CLEAN POWER PLANNCSL Policy Workshop
Kenric Scheevel
Sr. Government Relations Representative
Dairyland Power Cooperative
Member owned cooperative created in 1941
Headquartered in La Crosse, WI with 585 employees
1300 MWs of generation and 3200 miles of transmission lines
235,000 members representing 575,000 people
Our member sales are roughly:
– 2/3 residential
– 1/3 commercial/industrial
Dairyland Service Territory
Wisconsin: 18 member cooperatives10 municipal customers
Minnesota: 3 member cooperatives2 municipal customers
Iowa: 3 member cooperatives5 municipal customers
Illinois: 1 member cooperative
Total 25 member cooperatives17 municipal customers
Dairyland Power Cooperative
Utilities are said to be like an ocean liner…
(photo of a large cruise ship)
Dairyland - 2000
Seven coal-fired units –Alma 1-5, Madgett and Genoa 3
One natural gas plant at Elk Mound
One hydroelectric unit – Flambeau Station
One wind project – Chandler Windfarm
– Only 0.7 MW
And not much in the way ofdistributed generation
Dairyland - 2015
One biomass unit – Stoneman
Two hydroelectric units – Flambeau and Sartell
Three coal-fired generating units – Genoa 3, Madgett and Weston 4
Three landfill units – Central Disposal, Seven Mile and Timber Trail
Three solar units – Minnesota 3, CEC, and USFWS
Nine anaerobic digesters
Ten cooperative community solar programs & two more under development
Twelve wind projects
Twenty five MW Solar RFP in progress
And about 625 distributed generation units – of which over 500 are solar
EPA’s Clean Power Plan
Dairyland, like most utilities, has been moving towarda generation portfolio that emits less CO2
Clean Power Plan (CPP)accelerates that movement
Each utility will be impacteddifferently:– State CO2 reduction target– State Implementation Plan (SIP)– Generation portfolio – Age of power plants– How other utilities respond
Energy Policy
CPP is most transformative energy policy since the development of the electric grid
Grid design was based on large central station (baseload) generators coupled with intermediate generators which enable utilities to
instantaneously balance generation with load
The grid as designed
Energy Policy
CPP designed to reduce dependence on fossil fuel
Replaces baseload (fossil fuel plants) with thousands of intermittent generators dispatchedby “mother nature”
Distributed generation may expand that number to tens of thousands of intermittent generators…
Utilities will still be responsible for instantaneously balancing generation with load
The evolving grid
Impact of CPP
Large C/I loads may have interest in reducing their own carbon footprint
For Dairyland:
– Livestock farms
– Server farms
– Frac sand mining
– Ethanol plants
Opportunities to work together
Livestock Farms
Methane digesters to manage waste streams
– Reduce odor & fly populations
– Enhanced fertilization properties of waste stream
– Generate electricity
Have the open spacefor wind turbines
PV solar is becomingpopular on site
Server Farms
Northern climates provide opportunity to reduce their air conditioning load
Require highly reliable electric service – with backup generation capabilities
Expressing high level of interest in reducing their carbon footprint
Frac Sand Mining
Western WI has ideal geology for sand mining
Rapid expansion of mining fueled by new oil and gas recovery methods
Rapid decline of mining load due to low oil and gas prices
Boom and bust cycle doesnot lend frac sand miningto investment in renewabletechnologies
Ethanol Plants
Source of significant load growth in Dairyland’sservice territory over past 15 years
Producing ethanol is an energy intensive process
Sensitive to electricity cost and reliability
Low carbon fuel standard incentives– Combined heat and power
Biomass
Natural gas
– Wind and/or solar
CPP Challenges
Industrial (and residential) consumers wishing to adopt renewable technologies face challenges
Not all megawatts are equal– Baseload – coal, nuclear, hydro, natural gas
– Intermediate – hydro, natural gas
– Intermittent – wind, solar
Consumers who incorporate renewables rely on their utility to “make it work”
Reducing C/I Carbon Footprint
Energy Efficiency audits and action plans– Most cost effective first step
C/I owned renewable energy generation– Interconnection agreements
– Utility purchase of excess generation
– Utility continues to serve remaining load
Impractical for a C/I load to go “off the grid”
Utilizing Intermittent Resources
Reducing C/I Carbon Footprint
Invest in Clean Power Projects– retain RECs and carbon credits for themselves
– Utility buys the electrons
Participate in community solar projects– Benefits of owning renewables, without the hassle
Third party ownership models– No money down lease or ownership models
Environmental Energy Policy
The grid was designed and built by engineers, and described as the most complex “machine” ever built
The grid’s operation was enhanced by economists
EPA’s Clean Power Plan is environmental policy
– That is poised to redefinefederal energy policy
– That will dramatically alterthe operation of the world’smost complex machine
Comments
and
Questions