Finding New Frontiers: Clean Energy on Aquidneck Island

This summer, an Acadia Center blog post highlighted the clean energy moment happening in Connecticut. Policymakers in that state are currently deciding what its energy future will look like for years to come, and stakeholders must take notice—but Connecticut isn’t the only state having a clean energy moment. In fact, you might say the whole region, country, even world is having a clean energy moment. At Acadia Center, we strive to capture a vision that will help more communities, of whatever size, embrace these moments, and recently in Rhode Island we found ourselves in a room with more than one hundred locals excited by that vision.

At Acadia Center’s latest forum, community members came together from Aquidneck Island’s three towns to celebrate achievements, explore possibilities, and identify specific opportunities for using clean energy locally. The audience heard from two state representatives, Lauren Carson and Deborah Ruggiero, and two state commissioners, Marion Gold of the Public Utilities Commission and Carol Grant of the Office of Energy Resources. Attendees had the opportunity to engage with these four women as well as with panelists from National Grid, People’s Power & Light, the City of West Warwick, and the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank. Acadia Center’s Rhode Island Director, Abigail Anthony, also presented the basic principles of EnergyVision, with particular emphasis on Community|EnergyVision.

The event was called “Solar and Beyond” and it highlighted the community’s solar potential by featuring sponsors from solar companies, who were available to answer questions before and after the panels (a big thank you to  Newport Solar, RGS, and Direct Energy Solar). Other topics that drew interest included Block Island’s new offshore wind farm, transportation’s role in the clean energy future, energy efficiency, and the possibility of going 100% renewable.

Acadia Center was privileged to have two excellent partners in this venture, the Aquidneck Island Planning Commission (AIPC) and Emerald Cities Collaborative. We are excited to continue working with these organizations to harness the momentum built at the forum and support effective policies to make the community’s vision a reality. Working with AIPC and Emerald Cities, Acadia Center is developing a forward-looking policy agenda to remove barriers to community energy and build a coalition of support from municipal leaders on Aquidneck Island. Acadia Center is promoting several key actions that Aquidneck Island leaders can take to advance community energy, including:

• Expand the use of local energy resources to avoid the construction of infrastructure projects and reduce costs. In December, the state’s Energy Efficiency & Resource Management Council will propose reforms to utility planning that are designed to proactively deploy energy efficiency and distributed energy resources, like solar, in “highly-utilized” areas of the electric grid to ensure energy reliability for all.
• Adopt Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs to provide long-term clean energy financing for businesses and residents. Aquidneck Island towns should authorize Commercial PACE, which offers financing for clean energy projects on commercial, industrial, agricultural, non-profit, and multifamily properties. Municipal leaders should also advocate for strong consumer protection elements in the roll-out of Residential PACE in Rhode Island.
• Expand access to community solar. Rhode Island laws passed in 2016 create more opportunities for residential and qualified low- and moderate-income housing developments to benefit from solar projects. However, the Community Remote Net Metering program is currently capped at 30 MW. Aquidneck Island leaders can support advocacy efforts to remove this cap and promote community solar projects.

 

Over the coming months, Acadia Center will work with AIPC and Emerald Cities to build a strong coalition of support for these policies and others. Together we hope to lay a foundation for community energy in Rhode Island that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and better serve consumers. By seizing this clean energy moment, Aquidneck Island will secure an energy future that is reliable, cost effective, and community driven.

In a rapidly changing world, what do we mean by RGGI leadership?

Never before has the urgency of climate action been so apparent, demonstrated by record high temperatures and unprecedented drought. Yet, as the impacts of climate change become more painfully obvious, jurisdictions from small towns to the world’s largest countries are working towards solutions. Since the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) began in the Northeast, the Governors of the participating states have led by embracing, implementing, and improving a first-in-the-nation carbon reduction program. It is now up to a new group of Governors to determine whether RGGI remains a model for ambitious action on climate.

What does RGGI leadership mean?

Looking out for our climate, our health, our economy
Thanks to RGGI’s track record, the participating states can lead on climate without setting back their economies. As detailed in our recent report, since RGGI began CO2 emissions have fallen sharply (faster than the rest of the country), electricity prices have decreased (while the rest of the country has seen an increase), and the economy has grown (outpacing the rest of the country).

Change in Economic Growth, Emissions and Electricity Prices, 2008 to 2015

By setting ambitious cap levels for the future, the RGGI states can continue to achieve the best outcomes for our climate, our health, and our economy. Specifically, the RGGI states should establish post-2020 cap levels designed to meet existing climate targets, which cluster around 40% reductions by 2030. Analysis from Synapse Energy Economics has shown that implementing a RGGI cap with a 5% annual decline from 2020 through 2030 would be the lowest-cost pathway to achieving climate requirements. According to that study, such a cap would also yield over $25 billion in total savings for the region while creating 58,000 new jobs each year in the participating states.

A forward-going 5% annual reduction would be more gradual than what the RGGI states have achieved to date, but it would still put us on a path to achieving our science-based goals. And as we cope with the fact that global CO₂ concentrations have now eclipsed 400 parts per million, it’s become more important than ever that our leaders address scientific imperatives on climate change with comparably ambitious policy.

The forefront of climate policy
When a bi-partisan group of Governors of the RGGI states first came together to place a limit on CO₂ emissions, they staked their claim as national leaders on climate. In the absence of federal climate policy, they were the first states to act on reducing CO₂ emissions from the power sector. When they decided to auction allowances rather than give them away for free—as was common practice under previous emissions trading programs—they directed billions of dollars to consumers instead of polluters. This decision is largely responsible for RGGI’s success as a program that reduces harmful emissions and serves as an engine of local and regional economic growth.

While the leadership role of the RGGI states to-date is indisputable, the bar for climate leadership has been raised. Since the RGGI program began, the region, the country, and the world have taken great strides to address carbon emissions. In recent months the U.S. and China, the planet’s largest emitters of CO₂, have ratified the Paris Climate Agreement. In the last week, India and the European Union have followed suit, bringing the tally of signatories beyond the threshold of 55 countries and 55% of global GHG emissions necessary to make the agreement binding. Also this week, Canada—America’s largest trading partner—announced nationwide carbon pricing. Provinces can implement their own cap-and-trade programs (as Quebec, Ontario, and Manitoba have done), their own carbon tax (like British Columbia), or they can accept the federal carbon tax, beginning at $10/ton in 2018 and rising to $50/ton by 2022.

The RGGI states are no longer going it alone on climate, but they can still be leaders. Committing to a strong future for the program will provide a valuable guidepost as the rest of the country prepares to comply with the Clean Power Plan, and as the rest of the world considers how to reduce emissions without sacrificing growth. Momentum is building, support is growing, and the market is transforming – will the RGGI states continue to lead the way?

Reforming Electricity Pricing Can Promote Electric Vehicles and Help Optimize the Electric Grid

Electric vehicles (EVs) provide multiple environmental and consumer benefits. Because they emit about 60% less greenhouse gas (GHG) than conventional vehicles, EVs are an important element in reaching state GHG reduction requirements. Plus, EVs have lower operating costs than conventional vehicles—even with today’s low gasoline prices; for example, in Connecticut an EV only costs about five cents per mile to operate compared to eight cents for a conventional vehicle. That’s a savings of over 80 cents per gallon-equivalent. Given that the largest source of GHGs in the Northeast is the transportation sector, states should be pushing for accelerated adoption of these vehicles.

Recognizing this opportunity, many states in the Northeast have already committed to increasing the number of zero emission vehicles, primarily EVs, on the road by signing on to the California Clean Car Standards and the Multi-State Zero Emission Vehicle Memorandum of Understanding (ZEV MOU). These agreements have set an ambitious goal of increasing the vehicle fleet in those states to about 13% EVs by 2025.

Though this goal alone is commendable, concerns must be addressed about the amount of electricity that will be needed to charge these additional EVs. If EVs are plugged in during periods of high demand, they can strain the electricity system, triggering costs associated with increased distribution or transmission investment, greater capacity needs, and higher marginal energy prices. If EVs are charged at off-peak times, however, the impact on the electricity system is minimal and can even have benefits.

To encourage off-peak charging, several states have started to adopt electricity rate structures for EV owners that reflect the higher cost of providing electricity during peak periods and the lower cost during off-peak periods. These “time-of-day” rates typically divide the day into two or three different periods, during which electricity costs are different. “On-peak” periods encompass most of the afternoon and evening and have the highest rates; “off peak” periods comprise the rest of the day and weekends and feature lower rates; and sometimes “super off-peak” periods are offered with extra low rates from midnight to early morning when there is minimal demand on the system.

Because lower charging costs translate to lower costs per mile traveled, EV owners have a monetary incentive to charge during off-peak hours. This per-mile savings also makes owning an EV more attractive and can provide the extra push some consumers need to purchase an EV.

Pilot programs adopted by Maryland and New York have demonstrated that time-of-day rate structures are effective at shifting customer behavior. The chart below shows the electricity use of EV owners in Maryland before and after they adopted the time-of-day rate structure or “tariff.”¹ Pre-EV tariff, the customers’ peak energy use was at about 6:00 pm (red line), indicating EV charging likely occurred when commuters returned from work and plugged in their vehicles.  This peak also corresponds with peak system demand. Following the EV-tariff adoption, the peak use for the pilot participants shifted to 10 pm (green line), indicating that customers had altered their behavior to take advantage of the lower rates.

A poll of the Maryland customers who adopted the EV tariff found that over 90% of participants were either “extremely satisfied” or “satisfied” with their new electricity plan, and the majority of customers saved money on their house electricity bill. With the positive result of this pilot and others, Maryland and other states, including California and New York, are now offering full-scale (non-pilot) time-of-day rates for EV owners.

Given their demonstrated success, both satisfying customers and shifting behavior, time-of-day rates should be considered by states as one of the key mechanisms for meeting ZEV commitments and GHG emissions reduction targets. This single reform offers multiple, important benefits: it incentivizes owning an EV, it reduces the contribution of EVs to peak load, and it helps capture the significant environmental benefits of EVs—not just GHG emissions reductions, but also local air pollution reductions that help improve public health.

The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) of Connecticut is currently considering whether to move forward with time-of-day rates for EV customers.² As one of the 8 states committed to the ZEV MOU, Connecticut, through PURA, should make the smart choice to implement this proven reform as soon as possible. As Connecticut is likely not on track to meet its mandatory 2020 GHG emissions cap,³ and because transportation emissions comprise 40% of the state’s total GHG emissions, Connecticut will absolutely need the help of time-of-day rates. Acadia Center is participating in PURA’s current docket to ensure that it considers the environmental and consumer benefits of both EV adoption and time-of-day rates.

¹ BGE Electric Vehicle Rate Pilot Program Report, February 2016

² PURA Docket No. 16-07-21. Acadia Center has been granted status as an intervenor. Final decision scheduled for February 2017.

³ Acadia Center, “Updated Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory for Connecticut,” June 13, 2016. Emissions overall have increased 7.5% from 2012 to 2015 and we anticipate them increasing even more in 2016.

Connecticut’s Clean Energy Moment

Connecticut is having a clean energy moment — one that could launch a new wave of progress if the right policy decisions are made. This opportunity comes as somewhat of a coincidence. Two key planning processes, the Governor’s Council on Climate Change and the state’s 2016 Comprehensive Energy Strategy, will likely intersect this year, with each issuing important policy findings in the coming months. These findings will guide the state’s actions on fundamental climate and energy issues for many years — with lasting consequences for Connecticut’s economy, public health, and environment.

Connecticut’s clean energy moment may also have legal significance. The state’s first mandatory greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions cap is just a little over three years away. Established by Connecticut’s Global Warming Solutions Act, this cap requires a 10% reduction from the 1990 emissions level by 2020¹ — a modest goal, but crucial to setting Connecticut’s emissions trajectory on a declining path to meet the much more important long-term GHG emissions cap in 2050, an 80% reduction from the 2001 emissions level.² With so much at stake, Connecticut’s policymakers need to have the latest GHG emissions data and analyses to make well-informed decisions.

Toward that end, Acadia Center released an updated GHG emissions inventory for Connecticut this past June. Constructed with the best available data from public sources, this report gives a comprehensive look at emissions from 1990 through 2015 and also analyzes emissions trends in more recent years.³ The results are below.

Connecticut GHG Emissions Inventory, 1990-2015

These results show a clear and concerning trend:  GHG emissions have increased since a 2012 low and do not appear to be on track to meet the mandatory 2020 emissions cap. The recent uptick in emissions can be attributed to many factors outside Connecticut’s control, such as fuel prices, the economy, and weather, among others. The report explores those external factors in more detail.

However, even with these external factors, policymaking matters. Connecticut retains a significant degree of control over how much electricity it consumes, and thus how much carbon it emits. For example, New England states with more aggressive energy efficiency and solar policies than Connecticut will reap greater reductions in electricity consumption over the next six years, as shown below.

ISO New England Forecast – Change in Electric Consumption from 2016

This chart shows that Connecticut’s energy policies have not kept pace with those in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, or Vermont. And this reality has climate ramifications. Connecticut will be taking on an increasing share of the region’s GHG emissions from electricity consumption, which then negatively impacts its carbon profile.

While it is too soon to predict with certainty whether Connecticut will meet its mandatory 2020 GHG emissions cap, implementing additional short-term mitigation measures will increase the likelihood of doing so. The most promising opportunities for short-term reductions are likely in energy efficiency, distributed solar PV, and electric vehicles.  The state has existing programs for each of these options,⁴ which could be expanded quickly to significantly reduce GHG emissions before 2020. Pending clean energy procurements now before Connecticut officials could also play a major role in bringing down the state’s carbon profile in the short to medium term.⁵

Acadia Center looks forward to working with Connecticut and other stakeholders to ensure that the 2016 Comprehensive Energy Strategy and the Governor’s Council on Climate Change offer pragmatic policy recommendations that can launch a strong and effective mitigation effort. Connecticut needs to take full advantage of this clean energy moment to align its energy decisions with its climate goals.

¹ Public Act 08-98, An Act Concerning Connecticut Global Warming Solutions, §2(a)(1) (“The state shall reduce the level of emissions of greenhouse gas…[n]ot later than January 1, 2020, to a level at least ten percent below the level emitted in 1990”).

² See id., §2(a)(2) (“The state shall reduce the level of emissions of greenhouse gas…[n]ot later than January 1, 2050, to a level at least eighty per cent below the level emitted in 2001”).

³ Acadia Center has published multiple GHG emissions inventories for Connecticut beginning in 2003.  The most recent used a traditional inventory approach through 2014.  The current analysis described here is an update using a hybrid approach and 2015 data.

⁴ Connecticut offers high-performing statewide energy efficiency services through its Conservation and Load Management programs. Connecticut encourages the deployment of distributed solar PV through a residential incentive program offered by the Green Bank and through the Zero-Emission Renewable Energy Credit (ZREC) program administered by the electric distribution utilities. The CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection oversees the CT Hydrogen and Electric Automobile Purchase Rebate (CHEAPR), which offers rebates for the purchase or lease of various low-carbon vehicles.

⁵ See the clean energy procurements enabled by Public Act 15-107, An Act Concerning Affordable and Reliable Energy, §1(c) (authorizing RFP for grid-scale clean energy resources) and §1(b) (authorizing RFP for energy efficiency and/or small-scale clean energy resources).

 

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Bill Dornbos is the Director of the Connecticut Office and Senior Attorney for Acadia Center. Bill focuses on advancing policy and regulatory solutions that seek to transform the energy system and move Connecticut towards a climate-safe, sustainable future.

Four Things You Didn’t Know about Energy Efficiency in Connecticut… And One You Might Have Guessed

1. Nutmeggers have saved more than 1.5 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) in energy over the last five years¹

That’s equivalent to fully powering 169,000 houses in Connecticut for an entire year.² For reference, Bridgeport, the largest city in Connecticut, has approximately 51,000 occupied housing units³ so with the energy saved over the last five years, we would have more than enough to power three cities the same size as Bridgeport for an entire year.

This number doesn’t even include the additional lifetime savings that we know will be realized in the future thanks to these investments in energy efficiency now. If you include those savings, Connecticut residents and businesses will save more than 18.3 billion kWh.⁴ That’s equivalent to:

• 2,058,030 houses powered for one year (1.5 times all of the occupied homes in Connecticut), or
• Millstone’s annual generation (Millstone is Connecticut’s largest power plant),⁵ or
• Combined annual generation of the next 15 largest power plants in Connecticut⁶

What do these savings mean in real terms? They mean lower overall energy demand and lower overall energy costs for everybody. Lower demand also means that the power grid can better handle times of peak use, such as the heights of summer and the depths of winter.

These energy savings translate to carbon dioxide emissions reductions of 13.5 million tons over the lifetime of these investments.⁷ That’s more than the amount of carbon sequestered by planting 300,000,000 trees and letting them grow for 10 years.⁸

2. Connecticut’s residents and businesses have achieved more than $3.8 billion in lifetime savings on their energy bills

Energy efficiency investments over the last five years will save Connecticut consumers approximately $3,818,900,000⁹ over the life of those investments. This is money that consumers don’t have to spend on their energy bills.

Most money that is spent on energy goes to large, out-of-state energy corporations, such as merchant generators that rely on natural gas to fuel their power plants. Money that isn’t spent on energy can instead be spent on goods and services right here in Connecticut. This local spending grows our economy and spurs job creation. The money saved by Connecticut’s 2015 investment in energy efficiency will end up generating approximately 9,258 new jobs, for example.¹⁰

3. Connecticut’s energy efficiency programs have served 242,222 homes over the last five years¹¹

This number includes rebates for efficient HVAC systems, as well as 162,270 homes that were weatherized from 2011 to 2015. In 2015 alone, Connecticut’s Home Energy Solutions (HES) and Home Energy Solutions-Income Eligible (HES-IE) Programs served 55,166 homes.¹² That’s more than the total number of housing units in Connecticut’s second largest city — New Haven.¹³

These programs provide energy auditing services that help residents assess how best to improve the energy efficiency of their homes. These statewide programs will even install many of these important improvements on the spot. They also offer price reductions for purchasing energy efficient appliances and products for the home.

4. Connecticut has converted enough energy efficient light bulbs to fill 300 average-sized swimming pools

A recent report sponsored by Connecticut’s Energy Efficiency Board shows that LED and CFL bulbs have saturated 45% of the residential market in the state.¹⁴ This means that approximately 45% of household lighting in Connecticut uses these high-efficiency bulbs.

Using more efficient bulbs can significantly reduce energy consumption — and they’re more convenient because they last longer. LEDs in particular last 30 to 50 times longer than incandescent bulbs and use up to 85% less energy.

5. Connecticut has more work to do!

All of these impressive achievements are important, but there is more work to do.

Saturation of LEDs in Connecticut is only at 10%. LEDs out-perform CFLs in many ways: they are more energy efficient, they last longer, and people are happier with them. Connecticut’s energy efficiency programs need to continue to incentivize consumers to switch to LEDs to encourage even greater energy savings.

If the HES and HES-IE programs continue at their current pace, it will take almost 15 years to reach even half of the occupied houses in Connecticut. Expanded funding is vital in order to keep these crucial residential programs going strong.

Use of these valuable programs could also be improved. When a resident uses HES to assess and improve their home, HES usually recommends additional work to be done to improve the home’s energy efficiency. More of this additional work, such as adding attic, wall, or basement insulation, needs to be done in order to make Connecticut’s homes more efficient.

It is also worth noting that Massachusetts and Rhode Island are outperforming Connecticut in energy efficiency. The most recent energy efficiency savings rates in Massachusetts and Rhode Island are 3.04% and 2.9% per year, respectively, while Connecticut is at 1.53% — strong nationally, but regionally only half of its leading neighbors. This means that Connecticut’s energy efficiency programs could be eliminating double the energy waste that they currently do. Imagine twice the energy saved, twice the carbon pollution avoided, and twice the cash saved on energy bills!

 

¹ Calculation from adding up annual savings reported in the Energy Efficiency Fund’s Annual Legislative Reports from 2011 to 2015.
² Based on average of 8,892 kWh annually required per household.
³ Bridgeport has 51,255 occupied housing units according to the 2010 U.S. Census.
⁴ Calculation from adding up lifetime savings reported in the Energy Efficiency Fund’s Annual Legislative Reports from 2011 to 2015.
⁵ Based on Millstone’s gross generation for 2014.  Data from: https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/eia923/.
⁶ Based on gross generation of Connecticut’s power plants in 2014. Data from: https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/eia923/.
⁷ From Energy Efficiency Fund’s Annual Legislative Reports from 2011 to 2015.
⁸ Based on 23.2 lbs of carbon per tree. Estimate given by EPA GHG Equivalencies Calculator: https://www.epa.gov/energy/ghg-equivalencies-calculator-calculations-and-references.
⁹ From Energy Efficiency Fund’s Annual Legislative Reports from 2011 to 2015.
¹⁰ From Energy Efficiency Fund’s Annual Legislative Report for 2015.
¹¹ Data from HES/HES-IE Performance numbers reported in CT Statewide Energy Efficiency Dashboard for 2011-2015.
¹² Same as above.
¹³ According to the 2010 U.S. Census, New Haven has 54,967 housing units (48,877 occupied housing units).
¹⁴ LED Lighting Study Report (Jan 2016): http://www.energizect.com/sites/default/files/R154%20-%20CT%20LED%20Lighting%20Study_Final%20Report_1.28.16.pdf.

Interconnection Reform: Good for the Grid and the Climate

New York State is currently working to dramatically ramp up the deployment of solar and other distributed generation (DG) technologies in an effort to improve the resiliency and reliability of its electric system as well as to help combat climate change. In these efforts, interconnection reform plays a key role.

Interconnection refers to a state-established procedure that new distributed generation units must follow to connect in parallel with the utility’s distribution system. The interconnection process involves numerous steps and may take several months depending on the technical specifications of the project and the point of interconnection. Projects awaiting interconnection are put into an interconnection queue in the order of application.

In New York, the interconnection queue has been growing steadily, with 4,007 MW of projects in queue as of June 2016, a 38% increase from April 2016. Spurred primarily by a growing interest in community distributed generation (CDG), this unprecedented surge in project applications highlights the importance of proactive queue management to support the proliferation of DG throughout the state.

Interconnection procedure in New York State is governed by statewide rules known as the Standard Interconnection Requirements (SIR). SIR provide a general framework for interconnection application processing, including fees, timelines, and technical criteria.

For many years, SIR incentivized developers to file an application and reserve a place in the queue even if they had no intention of moving forward with their project; and further, SIR provided no process for removing the project from the queue without a customer’s permission. Thus, hundreds of these abandoned projects continue to clog the interconnection queue today.

On April 29, 2016, an update to SIR for systems between 50 kW to 5 MW went into effect, addressing some of the interconnection challenges raised by those involved in recent SIR proceedings. This update:

• Provided for a pre-application report that allows a developer to obtain information about a circuit, including capacity, peak load, and aggregate existing and queued DG, without having to submit a complete application and being placed in queue;
• Established project timelines to ensure that abandoned projects are removed from the queue after 30 days;
• Created a uniform set of technical screens to be used by all utilities for project review and called for uniform technical standards used by utilities to evaluate project feasibility.

However, the new rules are applicable only to project applications submitted after the effective date, and so have done little to resolve the existing queue backlog. Further updates to SIR are expected to address this backlog.

These best practices for queue management are currently being considered by the recently created Interconnection Policy Working Group (IPWG), comprised of utility company, state, and industry representatives. In its most recent straw proposal, the IPWG is seeking to require all pre-April 29th applicants to take action by certain dates to remain in the queue or face removal. For instance, the applicants would be required to provide a landowner consent form within 10 days of a Public Service Commission Order to demonstrate site control and prevent site shopping by the developer.

In addition to addressing the backlog, the IPWG is working to reform interconnection by addressing cost sharing for required substation or distribution-level upgrades. These upgrades can often amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars and make a project cost-prohibitive for a single developer. Under the current rules, the first developer to proceed with a project on a given circuit/substation bears the full cost of upgrades. Any subsequent projects take advantage of those upgrades and forgo the expense. Cost-sharing mechanisms could ensure that every developer benefiting from an upgrade pays their fair share.

Together these reforms could significantly facilitate DG interconnection in New York, resulting in a more reliable, resilient, and efficient system that advances the state’s environmental and climate goals.

 

Importance and Implications of Massachusetts’ Clean Energy Bill

With just a few hours to go in the legislative session, the Massachusetts legislature passed a bill that will significantly reduce carbon pollution, reshape the regional power system, and foster new technologies that will play a large role in meeting future energy needs. The main provisions of An Act to Promote Energy Diversity (H4568) center on providing long term contracts for offshore wind, hydroelectricity, and other forms of renewable energy. These contracts will enable financing to cover the construction costs of grid-scale clean energy sources and electric transmission to connect the new projects to demand centers. The final bill meshed a streamlined proposal from the House and more ambitious and comprehensive package from the Senate to include contracting and a number of complementary pieces, most notably support for energy storage.

Offshore Wind
The core of the bill requires utilities to solicit long term contracts for 1600 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind. The procurement is the largest ever in the United States (or the hemisphere for that matter) for offshore wind, launching a brand new industry that the Department of Energy estimates could support 54,000 jobs and $200 billion in economic activity by 2030. Some of these jobs are already starting to materialize, with the arrival last weekend of a purpose-built construction vessel for Rhode Island’s Block Island Wind Farm.

With relatively shallow water close to major population centers, the Eastern Seaboard is prime location for offshore wind, and steady wind speeds allow offshore wind farms to operate at high frequencies (38%-52% capacity factors according to DOE). Once fully online and operating 45% of the time (midpoint of DOE range), the new offshore wind will produce about 6.31TWh of energy, or approximately the output of the soon-to-close Pilgrim Nuclear power plant.

Hydroelectricity and Other Renewables
The other main piece of the bill requires solicitations for 9.45 terawatt hours of hydroelectricity and other energy sources eligible for Massachusetts’ Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). The solicitation builds on an existing collaboration with Connecticut and Rhode Island that has led developers to put forward a diverse array of proposals for onshore wind, hydroelectricity, solar, energy storage, and pairing of multiple resources. Opening procurements up to diverse clean energy resources was a key priority for business, health, consumer and environmental organizations collaborating to provide input on the legislation through the Alliance for Clean Energy Solutions, an effort Acadia Center co-led with the Northeast Clean Energy Council. Broadening procurements beyond hydroelectricity alone allows for innovative approaches and forces competition that will bring costs down. Pairing of resources also helps ensure optimal use of new transmission lines needed to connect hydroelectricity from Canada, wind from Northern New England and Upstate New York, and grid-scale solar from areas where land is available.

The combined impacts of the clean energy procurements are profound. The wind farms would total more than three times the capacity of the long-stalled Cape Wind project (which was excluded from participation), and the procurement for hydro and other renewables will likely lead to an additional (~1000MW) transmission line designed for the first time to access low carbon energy, and potentially a number of smaller projects. If the new energy supplies displace natural gas, they will avoid 7.9 million tons of carbon pollution, bringing electric sector emissions down 56% from 2012 levels and helping Massachusetts make progress toward the deeper 80% reduction across the entire economy required by 2050.

Massachusetts’ legislation and joint effort with RI and CT also signify a deeper shift in planning for the region’s energy future. Significant progress has been made towards advancing energy efficiency and other customer-sited resources like rooftop solar, but over time New England will need to bring online significant additional quantities of grid-scale renewable energy resources to replace fossil fuel power plants. Additionally, there will be increased demand for clean electricity as electric vehicles replace gasoline-powered cars and heat pumps replace oil and gas for heating.

New England has previously explored steps needed to enable large quantities of grid-scale renewables (up to 12,000MW of wind and hydroelectricity in a 2010 analysis for New England’s Governors), and the Massachusetts legislation is likely to build momentum for reforms. One clear step is to plan transmission for renewables, but this planning must be paired with reforms to improve transparency and reduce high costs of the current model that encourages over-building transmission for reliability when smaller scale, clean, and less expensive alternatives exist

Energy Storage
Another promising approach for enhancing clean energy and improving the operation of the grid is to deploy energy storage. Energy storage will facilitate integration of variable resources like wind and solar, providing power when the breezes die down or clouds roll in. Storage also can avoid the need to build expensive grid infrastructure that is only needed a few hours of the year to meet peak demand. As described in another Acadia Center blog, storage provides the equivalent of warehouses for the world’s largest supply chain (the power grid), which currently works on an overpriced instantaneous delivery model. The legislation recognizes the breakthrough potential of energy storage, and directs the Department of Energy Resources to set 2020 utility procurement targets for storage, building on leadership the Baker Administration has already shown through the Energy Storage Initiative. If Massachusetts’ procurement is of similar scale to California’s successful program, utilities would need to contract for 330MW of storage, which would both help rationalize the grid and provide a boost to an industry with enormous potential and promising storage technologies being developed in the Commonwealth.

Natural Gas
The legislation includes important provisions to repair natural gas leaks but did not include language prohibiting the unprecedented proposal to require electric ratepayers to subsidize new gas pipelines. The legality of this risky and unnecessary approach will now be decided in the courts, with the fate of the controversial Access Northeast project hanging in the balance.

Additional Provisions
Additional provisions of the bill include commercial clean energy financing through tax assessments (CPACE) establishment of a nuclear decommissioning advisory council, net metering for small (under 2MW) hydroelectric facilities, expanded eligibility for fuel cells and waste-to-energy under the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard.

In all, the legislation represents a major commitment to clean energy and reducing carbon pollution.  The procurements set in motion by the bill will decarbonize Massachusetts’ electric sector and accelerate the transformation of the regional energy system. At the same time the bill provides vital support for two new technologies — offshore wind and energy storage — that will put the Commonwealth at the forefront of industries that will power the energy future.

RGGI Riding Clean Energy to a Low Carbon Future

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) has now produced enough data to make certain trends abundantly clear: the electric sector is becoming cleaner while the regional economy grows. The nine participating RGGI states, which held their first allowance auction nearly eight years ago, have delivered on their promise of cutting carbon emissions from the region’s power plants. As Acadia Center’s most recent report details, these emissions reductions have been driven, in part, by the steady growth of renewable energy generation and energy efficiency programs. Not only has this transition to a clean energy system helped to curb harmful pollution, it has produced substantial benefits for the regional economy.

Slashing emissions
Emissions in 2015 continued the downward trend of recent years. Carbon emissions from the power plants covered by RGGI totaled 83.2 million tons in 2015, which was 6.3% below the 2015 emissions cap of 88.7 tons and 37% below emissions levels in 2008, the year before RGGI started. RGGI’s experience continues to show that power sector emissions can be reduced much more quickly and cost effectively than expected.

RGGI Caps and Actual Emissions

Fostering a clean energy transition
Energy efficiency programs are reducing demand for electricity across the region, while electricity is increasingly being supplied by renewable energy sources. Both of these trends help to displace electricity generation from aging, inefficient, carbon-intensive sources like coal and oil, while deferring the need to invest in costly natural gas infrastructure. All together, these factors are helping to make electricity in the region cleaner and more affordable.

Increasing Role of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Generation

Both energy efficiency and non-emitting generation are projected to continue increasing in the years ahead. In the nine RGGI states, budgets for electric efficiency programs grew from $575 million in 2008 to $1.9 billion in 2015, an increase of 230%. These efficiency programs are the primary beneficiaries of RGGI revenue, and investments in energy efficiency yield economic benefits on the order of 3 to 4 times the up-front cost. Renewable generation will continue increasing, as all nine RGGI states have Renewable Portfolio Standards that require electric utilities to procure increasing quantities of renewable electricity.

Going forward, many of the RGGI states are increasing commitments to clean energy. Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts are procuring significant quantities of hydroelectricity and renewable energy through a joint procurement, and soon-to-be-enacted legislation in Massachusetts will require additional procurements of hydroelectricity, offshore wind, and other renewables equivalent to approximately 30%–40% of the Commonwealth’s electric consumption. New York has committed to a 50% renewable energy supply by 2030, and Rhode Island recently adopted a 40% renewable energy requirement by 2035.

As the RGGI states continue to achieve these increasingly ambitious targets for clean energy growth, the economic and environmental well-being of the region will continue to benefit. New, high-quality jobs will be created in the booming clean energy sector.  The region will pay less for the imported fossil fuels needed to power traditional generation. Cleaner air will result in healthier citizens who spend more time at school and work, rather than making costly hospital visits. And last but not least, achieving these goals will enable the RGGI states to meet their own economy-wide GHG targets for 2030 and 2050, doing their share to help avoid the worst impacts of a warming planet.

Stay tuned for Part II of our RGGI report, with the latest on the 2016 program review and the CPP.

 

Acadia Center’s Community Energy Forums continue with event in the SouthCoast

Last month, Acadia Center co-hosted the first event in the South Coast Community Energy Series with Leadership SouthCoast, the Marion Institute, South Coast Media Group, and Toxics Action Center. The New Bedford forum, “Building the SouthCoast’s Clean Energy Future,” explored the current energy landscape, energy challenges affecting the SouthCoast, and local clean energy alternatives for the region.

Because of new developments in the way energy is generated, delivered, and used, communities and neighborhoods have exciting opportunities to benefit from clean, efficient, and affordable energy at the local level and move away from increasing their overreliance on fossil fuels. However, reforming our existing and outdated utility model is necessary to enable these transformative community energy projects to flourish. Through forums like this one, residents can learn more about their current energy system, the reforms that are possible, and the ways they can have an influence.

Speakers at the event included: Claire Miller, Lead Community Organizer, Toxics Action Center; Roger Cabral, Organizer with South Coast Neighbors United; Peter Shattuck, Director of the Clean Energy Initiative and Massachusetts Office, Acadia Center; and Janet Milkman, Executive Director, Marion Institute.

The diverse panel examined how energy decisions affect a person’s wallet, health, and community. The speakers presented an overview of the current energy system and how it works; highlights of local efforts to combat proposed pipeline expansions; an explanation of the Attorney General’s Natural Gas Report and of Acadia Center’s EnergyVision — outlining a pathway for creating safer, cleaner, and more affordable energy systems; tips for deciphering a utility bill; and local opportunities, like the SouthCoast Energy Challenge, for reducing energy usage through energy efficiency.

SouthCoast Today, a local media outlet, covered the event with a piece here: Panel Explores SouthCoast Region’s Clean Energy Future.

The New Bedford forum was the first event in the SouthCoast Community Energy Series, which seeks to explore energy issues affecting the SouthCoast and how local residents and communities can maximize the economic, environmental, and public health benefits of clean energy. Two more events are planned for the coming months.

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Tyler Soleau is Acadia Center’s Energy and Climate Outreach Director working from the Boston office. He focuses on raising awareness, network building and advancing Acadia Center’s clean energy program goals in Massachusetts and the Northeast. Tyler came to Acadia Center from the Massachusetts House of Representatives where he served most immediately as Staff Director and Counsel for the House Committee on Climate Change.

New Legislation Advances Rhode Island’s Commitment to Renewable Energy

On July 7, 2016, Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo signed into law several bills that will help advance the deployment of renewable energy resources. These bills are welcome developments that signal the state’s commitment to the growth of renewable energy and a clean energy economy, and lay the groundwork for expanding community energy projects and advancing solar and other distributed energy resources through incentive programs and good rate design. Key provisions in each of the bills are summarized in this post.

• H-7413A/S-2185A — This bill extends the Renewable Energy Standard (RES) from 2019 to 2035 and ramps up National Grid’s renewable energy obligation from 14.5% to 38.5% over that period. Significantly, by extending the RES, Rhode Island policymakers place the state in a leadership position and reaffirm its long-term commitment to advancing the deployment of renewable resources. The new law also requires the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to review the adequacy of renewable resources every 5 years beginning in 2019 and allows the PUC to delay all or part of the implementation requirement until it determines that resources are available to meet the legislative requirement.

 

• H-8354A/S-2450B — This bill makes a number of changes that affect distributed energy resource development in Rhode Island. Distributed energy resources, like rooftop solar photovoltaics, are a new and growing part of our energy system. These local, clean energy resources will help diversify the energy portfolio, create in-state economic opportunities, and reduce pollution and associated health risks.
  • The bill extends the Renewable Energy Fund from 2017 to 2022, providing grants to reduce the up-front cost of renewable energy projects for residents and businesses in Rhode Island.
  • It also expands virtual net metering, which allows multiple customers to share power from a single renewable energy system that is not physically connected to their meter(s). Previously, only public, multi-municipal, and farm projects were allowed to virtual net meter. Under the new law, residential customers and qualified low and moderate income housing developments are eligible for “Community Remote Net Metering.” Output from these community projects are credited at the full retail rate (net of the RES charge) up to the sum of average usage, and excess credits are valued at the standard offer service charge. The Community Remote Net Metering program is currently capped at 30 MW as of December 31, 2018, but the PUC has the authority to extend the program.
  • The bill creates an opportunity to promote small- and medium-scale shared solar facilities and larger (>250 kW) community remote distributed generation systems through the Renewable Energy Growth (REG) program — a performance-based incentive program. The bill allows the Distributed Generation Board to propose to the PUC to allocate annual MW goals under the REG program to community remote distributed generation systems. These projects may also receive a higher incentive rate of up to 15% more than the ceiling price for a comparable non-community project. The bill also allows the utility to propose rules and tariffs for shared solar facilities.
  • It clarifies that third party ownership and third party financing arrangements for eligible net metering systems and community remote net metering projects as well as projects enrolled in the REG program are allowed. This is significant because it allows companies that lease solar systems to operate in the state. In response to the passage of the law, SolarCity said that it anticipated expanding from 20 employees in Rhode Island to somewhere between 75 and 200.
  • Furthermore, renewable energy resources used in residential systems or employed by a manufacturer are exempt from property tax. This means that, for example, a homeowner would not be penalized for installing a solar PV array through higher property taxes resulting from their property’s increased value.

 

• H-8180/S-2174 — This bill amends the “Rhode Island Regulatory Reform Act” to establish a state-wide solar permitting process. A consistent and streamlined permitting process can help improve the cost effectiveness and timeliness of the interconnection process for renewable resources. In this case, the Office of Regulatory Reform will be advised by a task force comprised of the Commissioner of the Office of Energy Resources, at least five municipal representatives, and a representative from a clean energy regional business association. No later than December 31, 2016, the Office of Regulatory Reform will submit a report with recommendations for a permitting process for small residential and small commercial roof-top solar projects. The Office of Energy Resources is then required to propose legislation to establish the state-wide solar permitting process no later than January 31, 2017.

 

• H-7890/S-2328 — This bill expands the role of the Governor’s workforce board to include in the state career pathways system, a workforce training program(s) that would fill skill gaps and create employment opportunities in the clean energy sector.