Renewable Working Group Meeting Summary - April 8, 2003
Department of Energy Headquarters, Forrestal Building; Room 6E-069
Executive Summary
Extended Summary
Review of Policy, Recent Events
Opportunities for Merging Homeland Security, Pollution Prevention, and Distributed Power Markets into the Federal Procurement Market
750 kW PV Navy Project at Coronado, North Island, San Diego
Marine Corps 1.1 MW PV Project at Marine Corps Air Ground Task Force Training Center (MAGTFTC) and Twenty Nine Palms, California
Dyess Air Force Base/TXU Green Power Project
Green Power Update
Update on the Million Solar Roofs (MSR) Program
FEMP Update
Plan for Developing New E.O. 13123 Guidance and Goals
Executive Summary
Nancy Carlisle, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, chaired the meeting. Beth Shearer (FEMP Director) summarized the status of the new Energy Bill, which is being considered by the Senate and the House. The House is considering a bill that is similar to the bill they passed last year. The Senate is pushing for some new features. Ms. Shearer also cited a recently released Department of Interior-Department of Energy report titled Assessing the Potential for Renewable Energy on Public Lands. This report should help Federal land managers make decisions on prioritizing land-use activities that will increase development of renewable energy resources on public lands in the West. Scott Sklar (The Stella Group, LTD) briefed the group on opportunities for merging homeland security, pollution prevention, and distributed power markets into the Federal procurement market. He stressed the potential for Federal agencies to do cooperative programs with states. Bill Tayler (Naval Facilities Engineering Command [NAVFAC] Headquarters) briefed the group on a recently completed 750 kW PV Navy project at Coronado, North Island, San Diego. Carl Zeigler (Marine Corps Headquarters) did a presentation on the (under construction) 1.1 MW PV Project at Marine Corps Air Ground Task Force Training Center (MAGTFTC) at Twenty Nine Palms, California. David McAndrew (DOE - FEMP), assisted by Alvin Day (Air Force AFCESA, Tyndall AFB) briefed the group on a recently announced green power purchase at Dyess Air Force Base. It calls for delivery of 78,000,000 kWh per year of 100% wind energy at $0.019/kWh premium. Mr. McAndrew also summarized other Federal agency green power activities, including GSA, DoD, Air Force, EPA, Western Area Power Administration, and the Green Power Partnership (GPP). Glenn Strahs (DOE Headquarters) provided an update on the Million Solar Roofs (MSR) Program. At the end of 2002, there were 290,000 installations, with a significant number of them being Federal projects. Anne Sprunt Crawley (FEMP) and Kevin DeGroat (McNeil Technologies) provided an update on the progress toward meeting the existing Federal goal—1384 GWh annually by 2005. As of February 5, 2003, conservative estimates indicate that there is about 663 GWh installed, leaving 721 GWh to go. Millard Carr (Energy Management Solutions Inc.) outlined a plan for developing new renewable energy-related guidance and goals, to clarify the current guidance for meeting renewable energy goals, and to recommend a new longer term Federal renewable energy goal. Millard distributed a working paper that outlined a series of questions and issues. This will form the basis for a report back to the RWG at the next meeting, probably in the August-September-03 time period.
Extended Summary
Opening/Introductions/Announcements
Nancy Carlisle, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Nancy Carlisle, of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, opened the meeting and asked that attendees introduce themselves and invited anyone to make general announcements.
Nancy reminded everyone that the next Implementing Renewable Energy Projects Workshop will be held May 20-21, 2003, in Boston, MA. For more details contact Annett Eiffert, ImaginIt lnc., 303-526-5528, patrina@solarstreetfurniture.com, or Robi Robichaud, NREL, 303-384-7553.
Energy 2003 (sponsored by FEMP, DoD, and GSA, will be August 17-20, 2003 at Wyndham Palace Resort and Spa in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, inside the Walt Disney World Village. For more details, check FEMP's web site.
Attendance List: (PDF 57 KB, 1 page). Download Adobe Reader.
Review of Policy, Recent Events
Beth Shearer (FEMP Director)
On the legislative front, there is significant movement in Congress to enact an Energy Bill. The House is considering a bill that is similar to the bill they passed last year. The Senate is pushing for some new features. Recently, Congressman Waxman introduced an amendment to the House bill titled Federal Renewable Energy and Fuel Cell Use. A copy of this amendment was distributed to the RWG meeting attendees.
Ms. Shearer cited a recently released Department of Interior/Department of Energy report that evaluates renewable energy resources on public lands. The report, titled Assessing the Potential for Renewable Energy on Public Lands, will help Federal land managers make decisions on prioritizing land-use activities that will increase development of renewable energy resources on public lands in the West (except Alaska). (This report was the subject of a presentation at the September 10, 2002, RWG meeting.)
Ms. Shearer noted that the California Public Utilities Commission has recently defeated a proposal for exit fees for renewable energy. If this had been enacted it would have had a serious detrimental effect on renewable energy. Finally, Ms. Shearer noted that the theme of the FEMP Focus now in preparation is renewable energy. Note: since the RWG meeting, it has been distributed. (PDF 10.94 MB, 32 pp).
Opportunities for Merging Homeland Security, Pollution Prevention, and Distributed Power Markets into the Federal Procurement Market
Scott Sklar, (The Stella Group, LTD.) (PDF 258 KB, 34 pages)
On-site electric power generation markets are expanding over 25 percent per year. Primarily these markets are addressing power quality for businesses which utilize digital controls or equipment (computer, transmitters sensors) and for power reliability (back-up power beyond the usual 3 minutes to 3 hours for battery banks).
In the last 3 years, over 15 states have established clean energy trust funds funded by small wires charges which now have amassed to over $3 billion. These state programs employ different approaches to facilitate installations of clean energy technologies, including on Federal facilities.
In the last 3 years, states have received approval from national EPA for their state plans implementing the Clean Air Act. Over 11 states actively promote clean distributed power within their state plans (SIPs) and over $700 million is available for clean "DG" installations, including Federal facilities.
Since September 11th, greater concerns about hardening our nation's infrastructure to make it less vulnerable to terrorism (as well as acts of nature) have resulted in Congress passing the first $750 million to states in FY 2003 and it is anticipated that another $2.5 billion will be distributed to states in FY 2004. Over one third of these "first responder" funds will be used for training, protective equipment, and hiring specialized personnel, but the remaining funds can be used to harden critical infrastructure which includes sensors at reservoirs, ports, bridges and tunnels and back-up power for emergency personnel (police, fire, rescue, hospitals) and first-responder transmitters and field equipment and potentially back-up schools, including Federal infrastructure.
This market represents a robust opportunity for clean distributed power (advanced batteries and controls, energy efficiency, fuel cells (and CHP), heat engines, microhydropower, mini-gas turbines, modular biomass, photovoltaics, small wind, and solar thermal). But this emerging industry lacks standardization which keeps costs high as well as more complicated installation and repairs because it is still a "custom" industry.
In addition, large energy and security companies and larger potential commercial and industrial users seek to have distributed generation aggregated and have the performance wirelessly monitored. Monitoring systems that alert users to systems functioning ability, degree of performance, whether electric output matches energy resources, whether batteries hold charge, and other indicators to track actual and potential system performance and whether repairs and servicing were done correctly.
Blending these domestic programs with emission trading programs in carbon, NOx, SOx, and hopefully particulates could increase use and profitability. Standardization by large users to tap economies-of-scale of system integration will lower installed costs and maintenance.
Note: A paper titled Federal Renewable and Distributed Energy; Accessing State, Clean Air And Homeland Security Funds, authored by Scott Sklar, will be included in the internet version of this summary.
750 kW PV Navy Project at Coronado, North Island, San Diego
Bill Tayler, Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Headquarters (PDF 1.15 MB, 11 pages)
The PV system at North Island Naval Air Station produces 924 kW of DC power at peak insolation, which converts to 750 kW of AC power. It is projected to provide 1,244,000 kWh of electricity annually. It serves as a roof over 400 parking spaces. The prime contractor is Noresco/ERI Services and the subcontractor for the PV system is the PowerLight Corporation. The array is composed of 3,078 Model ASE-300 modules manufactured by RWE Schott Solar of Billerica, MA. It was completed October 2002, and is the largest PV system in the Federal government.
The total cost of the system was $7.7 million. Funding sources were:
| San Diego Regional Energy Office (SDREO) | $3.6 million |
| Department of Defense supplemental appropriation | $1.8 million |
| Navy Region Southwest (NRSW) which was financed by a combination of Navy Public Works Center buydown and Energy Savings Performance Contracting (ESPC) financing | $2.3 million |
The annual savings are $228,300 and the simple payback is 10 Years. It reduces air emissions by 309 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), 486 lbs of nitrogen oxides (NOx), and 54 lbs of sulfur oxides (SOx) per year. It provides a source of on-base power and reduces vulnerability to disruptions to the off-base power grid.
Mr. Tayler commented that this project would not be economically competitive without the supplemental funding. A grid-tied PV system is a hard sell because it has long paybacks and low return on investment. It is difficult to compete with other energy projects. In addition, PV is often perceived as not being reliable. Many bases are not ready for PV projects and users are reluctant to make a paradigm shift. However, the Navy uses renewable energy extensively on test and training ranges and other special situations. For instance, San Clemente Island located about 60 miles from San Diego, already has wind and PV on it and the Navy is investigating using wave power.
Mr. Tayler commented on the problems in promoting and managing such a project. The advocate must get buy-in up-front from stakeholders such as utilities and maintenance personnel, comptrollers, energy managers, and the chain of command. The stakeholders must be involved in the decision process and make reasoned, balanced decisions. A PV project should not be done because it is a neat thing to do, but conversely, it should not be rejected simply because it is different or new.
There is a second PV system that was installed at the Naval Base Coronado. It is a roof mounted 30 kW System on Building 14. It is rated at 33.6 kW of DC and 30.1 kW of AC and is projected to produce 49,765 Wh of electricity annually. The prime contractor is Noresco/ERI Services and the subcontractor is PowerLight Corp. It was completed in April 2002.
Marine Corps 1.1 MW PV Project at Marine Corps Air Ground Task Force Training Center (MAGTFTC) at Twenty Nine Palms, California
Carl Zeigler (Marine Corps Headquarters) (PowerPoint 1.6 MB, 14 pp)
This project will result in a 1.1 megawatt (MW) alternating current (AC) photovoltaic (PV) power generating plant. The PV project is one of several upgrades of energy systems being done under the Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC) contract at Twenty Nine Palms. It includes a new energy management system and replaces obsolete system components. This system will displace the purchase of electricity from the local utility or by the new 7 MW cogeneration plant currently under construction. The PV system has single axis solar trackers, and is connected to the electrical grid.
Planning for this project began with the ESPC contractor in 1997. Other factors that impacted on the project included deregulation of the electrical utility sector in California and the California energy crisis. The delivery order was awarded on September 27, 2002. The final design was complete and a Notice to Proceed was issued on January 3, 2003. Construction began on March 1, 2003, with the PV Array acceptance date scheduled for July 1, 2003. The PV system will provide renewable energy in peak daylight periods and reduce electrical demand from the outside grid. It will be the largest Federal (non-commercial) system in the world. It is responsive to Executive Order 13123 for renewable energy.
Benefits of the larger energy project include improvements in the quality of life and infrastructure. It reduces reliance on outside resources, provides force protection enhancements, a stand-alone fiber-optic network, maintenance/repairs/replacement for the contract term, and monitoring and control of building systems from a central location. The PV system will result in reduced energy costs, reduced emissions from displaced power generation, reduced fuel consumption, quiet power generation, reduction of toxic or other waste byproducts generated, and lower operations and maintenance requirements.
Dyess Air Force Base/TXU Green Power Project
Dave McAndrew (DOE - FEMP) and Alvin Day (Air Force AFCESA) assisted by phone (PowerPoint 451 KB, 19 pp)
Dyess Air Force Base (located in Abilene, Texas) recently announced a green power purchase. It is the largest facility in the nation to purchase 100% renewable electricity. The contract is a modification to an existing competitively awarded contract over the last two years of a 3-year contract with TXU, the servicing utility. It calls for delivery of 78,000,000 kWh per year of 100% wind energy at $0.019/kWh premium. This rate is below the utility default rate. From an Air Force and Air Combat Command perspective, this means that Air Combat Command (19 bases) has met the 2.5% goal through this purchase. Mr. McAndrew praised Tom Denslow, the energy manager at Dyess for his resourcefulness and persistence in promoting the project.
On a broader perspective, in FY 2002, Congress earmarked $500,000 for AF renewable energy purchases. The conditions attached to this earmark were 1) had to be wind energy, 2) some of this appropriation had to be in spent North Dakota, 3) the base had to commit to an additional 4 years. The Air Force made its selection based on availability, price and location. The bases selected were:
| Cannon AFB, NM | 1,800 MWh |
| Ellsworth AFB, SD | 2,160 MWh |
| Fairchild AFB, WA | 7,818 MWh |
| Grand Forks AFB,ND | 1,800 MWh |
| Lackland AFB, TX | 1,800 MWh |
| Minot AFB, ND | 3,960 MWh |
| Schriever AFB, CO | 1,800 MWh |
| F.E. Warren AFB, WY | 2,160 MWh |
| Total | 23,298 MWh |
| Premium Paid | 2.15 cents/kWh |
The Defense Energy Services Center (DESC) has recently completed a solicitation for green power in Texas. This was the second round in Texas market. Power was solicited for seven major DoD facilities (4 Navy, 3 Air Force). BP Amoco was selected as "best value offer". These facilities bought 5-10% renewable energy or 29,500 MWh per year. The solicitation was structured so that picking green was made easy.
Green Power Update
Dave McAndrew (DOE - FEMP) (PowerPoint 451 KB, 19 pp)
Mr. McAndrew also summarized several other recent green power activities. For the World Bank, the GSA Energy Center recently purchased 5.5 million kWh from Pepco Energy Services. The National Park Service Arches and Canyonlands purchased 12,000 kWh/year from PacifiCorp Blue Sky Wind Program.
The EPA Houston office has made a decision to procure 100% renewable power (RFP issued March 25) Other planned EPA 100% purchases include Fort Meade, MD, Narragansett, RI, and Research Triangle Park, NC.
Who is Buying Renewable Power?
| Agency | GWh/Year |
|---|---|
| USDA | 5 |
| World Bank | 6 |
| GSA multi-agency | 8 |
| NASA | 10 |
| Denver Initiative | 11 |
| GSA | 14 |
| Navy | 17 |
| Army | 19 |
| DOE | 20 |
| EPA | 22 |
| Air Force | 147 |
FEMP and the Western Area Power Administration (Western) have collaborated on an initiative to promote renewable power, supplemental renewable energy, and renewable energy certificates (Green Tags). The initial focus is on existing Federal customers, with the key agencies being DoD, DOE, NASA, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Recently, FEMP has provided seed money to WAPA. Western has been working with FEMP to develop a Marketing Brochure and Marketing Plan. The next steps are to initiate direct contact with existing Federal customers. The key person is Bob Fullerton, 720-962-7079. Other Opportunities (with points of contact) include:
- Austin Energy - Randy Jones 303-275-4814, Chandra Shah 303-384-7557
- Seattle City Light & PSE - Arun Jhaveri 206-553-2152
- Sacramento Municipal Utility District - Bill Golove 510-486-5229
- Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) - Dwight Bailey 404-562-0564
- DESC Solicitations - John Nelson 703-767-8153
- GSA Solicitations (New Jersey, D.C., Michigan) - Ken Shutika 202-260-9713
The Green Power Partnership (GPP) is a new voluntary program developed in response to a recommendation in the President's energy plan. DOE and EPA are Founding Partners. It is designed to reduce the environmental impact of electricity generation by promoting renewable energy. The Partnership will demonstrate the advantages of choosing renewable energy, provide objective and current information about the green power market, and reduce the transaction costs of acquiring green power. The GPP has 110 Partners with a combined total commitment to over 675,000 megawatt hours of green power annually. The guidelines are that renewable resources include solar, wind, geothermal, biogas, biomass, and small hydro. One can count grid-based green power, renewable energy certificates and on-site power generation. Membership can be based on a single facility, an operating unit, all facilities within a utility service territory, state, or entire organization. To be a member of the GPP, an organization must purchase a percentage of its usage, which is based on a sliding scale. For organizations that use more than 100 million kWh, the figure is 2 percent; for organizations that use less than 100,000 million kWh, the usage is 15 percent.
Current Federal Partners include:
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- U.S. Department of Energy - Forrestal Headquarters Building, Washington, DC, and Germantown, MD, Golden Field Office, Golden, CO, Denver Regional Office, Denver, CO, National Renewable Energy Laboratory facilities, Golden, CO
- U.S. Department of Interior
- National Park Service, Independence National Park, Philadelphia, PA
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Headquarters Building, Washington, DC
- U.S. Army, Walter Reed Medical Center, Washington, DC
- U.S. Air Force, Dyess Air Force Base, Texas
- U.S. General Services Administration
- Binghampton Federal Building, Utica, NY
- Pirnie Federal Building, Utica, NY
- NASA Johnson Space Center
To make a GPP commitment, contact Pam Mendelson, pam.mendelson@ee.doe.gov, 303-275-4819. Additional information is at www.epa.gov/greenpower.
Update on the Million Solar Roofs (MSR) Program
Glenn Strahs (DOE Headquarters) (PDF 170 KB, 6 pp)
The MSR Initiative is going strong with 67 partnerships (with 18 members/partnership on average). The actual count on the number of functioning MSR systems is still being updated, but at the end of 2002, there were 290,000 installations. The budget for FY 2003 is $3 million, the same as the last few years. A solicitation is being drafted with $1.5 million for grants to new and (existing) partnerships. We are continuing to work with the Interstate Renewable Energy Council for doing the newsletter, Web site, and regional meeting facilitation. There are several new developments affecting the MSR program. There are a series of six conference call seminars scheduled in 2003. The first one in February was very well attended; the next is April 16 titled Solar for Affordable Housing. There is technical assistance available from Sandia National Lab for solar water heating systems. In addition, a Zero Energy Building award will be presented at Solar 2003. Peer-to-Peer workshops are scheduled. Since the establishment of MSR, the Federal government has been an important factor in promoting the Million Solar Roofs program. The Federal government has a goal of 2.5% of electricity to be generated from renewables by 2005, compared to current use of 0.4%. From June - 97 through 2000, 2745 PV and solar hot water systems were installed. Many Federal agencies purchase renewable "green" power and renewable energy credits. Federal agencies also have performance-based contracts with energy service companies to manage energy costs and encourage renewable energy usage. Recently, several large projects were completed or announced at Coronado Island, San Diego and 29 Palms, California.
In response to a question, Mr. Strahs stated that the definition of sizes to qualify for MSR recognition for PV is as follows:
- 500 Watts for residential buildings,
- 1 kW for schools and churches,
- 2 kW for commercial buildings.
For solar hot water systems, determining the equivalent definition is still in progress. The subject will be discussed at the IREC & Million Solar Roofs joint annual meeting on June 22, 2003, in Austin, Texas, prior to the start of the Solar 2003 Conference. See Million Solar Roofs Initiative.
FEMP Update
Anne Sprunt Crawley (FEMP), Kevin DeGroat (McNeil Technologies) (PowerPoint 319 KB, 3 pp)
The Federal renewable energy goal is 1384 GWh annually by 2005. This is equivalent to 2.5 percent of Federal facility electricity use and is equal to about 500 MW of wind (at 31% capacity factor). Usage is on a strong upswing. In June 2000, there was about 173 GWh of usage. As of February 5, 2003, we estimate that there is about 663 GWh, leaving 721 GWh to go. From a technology/source standpoint, the breakout is:
| Technology/Source | Annual Production Gigawatt-Hours |
|---|---|
| Solar Thermal | 6.5 |
| Biomass Power/Combined Heat & Power | 92.5 |
| Biomass Thermal | 108.5 |
| Wind | 14.1 |
| Renewable Energy Purchases/Credits | 310.9 |
| Photovoltaics | 23.5 |
| Ground Source Heat Pumps | 88.8 |
| Biomass Fuels | 18.0 |
Kevin stressed that the numbers shown above are conservative. He attributed the strong growth to several factors. Renewable energy purchases/credits are booming. A new landfill gas project at NASA Goddard has just come on line. Several new high visibility PV projects have been, or are being, installed, such as at the 750 kW project at Coronado (Navy), the White House, and at Twenty Nine Palms (Marine Corps) in California. Planned completions at military bases in Hawaii will continue to raise solar thermal usage during 2003. Reconciliation of performance of ground source heat pumps under ESPCs will add to the total. The 2002 agency annual reports are under review, after which we expect some additional production.
Plan for Developing New E.O. 13123 Guidance and Goals
Millard Carr (Energy Management Solutions Inc.)
This is the beginning of a process to:
- Clarify the current guidance (as stated in E.O. 13123 and implementing DOE guidance) for meeting renewable energy goals.
- Recommend a new longer term Federal renewable energy goal.
Millard distributed a paper that outlined a series of questions and issues. These include:
- What are the definitions for various RE technologies; should passive solar building designs, certified low impact hydro, landfill gas, and renewable transportation fuels be included in the goal?
- Should the green-e certification be an acceptable definition of green electricity to be counted against the goal?
- Should we continue to subtract renewable energy purchases from agency total energy consumption; What about renewable energy generated from on-site or facilitated projects—should the agency be allowed to take credit for the total production of a facilitated project?
- A New Federal Renewable goal: goal is tied to the definition of what counts—a broader definition of RE technologies (such as incremental hydro) would lead to a higher goal. How far in the future should we recommend a goal? Do we want to break the goal down for on-site, purchasing and facilitated?
The approach is to form a committee, and report back to the RWG at the next meeting, probably in the August-September-03 time period. A copy of the same paper distributed at the RWG meeting was sent to the entire RWG distribution list with a request that responses be returned to Millard by April 25. The following personnel volunteered to serve on the committee.
Commander Kelly Snook, Office of the Secretary of Defense
Barry Holt, Con Edison Solutions
Dick Walsh, associated with Sandia National Laboratories
Kevin DeGroat, McNeil Technologies
Richard Wickman, NASA
Nancy Carlisle, NREL
Kurt Johnson, EPA, Green Power Partnership
Anne Crawley, DOE FEMP
Bill Tayler, Navy NAVFAC
Jim Hoelscher, Antares Group
Jigar Shah, BP Solar
Carl Zeigler, US Marine Corps
For copies of the speaker's presentation slides, please contact Jim Hoelscher, 301-731-1900 jhoelscher@antaresgroupinc.com.