. Previously, Camille served as the Community Outreach Coordinator at All In Energy. Read Camille’s full bio here.

 

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Acadia Center News & Events

Renewable Energy Vermont Conference & Expo

October 10-11, 2019 Burlington, VT  www.revconference.org

Emily Lewis, CLEAN Center Director, led a panel entitled Renewable Building Heating: Pathways for Home & Business Savings

Jordan Stutt, Carbon Programs Director, led a panel entitled Improving Transportation Choices: The Transportation & Climate Initiative

ACEEE 2019 National Conference on Energy Efficiency as a Resource

October 15, 2019 Minneapolis, MN 

Erika Niedowski spoke on a panel at ACEEE’s 2019 National Conference on Energy Efficiency as a Resource, being held in Minneapolis this month (Oct. 15-17). Her presentation, “Allies in the Climate Fight: The Interplay Between Energy Efficiency and Beneficial Electrification,” included Acadia Center analysis on the benefits of and barriers to switching from polluting fossil fuels to clean heating in the Northeast. It also showed how existing state energy efficiency programs are well-positioned to help customers access the benefits of high efficiency electric heat pumps.

CT’s Transportation Future, Confronting Climate Crisis

October 29, 2019  4pm-7:30pm Capital Community College, Hartford https://www.facebook.com/events/515419355910029/

Join Acadia Center, Transport Hartford Academy, partners, and stakeholders for a networking dinner and community meeting to learn more about critical efforts to deliver a more equitable, modern, low-carbon transportation future. Come share your thoughts to reach state leaders and help shape the policy’s future.

Acadia Center in the News

Boston Globe: Coalition of states unveil plan to curb transportation emissions 

Utility Dive: Connecticut governor calls for 100% carbon-free power by 2040 

Energy News Network: Cap and trade for transportation must consider environmental justice, advocates say 

Pennlive.com: Gov. Wolf aims to raise Pa.’s profile in climate change fight by joining multi-state carbon tax program

 

Amendment to Transportation Bond Bill Could Support Modern Transportation Options and Carbon-Neutral Buildings

Governor Baker and many transportation advocates, including Acadia Center’s Jordan Stutt, went to Beacon Hill today to testify on the Governor’s proposed multi-year $18-billion transportation bond bill. The bill addresses a wide range of transportation funding needs—everything from financing for bridges to funds for bus shelters. One of the issues addressed by the bill is the Transportation & Climate Initiative (TCI), a cap-and-invest program under development that could generate hundreds of millions of dollars each year for clean transportation investment. Governor Baker’s bill would authorize up to 50% of TCI proceeds to support public transit. Acadia Center testified in support of TCI investment in public transit while identifying additional investments and guidelines that should be adopted from the TCI bill filed by Rep. Ehrlich and Senator Lesser.

In addition to TCI-funded investment in clean, equitable, modern transportation options, Acadia Center testified in support of Rep. Vitolo’s recently added amendment that would put the Commonwealth’s money where its mouth is and make new state buildings funded through the bond fossil-fuel free. Just today, Boston announced that Mayor Walsh intends to sign an executive order requiring that all new city-owned buildings will be carbon-neutral – a similar effort to cut carbon emissions in buildings and meet the emissions reductions targets the city and state have set for themselves.

Massachusetts has already committed to economy-wide reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by 80% from 1990 levels by 2050, and bills currently before the legislature[1] would push that to net-zero emissions by 2050, as recommended by the 2018 special report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.[2] Either mandate means that, by 2050, all buildings in Massachusetts must run on clean electricity, with no on-site fossil fuel combustion.[3]

The proposed amendment would require the buildings funded by the Transportation Bond Bill to start achieving this standard, and eliminate on-site fossil fuel combustion, unless the change raises the costs significantly. The buildings constructed or renovated with funds authorized by the Transportation Bond Bill will be utilized for decades to come and will be part of the building stock in 2050 and beyond.[4]  That is why this amendment is so essential.  The Commonwealth must begin immediately to lead by example and use the least-cost technologies to reduce carbon emissions and make buildings safer – with no on-site fossil-fuel combustion.

This amendment will also help keep our money in the state, and create good, green jobs. Because the Northeast imports all its fossil fuels, the money used to heat our buildings flows out of local economies to other states and countries, and Massachusetts is beholden to price fluctuations out of its control.  Fossil fuel heating is also a leading contributor to climate change and poses health and safety dangers.[5] Using non-fossil fuel heating sources will reduce energy use, reduce energy costs, increase comfort, decrease health and safety risks, and, more importantly, foster long-term thinking, increase climate preparedness, and generate economic growth.

Author: Amy Boyd, Senior Attorney

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[1] H.3983 (currently before House Ways and Means) and S.2005 (currently before Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy) would strengthen the required reductions further to at least net-zero by 2050.

[2] https://www.ipcc.ch/2018/10/08/summary-for-policymakers-of-ipcc-special-report-on-global-warming-of-1-5c-approved-by-governments/

[3] As the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs stated in the 2015 Clean Energy and Climate Plan, in the years between 2020 and 2050, “accelerated renewable thermal installations are required to electrify the buildings sector’s heating and cooling loads and utilize Massachusetts’ clean electric supply.” at 16.

[4] The US Department of Energy estimates the median lifetime of large commercial buildings is 65 years. See http://web.archive.org/web/20130218065932/ http:/buildingsdatabook.eren.doe.gov/TableView.aspx?table=3.2.7

[5] For instance, last September’s gas explosion in Greater Lawrence is estimated to have cost $1.4 billion in loss and additional expense. https://www.bizjournals.com/boston/news/2019/02/21/columbia-gas-parent-estimates-1-4b-in-costs.html Despite the substantial upgrades and safety equipment installed during those repairs, human error has led to two evacuations due to gas line safety issues in the last week alone. See, e.g., https://www.wcvb.com/article/major-gas-leak-prompts-evacuations-in-lawrence/29260322 (September 27); https://boston.cbslocal.com/2019/10/01/lawrence-gas-leak-high-street-columbia-gas-tuesday-evacuations/ (Oct 1)

Rhode Island Legislature Punts on Climate: Smart Siting Legislation Languishes

Several state legislatures in the Northeast have gone big on climate in recent weeks.

New York passed a sweeping climate plan pledging to reach 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040 and net zero greenhouse gas emissions, across the whole economy, by 2050. Maine enacted legislation that doubles the amount of renewable electricity in its Renewable Portfolio Standard to 80% by 2030 and 100% by 2050. Connecticut authorized a massive boost to offshore wind—the construction of up to 2,000 megawatts.

Not Rhode Island. Legislators in Rhode Island ended their six-month session late last month without passing any climate legislation at all.

Several climate bills died in committee, including one that would have established an economy-wide price on carbon pollution and another that would make binding the greenhouse gas reduction targets of the Resilient Rhode Island Act. (Unlike in Massachusetts and Connecticut, Rhode Island’s emissions reduction goals are aspirational, not mandatory.)

The General Assembly also failed to act on a high-profile challenge whose resolution is important to ensuring that solar reaches its potential as a climate solution in Rhode Island. Here’s a look at how that issue played out.

Balancing solar and land stewardship

Both the House and Senate introduced legislation that would have addressed the urgent pressure many communities are facing over the siting of large-scale, ground-mounted solar projects. The bills were informed by the work of a group of stakeholders the state Office of Energy Resources and the Department of Environmental Management convened nearly two years ago to work through the complexities of the issue.

Acadia Center has added its clean energy expertise to the group, which includes renewable energy developers, municipal planners, clean energy advocates, conservation groups, and consumer advocates. The goal? To develop strategies that balanced the need to accelerate solar while also minimizing its environmental impact on forests and prime farmland.

Guided by 13 smart siting principles stakeholders developed through consensus, the committee put forth strategies that garnered widespread support from diverse quarters. The legislation, as introduced, would have:

• Closed a loophole that effectively allowed projects to bypass the current statutory 10 MW cap on individual remote net metering projects by combining multiple installations at one site. Co-locating projects on contiguous parcels would no longer be allowed;
• Applied a smaller size cap—of 4 MW—to solar projects in designated areas of environmental concern;
• Created a new incentive for siting solar projects in preferred areas like landfills, gravels pits, and brownfields by reimbursing energy developers for interconnection costs; and
• Established a timeline for municipalities to adopt individually tailored solar siting ordinances to help local officials review projects and provide developers with a more predictable process.

 

The House’s siting bill never came to a vote in committee. The Senate passed a watered-down version that did not sufficiently address siting incentives. While the Senate’s amended bill mandated enactment of municipal siting ordinances, other critical strategies including reasonable size limits in areas of environmental concern and incentives for siting in preferred areas were scrapped.

Without any of the improvements proposed in the solar siting legislation, the status quo will largely continue: Rhode Island is likely to see the construction of more large projects on cleared forestland.

In some communities, the legislature’s inaction could have the opposite effect: leading to municipal moratoria that put at least a temporary pause on any solar construction. That outcome not only hinders Rhode Island’s ability to meet its climate goals but also dents growth of the clean energy sector, which has been a bright spot in the economy.

Rhode Island continues to be a leader in energy efficiency, and is moving ahead with a full-size offshore wind farm to join the nation’s first, Block Island. Rhode Island has committed to develop, along with nine states and Washington, D.C., a regional policy proposal to cap and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the most polluting sector: transportation. The Governor just signed an Executive Order for focused inter-agency work on the state’s heating sector, which must move off natural gas. All of this is welcome progress.

Still, the legislature will have to think—and act—bigger on climate, or risk Rhode Island being left behind. The climate crisis is here; there is no time to waste.

Author: Erika Niedowski, Rhode Island Director & Policy Advocate

Offshore Wind Makes Big Moves Across the Northeast Region

Two years ago, Acadia Center’s EnergyVision 2030 examined the energy mix needed to achieve the Northeast’s 2030 decarbonization goals and determined that at least 13% of the region’s electricity needs could be served by the development of 9.5 GW of offshore wind. In New England and New York, Acadia Center has advocated for ambitious state procurement goals and these states have recently made incredible progress. Over the last three years, Northeast states have raised their collective 2035 offshore wind goals from 1.6 GW to 14.6 GW, and they may exceed the EnergyVision 2030 target if several of the projects are completed before 2030. Together, the Northeast states’ ambitious targets for offshore wind development could generate enough electricity to satisfy a quarter of the region’s total electricity needs.

Although only one small offshore wind project is in operation today, states have begun to make real progress toward reaping the benefits of one of the world’s most bountiful clean energy resources – the abundant wind off of the Atlantic coast. States are finding that offshore wind is available, feasible, affordable, and it supports economic development, good jobs, and carbon reductions. The combined commitments from the Northeast states could produce as much as 60 TWhs of carbon-free electricity, reducing carbon emissions by about 29 million tons every year.

State comparison of current commitments, selection processes, completed procurements, and construction of offshore wind.

Connecticut

Since 2016, Acadia Center has been actively working with Connecticut to grow its commitment to offshore wind and, in 2018, Governor Malloy’s administration made its first two procurements totaling 300 MW. The first 200 MW project is predicted to support about 1400 jobs through both the addition of wind farm construction jobs and the jobs supported by increased spending in the local economy by those new workers. Following these two procurements, the state entered into a public-private partnership with the wind and marine services industries for a $93 million redevelopment of the New London state pier as a hub for regional offshore wind activities. With its long-standing maritime economy, New London has great potential to become one of the support centers for offshore wind build out in the region. In June 2019, Acadia Center and a coalition of clean energy advocates won a major victory when the state passed legislation requiring that the state issue solicitations for 2000 MW of offshore wind by 2030, or about 30% of the state’s electricity consumption. This commitment puts Connecticut at the front of the pack for northeastern states in terms of share of total electricity demand to be provided by offshore wind.

Massachusetts

In 2016, in response to efforts by Acadia Center and a coalition of clean energy advocates, Massachusetts passed legislation to secure its first 1600 MW of offshore wind by 2027. It has since selected an 800 MW project to be completed by 2021. The project is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by 1.6 million metric tons annually, equivalent to removing about 315,000 cars from the road, and deliver net benefits of $1.4 billion over the 20-year life of the contract. The contract demonstrated that the offshore wind industry can supply energy at costs competitive with fossil fuel generation over the long term. The developer also committed $15 million in investments to spur the offshore wind industry in Massachusetts. Governor Baker’s administration has issued a request for proposals for another 800 MW, with bids due in August 2019.

Acadia Center’s advocacy in 2018 helped secure passage of legislation authorizing an additional 1600 MW of offshore wind by 2035 pending a study to investigate the necessity, benefits, and cost of more offshore wind. In keeping with input from Acadia Center and other stakeholders, the May 2019 study supports increasing the state’s overall commitment to 3200 MW. These findings are bolstering the push for legislation to set the state’s overall offshore wind target at 6000 MW by 2035, which would be equivalent to nearly 50% of the electricity consumed by the state.

To support the construction of these large projects, the site of Massachusetts’ last coal plant will be converted to serve as a base providing support and logistics for the offshore wind industry, as well as transmission and battery support for turbines offshore.

New York

So far, New York leads the region in its total commitment to offshore wind capacity at 9000 MW, and it is making offshore wind a centerpiece of its plan to decarbonize the state’s electricity system. As a first step, the state issued a procurement in November 2018 of at least 800 MW. Leading up to its release, Acadia Center worked with allies to ensure that the procurement was structured to maximize consumer savings, support workforce development, and include environmental protections. The state is poised to announce its selection for a project up to 1200 MW.

New York’s offshore wind goal is a major building block of Governor Cuomo’s recently announced commitment to 100% emissions free electricity by 2040 and a net-zero carbon economy by 2050.

Rhode Island

Rhode Island led the region’s offshore wind efforts by hosting the first offshore wind project built in the United States: the 5-turbine, 30 MW Block Island Wind Farm, completed in late 2016. In May 2019 the state also approved a contract for 400 MW of offshore wind and is considering proposals for up to an additional 350 MW. The state is on track to reach the Governor Raimondo’s goal of 1000 MW sourced from clean, renewable energy by 2020.

Rhode Island has also been an early home to U.S. offshore wind industry headquarters for major companies, including Deepwater Wind (recently acquired by Ørsted) and GEV Wind Power. The presence of these new developers in the state demonstrate that a robust offshore wind industry can create not only clean power and cost savings, but good jobs and economic development opportunities.

Other Northeast States

Maine: Unlike its neighbors to the south, Maine’s coastal seabed drops off steeply right from shore, meaning that wind developers can’t use technology that attaches towers to the ocean floor in shallower depths. But that hasn’t stopped Maine from moving forward with offshore wind. Maine is looking to a much newer and experimental technology using floating platforms. Governor Mills recently signed a law recommitting Maine to a project consisting of two 6-MW turbines on floating platforms.

In another important step signaling Maine’s strong commitment to offshore wind (and other clean energy innovations), Governor Mills has created the Maine Offshore Wind Initiative and joined Massachusetts and New Hampshire to participate in the Gulf of Maine Intergovernmental Regional Task Force on Offshore Wind. As the costs of floating platform-based offshore wind come down, Maine’s opportunities to make larger commitments to offshore wind will continue to grow.

New Hampshire: Until recently, New Hampshire was on the sidelines in the offshore wind development race. But, in January 2019, Governor Sununu formally requested that federal regulators establish a state-federal offshore wind Task Force that will follow a multi-year process that 15 other states have already initiated. Without this process, New Hampshire would only be able to develop offshore wind projects within three miles of the coast — the point at which state waters end and federal waters begin. In April, regulators established a regional Gulf of Maine task force to coordinate activities in Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire.

What does this mean for people in the Northeast?

These massive commitments by the Northeast states along with others along the eastern seaboard will allow for this new, burgeoning industry to develop and offer opportunities for states to roll out their offshore procurements and construction in a coordinated way. Based on performance shown to this point, costs will continue to decline as the industry grows. For example, turbines are getting larger, producing more electricity and resulting in lower and lower prices per megawatt-hour.

Each state making these commitments will vie for the economic development and employment benefits that the offshore wind industry buildout promises, breathing new life into the numerous deep-water ports up and down the coast. Many of the region’s port communities have struggled through the decline of the industries that formerly drove their economies, but they are now poised to reap the benefits offshore wind can bring.

The buildout of offshore wind resources will also contribute significantly to the urgent push to decarbonize the way we generate electricity and power our buildings, industries and transportation systems. The destructive and dangerous impacts of the changing climate are upon us, and they disproportionately affect coastal communities and fisheries through sea-level rise and warming waters. Replacing old, dirty fossil fueled generation with offshore wind is an important step toward an electric grid that will support the clean electrification of our buildings and transportation sector.

In addition to reducing carbon emissions, offshore wind will reduce other harmful emissions related to burning fossil fuels. These emissions damage people’s lungs and hearts and take a serious economic toll on affected communities. Reducing such emissions has significant human health benefits especially for those living in economically disadvantaged communities where fossil-fueled plants are concentrated.

In the Northeast, offshore wind is poised to meet the region’s needs as older generating plants are retiring because of economic pressures, environmental standards, and aging equipment. Grid operators, market participants, and advocates like Acadia Center are looking for ways to shift how the grid operates as more and more renewable energy resources like offshore wind begin to produce electricity. Replacing some of these older retiring plants with offshore wind will bring other benefits in the form of lower wholesale electricity prices – reflected in the significant economic benefits realized in the MA and RI contracts. In addition, because offshore wind may deliver energy during peak winter conditions when dirty gas and oil-powered plants are currently paid to run, these new facilities will further bring down the price – and pollutants – from electricity generation.

Challenges

As offshore wind grows, the region will also face a range of challenges. Economically, the industry has benefited from the federal Investment Tax Credit, which is due to expire at the end of 2019. If allowed to expire, projects that go under contract after the end of this year may face up to 12% higher costs. Further, the construction and operation of many thousands of wind turbines and the needed transmission cables must appropriately address impacts on whales and other endangered species, birds, and a fishing industry already under significant pressure as a result of warming waters and overfishing. Advocates and decisionmakers must engage with local communities to address concerns around siting the landfall cables and other local impacts.

On the economic side, states and stakeholders should consider coordinating procurements to achieve an orderly build out of projects, allowing the industry to ramp up the supply chain and train a work force. States should look closely at whether each project should be connected to the shore individually or whether a central transmission back bone makes more economic and environmental sense.

What’s next?

Offshore wind is on a track to succeed in the Northeast, given the surge of state interest. However, the future success of this resource depends on its implementation, which must be accomplished on an aggressive schedule in order to reap the economic and environmental benefits. The projects must also proceed in ways that set a good precedent for the U.S. industry. Project selection, siting, and transmission must all be considered with an eye toward meeting fast-approaching climate deadlines and ensuring that labor, environmental, and economic justice issues are central to planning. Acadia Center will continue to work closely with the states, advocates, and other stakeholders on these issues, bringing its independent analytic, advocacy, and coalition-building expertise to ensure the successful deployment and continued expansion of offshore wind in the region.

Additional Resources

Press Release: CT House of Representatives Passes Pivotal Bill to Build 2000 MW of New Offshore Wind by 2030

Blog: A Regional Affair: Offshore Wind in Massachusetts Clears Hurdle in Rhode Island

Report: EnergyVision 2030 Electric Generation Brief