by Avery Yale Kamila
Published in SOSUpdate
(August 2002) Soon electricity customers throughout the state could have the option
of paying a little extra every month in order to increase the amount of renewable and
cleaner power that is generated in North Carolina.
Advanced Energy, the Raleigh company that would administer the NC GreenPower plan,
as it is formally known, and the state's utilities filed proposals, or tariffs, with
the N. C. Utilities Commission in June seeking approval for the plan.
The NC GreenPower plan would allow electric utilities to charge customers a
voluntary $4 per month fee for each block of green power purchased. The utilities
would then purchase a corresponding amount of power from approved green power
generators.
"We are trying to provide an incentive for new renewable energy generators,"
explains Bob Koger, President of Advanced Energy. "We've already had [electric generating]
businesses call and ask when weš're going to be ready."
The $4 NC GreenPower premiums would pay for the higher costs of generating
renewable power. Currently, electric utilities are required to buy power from
independent generators. However, the utilities only pay what is called the
"avoided cost."
This rate is set by the Utilities Commission every two years and varies by power
generation type. The current rates range from .02 to .03 per kWh. These rates are too
low to make many renewable energy projects--like solar and wind--viable. The NC
GreenPower premiums would bridge this gap.
Under the terms of the tariffs submitted to the Utilities Commission, eligible
power generators could produce electricity using small scale hydro, solar, wind,
methane from animal waste and landfills and the incineration of wood chips and
agricultural wastes. This list of generators has raised skepticism of the program
among some environmental organizations.
"Conservation and efficiency are ignored under this plan," says Scott Gollwitzer,
Staff Attorney and Clean Air Campaign Coordinator for Appalachian Voices. Appalachian
Voices objects to some of the power sources allowed under the plan, particularly the
incineration of wood and agricultural wastes, and worries about providing subsidies to
large agricultural and forestry operations.
"We do not support any subsidy for more cattle, more hogs or more poultry," Mr.
Gollwitzer states and concludes by saying, "We hope [the NC GreenPower plan] goes
forward with appropriate accreditation."
According to Lucy Edmondson, Staff Attorney for the Utilities Commission,
accreditation "means that the power is green and the money is going where it
should."
Advanced Energy is working with the Center for Resource Solutions (CRS), an
accreditation organization based in San Francisco, to seek independent accreditation
for the plan. CRS has accredited green power generators and programs in a number of
states, including Georgia, Tennessee and Iowa.
CRS has a set of national minimum standards for green power that include the use
of wind, solar, biomass, limited hydro and geothermal. Local stakeholders further
refine these minimum standards into state-based criteria for inclusion in the program.
Once complete, these criteria are sent to the national CRS board for approval.
In conjunction with Advanced Energy, CRS convened a group of 70 North Carolina
stakeholders with representatives from the utilities, independent power generators,
environmental community, regulators and other interested parties.
"The North Carolina process was contentious and we ended up with criteria
that had a lot of dissenting comments from some stakeholders," explains Dan Lieberman,
Program Manager of Green Pricing for CRS, who is working with the stakeholders in
North Carolina.
"Our board met and didn't see enough support for the criteria so they've sent it
back to the state for additional work. The idea is not just to come up with meaningful
criteria but to reach consensus."
In their work with other states, CRS has found "that stakeholders will approve
landfill methane or agricultural methane but that direct burn will not be approved,"
observes Mr. Lieberman.
CRS's board is in the process of clarifying their criteria for biomass, the catchall
name for the incineration of raw waste and wood products as well as the burning of
methane from waste.
"Biomass is what's called a dispatchable energy source, which means you can turn it
on when you want to turn it on," says Mr. Liberman. "We use energy 24 hours a day,
but the sun doesn't shine all day and the wind doesn't blow all the time."
The NC GreenPower plan does not need to be accredited in order to receive approval
from the Utilities Commission. If the tariffs are approved by the Utilities Commission,
North Carolinians could begin to see the NC GreenPower option on their utility bills
in early 2003.
|
