CEP supports incentives for utilities to pursue all cost-effective electricity savings and avoid unnecessary expenditures on generation and grid additions.
Kansans, like all Americans, face skyrocketing fuel and commodity prices, reliability concerns, and an antiquated grid in need of extensive updates. In the face of all this – and amidst a worsening financial crisis and concerns about pollution in general and climate change in particular – it is time not only to remove perverse incentives but to actively encourage our utilities to sell less rather than ever more energy.
We encourage the KCC to align shareholder and customer interests in reducing use and bills. The NARUC National Energy Efficiency Action Plan states the goal well: “modify policies to align utility incentives with the delivery of cost-effective energy efficiency,” by “addressing the typical utility throughput incentive and removing other regulatory and management disincentives to energy efficiency.”
Our state’s regulated utilities have the power to influence the pace of energy efficiency improvements both directly and indirectly. If our investor-owned utilities embrace energy efficiency as a business model – which they will do only as their shareholders receive a dependable return – they can not only deliver proven programs but also shape state and federal standards and tax credits as well as their customers’ attitudes toward personal efficiency investments and conservation.
With proper incentives, our largest utilities can lower bills for most Kansans, spurring local economic development and preserving our environment and our future options in the process.
News Updates: Another KS coal proposal? the poor PTC, KEC hearing today, MO voters to consider mandatory RES, incentive rate for transmission
September 30, 2008
Given the events of the past couple weeks on Wall St and in Congress… that’s frankly the news I have been following (in horror).
Time to catch up on clean energy news, though. Keep track of the sunshine. Don’t let the rain get you down… etc. I’m sure there’s a country music lyric that suits the situation but can’t think of it at the moment.
Alternative proposal for a new coal plant in Kansas (Clay Center Dispatch). Quotable: “Unless the small town members of the Kansas Power Pool are able to negotiate long-term electric supply contracts with major energy suppliers, the organization would be justified in constructing its own coal or nuclear plant in Kansas, Colin Whitley, KPP general manager told Clay Center Rotarians Thursday noon.”
PTC hanging in limbo (not unlike the current status of the bailout package) (NYTimes). To understand better how the Production Tax Credit is wrapped up with other tax initiatives, you’d best read the whole story. The main point:
“Tax credits for investing in solar energy and producing wind energy will expire at the end of the year unless Congress resolves the impasse, and lawmakers said they saw no immediate prospect of an agreement.
“The deadlock comes at a time when economists and politicians of all stripes are saying the United States must rapidly develop solar, wind and other energy sources as alternatives to oil.”
First Kansas Energy Council public hearing on 2008 policy recs set for today in Wichita (LJWorld). While the bulk of public reaction has been regarding the proposed reduction of the KS speed limit from 70 to 65, there’s a lot more to these recommendations than that. Greenhouse gas reductions, etc… Pay attention. There’s a lot of recs to keep track of.
Editorial - Missouri’s RES/ Clean Energy Initiative sets good goals (KCStar). As many of you know, MO currently has a Renewable Energy Standard (RES) on the ballot for voters to consider in November. It will mandate that investor-owned utilities get 15% of their electricity from renewable sources by 2021.
For transmission junkies - NYState and FERC come to interesting agreement on incentive rate reimbursenment for major transmission line (Windpower Law).
Well - there was a LITTLE bit of sunshine in there. Depending on your view through the window, I expect.
— Maril Hazlett, www.climateandenergy.org
Press Release: CURB on Westar rate case, proposal of new rate design, and recommendation on green pricing
September 30, 2008
Reprinted in full from CURB Press Release:
CURB trims fat from Westar rate request, encourages conservation
September 29, 2008 – Topeka, Kansas.
Today, the Citizens’ Utility Ratepayer Board (CURB) filed Direct Testimony with the Kansas Corporation Commission in response to Westar Energy’s request for rate increases of $87.58 million for its Westar South division customers and $90.04 million for its Westar North customers. (Docket No. 08-WSEE-1041-RTS).
Andrea Crane, CURB’s accounting consultant, recommended that the KCC limit the increases to $56.7 million for Westar North, and to $44.77 million for Westar South, figures which include $27 million in environmental expenditures that has already been approved by the KCC for inclusion in rates.
While Ms. Crane acknowledged that Westar’s recent investments in additional generation justify additional revenues, she objected to the company’s claims for executive compensation and benefits, costs of construction for plants not yet in service, storm-related costs and the level of profits requested for shareholders, stating that they were excessive. She recommended a 9.59% return on equity for shareholders, which would pare $16.4 million from the Westar North increase, and $15.3 million from the Westar South increase.
Michael Majoros, CURB’s depreciation consultant, recommended removal of approximately $6 million in depreciation revenues from the rates of both Westar divisions, citing Westar’s failure to provide sufficient evidence to support its requested increase in depreciation rates for both divisions.
Stacey Harden, CURB’s regulatory analyst, recommended numerous revisions to Westar’s energy-efficiency programs to improve accountability and cost-efficient use of funds contributed by ratepayers. She also recommended that the KCC revisit its approval of Westar’s so-called “Green Tariff” because no additional green energy will be provided with the revenues collected under the tariff beyond that which is already being paid for by Westar’s customers.
Brian Kalcic, CURB’s rate design analyst, recommended a rate structure designed to accomplish two broad goals of the Board. First, so that low-usage customers and fixed income seniors continue to have access to affordable electricity as utility costs increase, the rate for the first 900 kWh of use is maintained at an affordable level. Second, to encourage higher-usage customers to invest in conservation measures to reduce their usage, the rate for usage above 900 kWh is more expensive.
“The cost of providing electric service is increasing as customers are putting more demand on the electric utility system,” said David Springe, Consumer Counsel for CURB. “The Board’s recommendations in this case recognize that rates need to go up to reflect increased costs, but we are also recommending that the Commission trim the fat from shareholder profit and executive compensation.”
The Board’s rate design proposals, he said, are designed to help reduce costly demand on utility facilities. “The Board believes it is time to stop talking about conservation and start acting to achieve conservation,” Springe said. He noted that, “The existing rate structure is a legacy from when utilities had excess base load generation and consumption was thus encouraged. CURB’s rate design, if adopted by the KCC, will encourage conservation and reduce the growth in our usage, while maintaining affordable rates for those most challenged by today’s economic environment.”
Springe also warned that Westar customers are facing other rate increases that will appear on customer bills, regardless of the outcome of this case. According to Springe, the cost of natural gas to run the new Emporia Energy Center and over $20 million per year of wind energy purchases are being added to the fuel cost adjustment on consumers’ bills. He added, “The cost of transmission upgrades currently being constructed is going to show up in one line item on the Westar bill, and expenditures on environmental upgrades to Westar’s coal plants will show up in another line item.”
“Regardless of how much of the $177 million increase requested by Westar will actually be granted by the KCC, consumers will see tens of millions of dollars of rate increases through these other line-item charges created by the legislature and the KCC,” said Springe.
Reprinted in full from the Eagle:
MARK PARKINSON: MOVE PAST FAILED PROPOSAL
In response to the commentary by Earl Watkins, CEO of Sunflower Electric Power Corp. (”Holcomb would help supply base-load power,” Sept. 26 Opinion): Last year Sunflower Electric insisted that we build two large coal plants for Colorado and Texas. In return, Kansas would get 100 percent of the pollution, give up 100 percent of the water and only get 15 percent of the electricity.
Sunflower told us this was necessary to keep electric rates low. Sunflower is wrong. Its ratepayers would have to pay — not only for the health costs associated with coal plants but for the financial costs of future federal carbon regulation.
Sunflower told us that without the coal plant, transmission lines would never be built in Kansas. Sunflower was wrong. For the first time in 30 years, there are five transmission projects in development.
Sunflower told us that without the new transmission, we wouldn’t have new wind farms built in Kansas. But in two short years, we have nearly tripled our wind power in Kansas from 364 megawatts to 1,013 megawatts by the end of 2008.
Sunflower told us that without its coal plant, Kansas wouldn’t have enough base-load power. But according to Sunflower’s own documents, it has enough base-load power to last until the year 2019, at which point it would be short only 176 megawatts.
Sunflower’s argument has been reduced to this: Because we need 176 megawatts of power 10 years from now, we must immediately build 1,400 megawatts for Colorado and Texas.
By Sunflower’s own admission, even if the company built these plants, Kansas will still need power in the future. I think we should take care of Kansas customers and Kansas power needs first.
In the next 10 years, Kansas customers will need about another 600 megawatts of power. That is why Gov. Kathleen Sebelius offered Sunflower a compromise: Let’s build a smaller plant that places Kansas’ energy needs first, while still generating some power for export. Sunflower rejected that proposal.
It’s time for Sunflower Electric to move past the failed proposals of the past and move forward toward a new business model, one that recognizes the changing market in fossil fuels and embraces Kansas — its wind, its customers and its future.
Lt. Gov. MARK PARKINSON
Topeka
Public invited to K-State Extension Agents conference to hear about climate change and soil sequestration, October 21
September 29, 2008
Reprinted in full from Southwest Farm Press:
National authorities on global climate change will be at Kansas State University Oct. 21, leading the first open-to-the-public session ever offered as part of a K-State Research and Extension Annual Conference.
“We designed the afternoon session as professional development in a subject that´s shaping up to be a real scientific and educational challenge for our statewide network of faculty from now on. Then we realized, however, that by inviting the public, we´d also get a head start on meeting that challenge,” said Daryl Buchholz, K-State´s associate director of Extension and Applied Research.
Many Kansans already are concerned about climate change – which actions to take, what policies to adopt and whether “green” income is even possible, he said. Many also want to know what´s fact and what´s guesswork in today´s climate-change discussion.
They can gain insights into all those concerns, Buchholz added, on the third Tuesday in October from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. in the K-State Union´s main auditorium.
“To give you an idea of whom you can hear: Two of the presenters served on the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. They were among the world scientists who helped author the IPCC report that shared the Nobel Peace Price last year with Vice President Al Gore,” the associate director said. “In addition, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius recently appointed the two Kansas researchers to her Kansas Energy and Environmental Policy Group.”
The K-State session´s major topics and presenters will include:
“Climate Change Impacts: Global, National, and Regional” – Johannes Feddema, professor of geography at the University of Kansas.
“Adaptation to Climate Change” - Jerry Hatfield, lead scientist and director of the National Soil Tilth Lab, a division of USDA´s Agricultural Research Service in Ames, Iowa.
“Mitigation of Climate Change: Agricultural Sequestration” - Charles “Chuck” Rice, K-State professor of soil microbiology and specialist in carbon sequestration.
“Climate Change Policy and Economics” - Susan Capalbo, head of the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at Oregon State University.
In a shorter segment, Steve Swaffer, director of natural resources for Kansas Farm Bureau, will describe a new program that allows farmers to earn soil carbon credits that can provide access to revenue-making opportunities on the recently opened U.S. carbon market.
Ray Hammarlund, director of the Kansas Corporation Commission´s Energy Programs Division, will join the discussion in the session´s last segment, to cover Kansas´ current climate policy.
More information about the half-day workshop is available by contacting Chuck Rice at 785-521-6094 or cwrice@ksu.edu.
Former KCC Chairman Brian Moline passes away after stroke
September 29, 2008
Clipped in full from Wichita Eagle:
Former KCC chairman Moline dies after stroke
BY DION LEFLER
Brian Moline, the former chairman of the Kansas Corporation Commission and a former Wichita state legislator, died early today after suffering a massive stroke last week, officials said.
He was 68.
As a utility regulator, Mr. Moline was a key figure in the state investigation into the financial dealings of Westar Energy that led to the firing and federal prosecution of the company’s then-chief executive, David Wittig.
Mr. Moline, a lawyer, was well-known for his commitment to public-interest law.
He was founder of Kansas Legal Services, which provides legal aid to the poor.
He also is credited as the primary architect of the Cold Weather Rule, a state regulation that protects the poor from having their utilities disconnected during winter months.
For full details, see Tuesday’s Wichita Eagle.
Chairman Moline provided tremendous service to the state of Kansas. CEP sends its thoughts and prayers to his family and friends.
— Maril Hazlett, www.climateandenergy.org
New Kansas wind maps posted - 100m, 70m, 50m, 30m
September 29, 2008
As those of you who attended last week’s Wind and Renewable Energy Conference already know, the Energy Division of the KCC has released the new KS wind maps.
Kansas Wind Maps (new Sept. 200 
* 100 meter Mean Annual Power Density Map
* 100 meter Mean Annual Wind Speed Map
* 70 meter Mean Annual Power Density Map
* 70 meter Mean Annual Wind Speed Map
* 50 meter Mean Annual Power Density Map
* 50 meter Mean Annual Wind Speed Map
* 30 meter Mean Annual Power Density Map
* 30 meter Mean Annual Wind Speed Map
It’s too early to be messing with links and getting them right, so for all the ones I probably messed up please check the original KCC page.
What’s the significance of these maps? As far as the 100m, I will simply quote an email from Jerry Brown, a wind advocate who lives near Salina.
If you compare the two maps, you will notice that the area of red is about ten times greater on the 100 meter map than the 70 meter map.
(Look at) the wind power density map at 100 meters (328 ft). This shows that almost the entire western half of Kansas is in the red power density level, which is where the largest most powerful turbines operate best. 100 meters is the hub height of the 3 megawatt wind turbines now being installed near Concordia, Scott City, and Medicine Lodge. By the KCC releasing this map, the wind energy industry worldwide will now know where some of the best consistent wind on the planet is located and that there is a lot of room to locate turbines of the most powerful kind.
EDIT: A correction - the hub height at Meridian Way is actually 80m. 125m is tip height. 100m is the zone where these big turbines get their energy.
As far as the smaller maps - 30m is a lot closer to the height you need for small wind. When I check out the general area of my house, the density is better than the wind speed, interesting.
Remember, there’s no substitute for putting up an anemometer to take your own reading. Or you can check out AWSTruewind’s Navigator tool - you type in your address and it helps you drill down much closer to your own information.
Sometimes that tool makes people who live in comparatively less windy NE KS feel better - because those of us who live up in the hills have a better wind resource than those who live down in the sheltered valleys and watersheds.
— Maril Hazlett, www.climateandenergy.org
Different version of PTC passes House, two versions aren’t that close, looks like a possible veto…? Hmm.
September 29, 2008
Ganked pretty much in full from the Wall St. Journal’s Environmental Capital blog:
Dept. of Futile Gestures: House Passes Energy Tax Credits, To No Avail
Posted by Keith Johnson
Put away the champagne, and park those plans to buy new solar panels for the roof.
The House passed its version of the energy and tax package, which is different from the Senate version and which isn’t to the White House’s liking.
That means, for all intents and purposes, that the long-awaited renewal of tax credits for renewable energy are on hold again—unless the House and Senate can somehow reconcile their different versions over the weekend and avoid a White House veto. The other alternative is that Congress comes back for a tenth time in a lame-duck session after the election to try to tackle energy tax policy again.
Both the House and Senate had included some juicy incentives for all sorts of energy, from a one-year extension for wind-power tax credits to fat incentives for homeowners to install pricey solar-power systems. But the House’s insistence on actually paying for the tax credits with tax hikes elsewhere appears to have derailed what looked like the best shot at renewing the credits.
The legislative stalemate will just prolong the agony for America’s clean-energy sector. Both the wind and solar power industries rely on the tax credits to bridge the gap with traditional power sources; renewable-energy companies have been clamoring all year for a renewal of the tax credits to avoid a near-total shutdown in green-energy installations next year. The logjam will affect other sectors, too, like the coal industry, which stood to rake in billions in support for new clean-coal projects.
The breakdown will also affect people who aren’t building massive wind farms, but just wanted to get solar power or a mini-wind turbine for their house. A typical $40,000 solar array for home use is currently only eligible for $2,000 in federal tax credits, which doesn’t help defray costs much (though many states like California still offer juicy incentives.) Homeowners stood to see as much as $12,000 in tax breaks under the House and Senate plans for that home solar installation. Bringing down the upfront cost of solar installation is key to boosting residential use of renewable energy.
Both presidential campaigns are heavy on clean-energy rhetoric, and “green collar” jobs has become a mantra this election year. Will a lame-duck Congress be able to make that rhetoric a reality, after so many failures?
Kansas and wind power potential
September 26, 2008
Reprinted in full from Salina Journal/ Harris News:
Kansas aims to cash in on wind power
By CHRIS GREEN
TOPEKA — Renewable energy boosters said Wednesday that this year’s significant expansion of wind energy production in Kansas could be just a starting point.
Speakers at this year’s Kansas Wind & Renewable Energy Conference in Topeka envisioned a future in which wind power becomes a major export for the state.
Lt. Gov. Mark Parkinson said that while wind power can help meet Kansas’ own power needs, there’s even more potential for providing electricity to other states.
As a result, Parkinson said that with the right amount of help, wind power could transform into a major economic force in the state.
“I don’t think it’s a matter of if it’s going to happen,” Parkinson said, “but a matter of when it’s going to happen.”
Parkinson compared the situation with wind energy in Kansas right now to being in Oklahoma when oil was discovered or being in Silicon Valley as the technology boom ramped up.
But he and other wind energy experts also said it may take congressional action, including an extension of federal tax breaks for wind energy, to help make new wind projects cheaper than coal-fired power.
Legislation extending the wind energy production tax credit, which helps make wind power more competitive with coal and other traditional power sources, easily passed the Senate on Tuesday. But the $17 billion tax-break bill for renewable energy still must clear the House.
Parkinson said the state’s wind industry also could benefit from a carbon tax or a cap-and-trade system to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions causing climate change. Such limits could help increase the demand for the state’s wind resources to meet power needs.
Kansas also would be an “enormous winner” if Congress passed national standard requiring utilities to produce a certain amount of their power from renewable sources, he said.
Parkinson said supporters of renewable energy should educate and lobby Congress, including the state’s own delegation, to support such a move.
But experts said the state also needs an expansion of high-voltage electric transmission lines, such as the V-plan that two utilities are competing to build in southwest and south-central Kansas.
In the meantime, wind energy production, some of which already is exported, is undergoing a significant expansion in the state. By the end of the year, the state’s wind farms could be producing 1,013 megawatts of electricity, up from the 364 megawatts being churned out at the beginning of the year.
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ administration has trumpeted the fact that Kansas would be the first state to top the 1,000-megawatt mark without writing mandates in state law requiring utilities to use renewable energy.
But estimates suggest the state’s overall wind energy potential isn’t close to being met. Michael Eckhart, president of the American Council on Renewable Energy, said the state’s maximum wind potential is 120,000 megawatts, or 12 times bigger than the state’s peak load.
He notes that both wind and solar energy, which western Kansas also has great potential to produce, would seem to be a good fit with the state’s farming culture.
In the right direction?
Some scenarios suggest that Kansas could be capable of producing as much as 8,000 to 10,000 megawatts of wind power in the coming decades, The Wind Coalition of Austin, Texas, said in a news release.
The state could use up to 3,000 megawatts for itself and the rest could be used to help meet a national goal of providing 20 percent of electricity through wind power by 2030, the group said.
“Kansas has a far greater wind resource than it can use, so there is a tremendous opportunity to build out more wind energy to export to other markets,” said Paul Sadler, the group’s executive director.
Touting wind energy as a possible export comes at the some time that Parkinson and other critics have opposed a coal-plant project in southwest Kansas.
More than 80 percent of the electricity from Sunflower Electric Power Corp.’s proposed $3.6 billion expansion would have gone to nearby states. The plant expansion was blocked by the Sebelius’ administration.
Critics of the project said the plants would have left the state with all of the project’s pollution but little of the power.
Proponents countered that the plants would be the state’s most efficient and that exporting power would be beneficial to the state by providing jobs and economic development. They also argued wind was too intermittent to be widely depended on as a power source.
But Eckhart said he believed that the benefits of renewable energy production exceed those of coal power because so much money would leave the Kansas to pay for a fuel source being mined outside the state. Growth in the state’s wind industry could put the state in line to gain the wind-industry manufacturing jobs that have eluded it thus far, a manager at a company that designs, manufactures and install turbines said.
Christopher Mone, business development manager at Vestas-American Wind Development, said Kansas is well-position to gain those jobs, which have presently clustered in other states, including Colorado.
Eckhart said that during the past six years, Kansas has shed about 6 percent of its manufacturing work force, but new wind farms could help bring those jobs back by the thousands.
Parkinson said the state’s lack of renewable energy mandates and a perception that Kansas policymakers might not be friendly to wind has initially hindered the state’s efforts to land manufacturers.
But the state is now positioned to begin landing some of those jobs as its production of wind power expands, he said.
“There is really no reason why Kansas shouldn’t be the No. 1 state in the country in terms of renewable energy and we’ll continue to head in that direction,” Parkinson said.
Couldn’t make the KS Wind/ Renewables Conference this week? The KS media has you covered.
September 26, 2008
Here’s a start on the excellent coverage of this week’s ninth annual KCC-sponsored Wind and Renewable Energy Conference. I’m not going to get it all posted this morning, but hopefully soon.
Kansas aims to cash in on wind power (Salina Journal/ Harris News)
NASA scientist warns Kansans about CO2 emissions (Dodge Globe)
Global warming reaches emergency status (Salina Journal)
Some of the coverage also got wrapped up with the fact that KS had NASA scientist and climatologist James Hansen in town the day after the KS Chamber of Commerce heard from global warming skeptic and scientist Roy V. Spencer.
There were definitely varying takes on the contrast between the two speakers. This contrast is also not unconnected to the Kansas coal controversy.
NASA scientist urges action on global warming; His speech at clear odds with sentiment of researcher who says CO2 not to blame (Hutch/ Harris News)
Energy summit sparks debate, Coal plants may be back on table for legislature (TCJournal)
Speaker: CO2 not to blame for global warming (Hutch/ Harris News)
Editorial - Renewable Energy Must be Embraced (TCJournal)
— Maril Hazlett, www.climateandenergy.org
Kansas lags other states in net metering
September 26, 2008
Reprinted in full from the LJWorld:
Kansas lags in energy conservation, protecting environment
State falls behind in process known as net metering
by Christine Metz
This is the year for talk about which states are red and which ones are blue.
But in the midst of an energy crisis and rising concerns over carbon emissions, some are focused on a different color: green.
And in the past year, Kansas has been shaded as a murky brown.
In 2007, Forbes magazine ranked Kansas No. 31 when it comes to protecting the environment.
Environment America, in a report on the nation’s clean energy policies, identified Kansas as one of 16 states where “efforts lag significantly behind those in … the rest of the country.”
In a state scorecard released by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, Kansas was No. 34, receiving poor marks for how much utilities spend on conservation, tax incentives, appliance standards and transportation policies.
One area where Kansas falls behind others, alternative energy advocates say, is the lack of compensation — known as net metering — that homeowners receive for the alternative energy they produce and do not use. That extra energy gets sent back into the electric grid.
“For Kansas, the matter now is not forward thinking; we are just trying to get into the 20th century,” said Aron Cromwell, vice president and CEO of the Lawrence-based Cromwell Environmental.
Turning on the switch
According to the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, Kansas is one of a half dozen states that don’t have a net metering law.
The way most net metering laws work is that when customers who generate their own power, such as solar, generate more power than they actually use, they can in essence run their meter backward. But often the return is just less than half the true cost of the electricity, or roughly about 3 cents per kilowatt hour compared with a retail rate of about 7 cents.
Advocates for a net metering law would like the alternative energy producers to be paid the retail rate or something closer to that 7 cent marker.
“We have nothing in the state of Kansas to help us out,” said Cromwell, who has installed photovoltaic and solar hot water panels in the region.
Net metering would encourage homeowners and particularly businesses to build larger solar power systems, he said.
Jim Ploger, manager of climate and energy programs for the Kansas Corporation Commission, said not having net metering discourages small wind and solar companies from selling their products here. Some vendors even ignore Kansas.
“The pay-out is so far out in the future, it’s not economically viable,” Ploger said.
More importantly, Ploger said, the very fact that Kansas doesn’t have a net metering law can be a detractor for big-scale renewable energy businesses (like wind farms and turbine manufacturers) looking to locate to the state.
“We’re not practicing what we preach. Net metering has no factor in commercial wind farms, but it is part of an image,” he said.
Kansas and solar energy are a nice fit. The state has decent potential for capturing the sun’s rays (not as strong as Arizona, but not as weak as New Hampshire). And, solar energy is often at its best when electric companies need it the most — on those 100-degree-plus days in August when air-conditioners are cranking.
Installing solar panels would help electric companies on those peak days.
“A few kilowatts here and few kilowatts there and pretty soon it starts to add up,” Ploger said.
A good idea?
Not everyone believes that net metering is such a good idea or that it’s fair. Among them is Dick Rohlfs, Westar Energy’s director of retail rates.
Rohlfs agrees that electric companies should pay small alternative energy producers more than just the fuel costs. The reimbursement should also cover the savings from incremental operation and maintenance costs and the energy that is lost to get the electricity from the plant into the system.
But the retail price isn’t a fair one either, he said.
Of Westar’s 670,000 customers, only 50 to 60 of them produce energy that can be sent back into the electric grid. And, only around five produce more energy than what they take from Westar in a given month.
When the wind stops blowing and the sun no longer shines, those customers rely on Westar for backup energy. And they expect the company to have generation equipment and transmission lines to provide them with electricity, he said.
But, if those alternative energy producers were reimbursed at retail rates, that capacity is a cost they wouldn’t be paying, Rohlfs said.
“We are there to serve them whenever they demand energy,” Rohlfs said.
And David Springe, consumer counsel for the Citizens’ Utility Ratepayer Board, is afraid it’s a cost that will get passed along to everyone else who pays the electric bills. As the appointed representative for utility consumers, Springe sees net metering as a way to subsidize electricity for those who have the thousands of dollars to install solar panels.
Those who couldn’t afford them would be on the losing end, Springe said.
If there are going to be subsidies, Springe said he would prefer they go toward energy conservation efforts for low-income housing.
State Rep. Tom Sloan, R-Lawrence, said there needs to be a middle ground.
“Yes we need to provide incentives to assist in meeting the total energy need. But we also need to recognize that a utility has the responsibility to be a provider of last resort. And they have costs associated with that responsibility,” Sloan said.
From proposal to law
At the last legislative session, a net metering law for solar energy was proposed as part of a packaged energy deal. Overshadowed by the political fireworks from the proposed coal-fired power plant in Holcomb, it received little attention.
It wasn’t the first time the matter was before state lawmakers. And Sloan suspects it will come back.
Cromwell is among those who would like the issue to return to the Capitol.
Cromwell testified before the Missouri Legislature, which passed a net metering law last year. He predicts that it will take more lobbying and funding before something similar is enacted in Kansas.
“It’s just the beginning. It’s just a small step,” Cromwell said. “But it’s sad if we fall behind Missouri in our level of progressiveness.”
PTC has made it past the Senate (as everyone knows by now)
September 25, 2008
While CEP was a-confererencing in Topeka, the Production Tax Credit (PTC) made it through the Senate by a heretofore thoroughly unexpected margin - 93-2 or something like that. From the AWEA release:
Senate overwhelmingly passes PTC Extension. Crucial House vote expected late this week.
The U.S. Senate just voted overwhelmingly, 93 to 2, to approve legislation containing a one-year extension of the crucial wind energy Production Tax Credit (PTC) through December 31, 2009. The bill, H.R. 6049, also would create a new investment tax credit for purchases of small wind systems used to power homes, farms and small businesses.
Next, the bill must be approved by the full House of Representatives in a vote late this week. Once again, your voices are crucial in order to clear this final hurdle before Congress adjourns at the end of September. This vote is the last opportunity this year for Congress to extend the PTC.
Wind energy is not only a significant component of the global warming solution, but also a powerful engine in the U.S. economy. Since January 2007, more than 40 wind industry manufacturing facilities have been announced, brought online, or expanded in the U.S., creating over 9,000 jobs and $1 billion in manufacturing investment. When the PTC has lapsed in the past, wind energy investments have fallen 73-93% in the following years. We cannot allow this bright spot in our economy to burn out.
Now of course the PTC has to make it past the House. Which it has done before, but not in this particular bill formulation. (Note the small wind credit now included in the bill.)
And Congress is, um, going through a challenging period right now.
So let’s all send them happy thoughts. They can pull through, they can do the right thing, they can restore our trust. Yay Congress! Go Congress! Hang in there. Don’t stamp out the brave, plucky (and really lonely) little bright spot in America’s long-term economic future… listen to the good angel… Etc.
As always, regardless of your particular position on this policy intiative, do share your thoughts (and loving support) with your elected representative (find them through www.congress.org).
For the CEP fact sheet on the PTC, click here.
— Maril Hazlett, www.climateandenergy.org
Blogstorm today, sorry - and Horizon Wind announces major grassland mitigation and offsets project
September 25, 2008
Lots of catching up to do. There will probably be too many posts coming now for people to read. Sorry!
CEP has been out of the office at the fantastic 9th annual KCC-sponsored Wind and Renewable Energy Fair. Huge shout out to the Energy Programs Division and all the KCC personnel, who hosted a really wonderful event.
In the morass of posts that have come/ will be coming, I didn’t want anyone to lose sight of this one. Horizon Wind Energy, which is developing the Meridian Way project up in Concordia, has worked out a grassland mitigation project with the Ranchland Trust of Kansas and the Nature Conservancy of Kansas.
From the Horizon Press release:
Horizon Wind Energy will invest in a 20,000-acre offsite habitat restoration program, including an anticipated 13,100 acres of permanent conservation easements, which will benefit numerous species of grassland birds, with targeted benefits for the greater prairie-chicken.
Horizon’s investment agreement, brokered by Wayne Walker Conservation Consulting LLC, will supplement additional investment provided by wildlife conservation groups and state and federal agencies. The purpose of this venture is to offset the potential on-site impacts of Horizon’s Meridian Way Wind Farm on the greater prairie-chicken and other grassland species. According to the agreement, the Conservancy may advance loans to RTK, if needed, to assure timely completion of major habitat restoration and protection work. Ranchland Trust of Kansas will hold and manage the associated conservation easements.
“Horizon believes that wind energy must be developed in a responsible and progressive manner that moves towards achieving a sustainable domestic energy supply while protecting local ecological resources. We are happy to make this investment in the natural environment of the State of Kansas,” said Chief Development Officer, Gabriel Alonso.
“We are excited about this project, because it provides a rare opportunity to leverage significant private resources for the permanent protection of privately owned grasslands, improvement of grazing resources, and enhancement of wildlife habitat on privately owned ranch lands,” said Mike Beam, Executive Director of RTK. “The RTK Board of Directors has a passion for conserving our nation’s grasslands for future generations, and this project is a big boost in our efforts to make a difference. RTK’s volunteer Board of Directors and staff are grateful to have gained Horizon’s confidence in our ability to do the job.”
Horizon Wind Energy hired a team of world-class Kansas prairie scientists in 2003 to determine the potential local ecological impacts of the construction and operation of the Meridian Way Wind Farm, located in Cloud County. The team included Professor Emeritus of Kansas State University and Kansas’ leading prairie grouse biologist, Dr. Robert Robel; Kansas State University Professor of Park Management and Conservation, Dr. Ted Cable; and Prairie Ecologist of the Kansas Biological Survey, Dr. Kelly Kindscher. Their multi-year effort resulted in the best available research and studies on conservation in Kansas’ special grassland ecosystem. In addition, Horizon invited the Kansas Chapter of The Nature Conservancy to visit the Meridian Way Wind Farm site to provide an independent habitat impact assessment early in the development phase.
The outcome of the pre-construction investigations was a detailed report describing the likely risks the project might pose to the greater prairie-chicken, other grassland birds, and the grassland prairie ecosystem that occupies a portion of the project footprint. The study sited possible impacts resulting from habitat fragmentation from roads and the presence of tall wind turbine towers. The report further recommends how to effectively mitigate for impacts to the greater prairie-chicken and the likely costs associated with mitigating voluntarily.
Based upon these scientific findings, Horizon Wind Energy committed to fund a voluntary conservation program and included the cost of the ecological offsets program into the wind farm’s financial model. When the company responded to utilities’ requests for proposals for wind energy, the energy price “internalized” the projected local environmental impact, which is typically treated as an “externality” in traditional economic models.
Avoiding net ecological losses often associated with such development in native prairies will allow this project to provide “green” energy in a more holistic sense of the term. The benefits to Horizon included the opportunity to uniquely market the Meridian Way Wind Farm by highlighting the use of voluntarily conservation for on-site impacts as a competitive advantage in the marketplace and providing Meridian Way’s customers with the assurance that they would buy electricity from a full-cycle, responsibly developed project.
Horizon is optimistic that this project and associated conservation will set a high standard for responsible development across the wind industry as wind provides an ever greater percentage of both the nation’s and world’s energy supply. Meridian Way Wind Farm, with 201 MW of installed capacity, will power more than 65,000 homes served by The Empire Electric District and Westar Energy in the Kansas region with clean, renewable energy.
The Conservancy’s Kansas State Director, Alan Pollom, sees great promise for the implementation of this project. “In addition to the habitat rehabilitation and protection benefits, it also sets a solid standard for ecologically responsible wind energy development. I would urge all wind developers and power purchasers to embrace the reality that concern for our environment extends well beyond the issue of air emissions. We applaud the Ranchland Trust of Kansas for their leadership, as well as Horizon for their enlightened approach to this initiative.”
CEP will also be out of the office Friday - it is of course the weekend of the Prairie Festival, the annual shebang hosted by our founder, the Land Institute in Salina. Author Barbara Kingsolver is the headliner, very exciting. We will see lots of you there, I know, so please do say hi!
— Maril Hazlett, www.climateandenergy.org
Editorial from the Wichita Eagle on climate change, economic development and leadership in Kansas
September 25, 2008
Reprinted in full from the Wichita Eagle:
Kansas Chamber protecting past
For the editorial board, Rhonda Holman
While Gov. Kathleen Sebelius was boldly taking T. Boone Pickens’ energy independence pledge this week, trying to put the state at the energy forefront for the new century, the Kansas Chamber of Commerce was proudly hosting a speech by a global warming denier who wonders “if maybe more carbon dioxide is a good thing.”
Welcome to Kansas, where the state’s leading business organization spends its time and resources protecting the past’s old, dirty, fossil-fuel-driven way of doing business.
The keynote speaker at the Kansas Chamber’s Business and Energy Summit on Monday in Topeka was Roy Spencer, a research scientist at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and author of “Climate Confusion.”
“There are many of us skeptical of mankind being the cause of global warming,” he said, explaining that he attributes the Earth’s warming to natural climate cycles rather than increasing greenhouse gases produced by burning fossil fuels such as oil and coal.
Even if man has something to do with the changes, Spencer asked, “Why is it wrong for the climate to be different because we are here?”
And when Maynard Oliverius, the president and CEO of Stormont-Vail HealthCare, observed that carbon dioxide emissions have greatly increased in recent years, Spencer responded, “So what? What’s your point?”
The point is that Spencer’s thinking puts him at odds with the overwhelming majority of the world’s climate experts. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded with “very high confidence” that human behavior is driving global warming and warns of the urgent need for government action to reduce greenhouse gases.
Another speaker at the summit, Margo Thorning, chief economist for the conservative think tank American Council for Capital Formation, warned that limiting and taxing carbon dioxide emissions would hurt the economic and cost jobs (a view she also shared to a select audience Tuesday in Wichita, hosted by Koch Industries). And last month, the Kansas Chamber brought an environmental lawyer to Wichita to argue against Kansas taking any action on its own to cut greenhouse gases.
Such arguments overlook the potentially huge economic losses from unchecked global warming. A recent case study by the National Conference of State Legislatures concluded that Kansas could suffer economic losses of more than $1 billion due to climate change.
These myopic views also don’t recognize the opportunity to be on the leading edge of the green economy. A new report by the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst predicted that green investment in Kansas could add about 20,000 jobs and $900 million to the state economy.
As a private organization, the Kansas Chamber can pursue the agenda of its choice, however out of step it may be with reality and the scientific consensus. But at some point its members ought to stand up and cry out for more enlightened, forward-looking representation.
Meanwhile, Sebelius and Lt. Gov. Mark Parkinson are to be credited for working to claim a place for Kansas in the new energy frontier. In seconding Pickens’ call for the next president to deliver to Congress a comprehensive energy plan in his first 100 days, Sebelius noted that “with Kansas being the third-windiest state in the nation, this is an incredible opportunity for our rural communities.”
Sebelius gets it. Too bad the Kansas Chamber does not.
Acconia wind farms planned for Kansas
September 25, 2008
Reprinted in full from the Hays Daily News:
Wind farm in works for northwest Kansas
By MIKE CORN
COLBY, Kan. (AP) — Construction on a new 72-tower wind farm in Thomas County could begin before the end of the year.
A second wind farm is being planned for Hamilton County by Acconia Energy North America, a subsidiary of Acconia, based in Madrid, Spain.
Both projects still are on the drawing board, so details likely will change before construction actually begins, according to Eric Schneider, director of marketing and communications for Acconia. Schneider said he is a Topeka native now living in Chicago.
The proposed wind farms represent some of the green economic benefits discussed earlier this month by the Center for American Progress and heralded by the Kansas Sierra Club.
In its report, the center suggests Kansas would gain a small slice of the $100 billion in benefits that would derive from a green economy. Most of the $881 million benefit to Kansas, the group said, would go to existing groups for retrofitting buildings, mass transit and alternative sources of energy.
The group is suggesting an increase of slightly more than 20,000 jobs in Kansas would come from green jobs.
Some of those jobs would be created for projects such as the Solomon Creek wind project in the Colby area. That project would include 72 1.5-megawatt towers. The turbines would produce 108 megawatts of power.
The nacelles — the uppermost unit that houses all the generating components — will come from Acconia’s own manufacturing plant in West Branch, Iowa. The towers and blades will be purchased on the open market.
The Hamilton County wind farm, called the Bear Creek project, will be slightly larger, Schneider said, with 90 towers capable of producing 135 megawatts.
The total number of towers at either location could change by the time construction begins, he said.
Schneider said Acconia is looking at the two projects because of the wind resources available in the western part of the state.
“We do have assessments all over the state and the Midwest,” he said.
Specifically, the wind assessments for the area where the land is available is drawing the company to Thomas County.
“We also have to have access to transmission lines,” Schneider said.
In the Thomas County case, Acconia would tap into transmission lines owned by Sunflower Electric.
Although specifics of the project likely will change, Schneider said it is a project that is far along in the planning process.
Wind assessments already have been done.
“We’re getting pretty far down the path,” he said. “We haven’t broken ground, but we know wind capacity is good.”
That leaves working with landowners and owners of transmission lines.
“We’re hoping to break ground this year,” he said.
The Thomas and Hamilton county projects would be the first in the Kansas for Acconia, but not the first in the United States. It has four wind projects in Canada and two in the United States.
Acconia is an international company, with much of its work focusing on renewable energy projects, such as wind, solar and hydrogen projects. The company has desalinization projects in Florida and California.
Perhaps its most visible project is the Nevada Solar One, a bank of curved mirrors that produces steam to turn a turbine producing 64 megawatts of electricity.
NASA scientist James Hansen speaks at KS Wind/ Renewables conference; KS Chamber speaker day before has different take on climate change
September 25, 2008
Reprinted in full from Lawrence Journal-World:
By Scott Rothschild
NASA climate expert warns of dire results of global warming
Experts in green energy hit the state capitol on Tuesday. The keynote speaker was a climate expert from NASA.
As sea level rises because of melting ice sheets like this one in Greenland, so do the risks to the more than 1 billion people living in costal areas around the world, warns James Hansen, of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies.
As sea level rises because of melting ice sheets like this one in Greenland, so do the risks to the more than 1 billion people living in costal areas around the world, warns James Hansen, of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies.
TOPEKA — One day after a scientist told Kansas leaders not to worry about global warming, one of the leading experts on climate change stated Tuesday that if carbon dioxide emissions continue to increase it will eventually mean the end of life.
“If we don’t get this thing under control we are going to destroy the creation,” said James Hansen, who heads the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and was one of the first scientists to raise the alarm about global warming in the 1980s.
Speaking to more than 500 people at the Kansas Wind and Renewable Energy Conference, Hansen called for policymakers to phase out coal-burning power plants by 2030. This will reduce carbon dioxide emissions that he said have already caused serious and possibly irreversible damage to Earth.
“We do have a planetary emergency,” Hansen said.
Hansen said some scientists claim global warming is part of a natural climate cycle by pointing to past eras of higher temperatures.
But Hansen said the CO2 increases over the past few decades have been caused by humans burning fossil fuels, such as coal, oil and natural gas. Along with the increase in CO2 have come dramatic temperature shifts and environmental distress signals, such as the melting of glaciers, rising sea levels and expansion of deserts, he said.
“Humans are now controlling the mechanisms for climate change,” he said.
He said many energy companies try to confuse the issue in the public’s mind and are successful because some of the environmental changes take decades to detect. He accused those fossil fuel companies of being guilty of “crimes against humanity and nature.”
Hansen said the increase of CO2 must and can be reversed. In addition to removing coal-burning electric plants, he called on increased use of renewable energy and nuclear energy.
On Monday, research scientist Roy Spencer, who wrote “Climate Confusion,” said at a Kansas Chamber of Commerce event that burning fossil fuels wasn’t the cause of climate change, and that even if it was, the environment would be able to absorb the changes.
But Lt. Gov. Mark Parkinson, who introduced Hansen at the renewable energy conference, said, “The overwhelming amount of scientific evidence is that climate change is real and we have reached a point that if we don’t do something about it, future generations will be adversely affected.”
Parkinson said businesses that deal with climate change will be the ones that thrive.
“Companies that will survive the next 10, 20, 30, 50 years are companies that recognize these changes are taking place and will take advantage of them,” he said.
Hansen called on the United States to take the lead in reducing CO2 emissions, noting that it has produced the most. He said at some point humans will have to do without fossil fuels because there is a finite supply.
“Why not do it a little sooner and save the planet in the meantime?” he said.
Hansen also praised Kansas politicians who earlier this year blocked the construction of two coal-fired power plants in western Kansas.
“At least you have leaders who are trying to do the right thing,” he said.
The previous day scientist Roy Spencer spoke to the Kansas Chamber of Commerce. Spencer’s take on climate change is different than Hansen’s. Also reprinted from the LJW:
Kansas Chamber of Commerce lends ear to scientist who disputes man-made global warming
By Scott Rothschild
Roy Spencer, a climate change research scientist for the University of Alabama in Huntsville, disputes that human-introduced elements such as carbon dioxide are to blame for global climate change. Spencer spoke on Monday, Sept. 22, 2008 to legislative leaders, lobbyists and leading business officials at the Kansas Chamber of Commerce business and energy summit in Topeka.
TOPEKA — Global warming? So what.
That was the message Monday from research scientist and best-selling author Roy Spencer to legislative leaders, lobbyists and leading business officials at the Kansas Chamber of Commerce business and energy summit.
Spencer is a principal research scientist at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and author of “Climate Confusion.”
Spencer doesn’t deny that Earth is warming, but he attributes that to natural climate cycles and not to the increase in greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels.
“There are many of us skeptical of mankind being the cause of global warming,” he said.
And, he said, increased carbon dioxide is not a bad thing, and can either be absorbed by the environment or have positive effects, such as increased agricultural production.
Most scientists disagree with Spencer’s findings. They believe increases in carbon dioxide from human burning of fossil fuels, such as coal and oil, are causing climate changes that, if left unchecked, will result in catastrophic flooding, storms, famine and changes in the environment.
But Spencer said nature is always changing in ways that produce winners and losers. Even if mankind is affecting the environment, he asked, “Why is it wrong for the climate to be different because we are here?”
During a question-and-answer session, Stormont-Vail HealthCare president and chief executive officer Maynard Oliverius noted that carbon dioxide emissions have skyrocketed in recent years. “So what?” Spencer said. “What’s your point?”
Spencer also advised the several hundred people in attendance not to trust the mainstream media on the topic of carbon dioxide emissions and climate change.
“You will be misled on what is out there in the scientific literature,” he said.
Nancy Jackson, executive director of the Climate and Energy Project at the Land Institute in Salina, attended the forum and said Spencer’s talk supported the position of the Kansas Chamber of Commerce, which has urged the construction of two coal-fired power plants in southwest Kansas. The proposed project has been rejected by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius because of concerns about carbon dioxide emissions.
“I would clearly prefer that a forum on energy and business in the state of Kansas include diverse viewpoints,” Jackson said. “I’m hopeful we will see that in the future.”
— Maril Hazlett, www.climateandenergy.org
Gov. Sebelius signs on to Pickens energy plan
September 22, 2008
Reprinted from Gov’s news release -
Sebelius signs T. Boone Pickens Energy Independence Pledge
Plan is part of comprehensive solution to include more wind, interstate transmission
The following is a statement from Governor Kathleen Sebelius:
“It is time for American Energy Independence and I support Mr. Pickens’ call on the next President to deliver to Congress a comprehensive energy plan in his first 100 days.
“Right now our nation borrows money from China to buy oil from Saudi Arabia and then literally burns it up. This process undermines our national security, deepens our debt and harms our environment; it’s time we put an end to our reliance on foreign oil.
“There are aspects of Pickens’ plan that I have concerns with. However, the solution to America’s energy problem will require us to use all of our resources, from traditional sources like natural gas, to renewables like solar and wind. With Kansas being the third windiest state in the nation – this is an incredible opportunity for our rural communities.
“America must also build up our interstate transmission system and put new resources toward research and development, including research for carbon sequestration. Here in Kansas, we are ready to play our part in helping American secure a clean energy future and this plan is a step in the right direction.”
Friday lite: Tinkerbell saves energy… (? ? ?)
September 19, 2008
This video is not on YouTube (and you search for “tinkerbell” and “energy” on YouTube at your own peril, there’s evidently quite an interesting subculture out there that I wish I still knew nothing about) so if you want to see Tinkerbell saving energy, you will have to click directly on the DOE website to do so.
Yep. That’s right. You just read “Tinkerbell” and “DOE” in the same sentence.
Energystar.gov is trying to get kids to save energy. They have started a new ad campaign along these lines. For the 8-9 year old demographic, they chose Tinkerbell as their mascot.
Apparently this age group in the U.S. is made up entirely of females, which I wouldn’t have guessed. Either that, or I am seriously underestimating the appeal of voiceless giggling fairies with short skirts for that age group of boys. I thought they didn’t even LIKE girls yet.
The video theme is - everyone can save energy!
The implication seems to be - even giddy girls!
(wheeee!)
— Maril Hazlett, www.climateandenergy.org
From KDHE - Statewide meetings to be held with Secretary Bremby
September 19, 2008
From the KDHE press release -
KDHE Seeks Public/Stakeholder Comments During Statewide Listening Tour Meetings
Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) Secretary Roderick L. Bremby and the KDHE Executive Team will hold public listening meetings across the state starting in late September. The meetings will be held:
- Wednesday, September 24, Wichita: KDHE South Central Office, 130 S. Market St., 6:00 – 7:00 p.m.
- Thursday, September 25, Salina: KDHE North Central District Office, 2501 Market Place, Suite D, 6:00 – 7:00 p.m.
- Wednesday, October 1, Chanute: KDHE Southeast District Office, 1500 W. 7th, 6:00 – 7:00 p.m.
- Thursday, October 9, Lawrence: KDHE Northeast District Office, 800 W. 24th St., 6:00 – 7:00 p.m.
- Tuesday, October 28, Dodge City: KDHE Southwest District Office, 302 W. McArtor, 6:00 – 7:00 p.m.
- Wednesday, October 29, Hays, KDHE Northwest District Office, 2301 E. 13th St., 6:00 – 7:00 p.m.
The meetings will be to discuss health and environment related issues and seek comments from business and community partners, customers, area legislators and the public. All the meetings are free and open to the public.
Bremby and the KDHE Executive Team will provide a short agency overview and 2008 legislative recap before opening the floor for questions and comments from the public.
Please call 785-296-0461 to request special accommodations to participate in the meeting.
As the state’s environmental protection and public health agency, KDHE promotes responsible choices to protect the health and environment for all Kansans.
Through education, direct services and the assessment of data and trends, coupled with policy development and enforcement, KDHE will improve health and quality of life. We prevent illness, injuries and foster a safe and sustainable environment for the people of Kansas.
Notice from the Washburn Environmental Law Society - they will host a lecture by Dr. James Hansen at noon on Monday, September 22, 2008. Dr. Hansen will be speaking in room 102, with additional seating and video feed in room 100, at Washburn Law School in Topeka, KS.
Dr. Hansen will of course be in town to speak at the KCC’s 9th Annual Wind and Renewable Energy Conference September 23 and 24 at the Topeka Ramada Inn.
Very excited to see so many friends at that event! Right around the corner.
— Maril Hazlett, www.climateandenergy.org
