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Regional Wind Energy

Purchase

Jim Caldwell

Montgomery CountyDepartment of Environmental

Protection

April 5, 2004

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State Implementation Plan (SIP)

• Compliance with Clean Air Act• Reduce ground-level ozone by

reducing precursors: NOx and VOC

• Safeguard federal transportation dollars

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Emissions

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

Pennsylvania

New York

Virginia

Maryland

Delaware

NOxVOC

ton

s p

er

year

Source: MDE, 1999 U.S. EPA data

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0

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4

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Maryland

Pennsylvania

New YorkVirg

inia

Delaware

Ground-Level Ozone

# Days above 1-hour standard

Source: MDE, 2002 data—note: Baltimore Region is represented for Maryland

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So, where does the ozone come from?

“Ozone Transport”

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Maryland Department of the Environment

7Maryland Department of the Environment

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And the Power Plants are…

The Nation’s largest 50 power plants (open circles). Source: NOAA

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Wind Energy -Air Quality and other Benefits

No combustion occurs in wind, many pollutants are displaced, including-– NOx – Mercury– Acid Rain Precursors– Particulates– Greenhouse Gases

Displaced Pollutants, also means less pollutants entering our watersheds– Power plants are the greatest source of mercury– Up to 30% of the nitrogen in the bay is from air

depositionOther benefits-

– Reduced reliance on imported energy– No risk of fuel price hike

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Dickerson Plant Emissions as a Portion of Local Air Quality Problems

•Point Sources, such as power plants account for 45% of all NOx emissions in the County.

•93% of the point source NOx emissions is attributable to fossil-fueled power generation.

•The on-road mobile category, which accounts for 34% of NOx emitted in the County, represents the emissions from 613,781 vehicles.

Source: MWCOG 1999 PEI

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Wind Energy as a Control Measure or as a Strategy

• Montgomery County’s Wind Energy Purchase was included in March SIP package as a cost effective control measure :– Commitment letter from County– Montgomery County and Maryland

Department of the Environment worked together to adopt an appropriate strategy acceptable by the EPA with the use of Maryland’s “set aside” program.

• Wind Energy has also been included as a strategy in MWAQC’s Gold Book for other jurisdictions to adopt.

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Emissions “Offset”• We buy wind from area where NOx

emissions occur (ozone transport)

• Wind power “offsets” some coal power generation

• MDE (or equivalent) awards NOx “allowances”

• Allowances are retired

• Credit for “allowances” taken in SIP

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Price Premium:

1.5 ¢ 2 ¢ (per kWh)

Price for Wind Depends On:• Size of purchase• Contract Term• NOT electricity rates

Cost of Wind Power

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Cost by Agency

Agency 5% WindkWh

cost @ 1.5 cents

cost @ 2 cents

Water 10,914,544 $163,718 $218,291

Schools 9,241,066 $138,616 $184,821

Government 3,549,996 $53,250 $71,000

Parks 2,525,126 $37,877 $50,503

Housing 1,282,956 $19,244 $25,659

College 1,217,320 $18,260 $24,346

Total 28,731,008 $430,965 $574,620

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Control Measure Cost (ton/year)

Wind Energy $32,000

CNG Refueling Stations $54,701

55 CNG Busses $103,063

1967 Bike Lockers $247,111

Cost Effective NOx Reduction

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Savings Offset Price

• Very simple measures – behavioral changes – no capital investment.

• Computers:– Monitor Management

• Ex.: Loudoun County has saved $17,000 with Monitor Management alone.

• Montgomery County estimates savings to range from $75,000 to $100,000.

• Lights – 40 hrs./week vs. 168 hrs./week• savings range from $140,000 to $400,000 per year

• Office Equipment – purchase “Energy Star” compliant, activate energy saving features, turn off at night

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What is the Next Step?

• Even though the one-hour SIP has been submitted, it is never to late to take action.

• Other possiblities:– Inclusion as part of the 8-hour

SIP– Adopt as part of an air quality

improvement measure in your jurisdiction, following the gold book

• Questions regarding Montgomery County’s contract for wind energy ???

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Wildlife Impacts

• Largest single bird kill incident in the history of the wind industry: ~ 30 birds killed on the night of May 23, 2003, heavy fog incident.

• Approximately 400 migrating bats killed between August and October 2003.

• Both incidents took place at the Mountaineer wind facility on Backbone Mountain, WV

• According to the National Wind Coordinating Committee, there are about 33,000 documented bird fatalities per year due to the 15,000 wind turbines in America.

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Leading Causes of Bird Deaths

• Habitat Destruction: number one cause of bird and wildlife death and species extinction

• Glass: It is estimated that one bird per year is killed by impact with each of the 100 million homes, apartment buildings, office towers, schools, and storefronts that dot the American landscape. If you include towers and other structures, total kills may be as high as 1 billion per year.

• Cats: about 60 million cats in the U.S. kill hundreds of millions of birds each year, estimates vary.

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Mountaintop Removal

vs.