GOVERNOR SUNUNU VETOES WOOD-BURNING SUBSIDY BILL

Governor Sununu made a very wise decision to veto the two energy bills; one would have provided $90 million in subsidies to wood chip plants, the other would have provided $20 million in above market rates to larger capacity RE systems over three years.

 

These bills would have added about $110 million over three years to the electric bills of NH ratepayers. Most of that $110 million of subsidies would have been additional revenue for the owners of the wood-chip plants.

 

Northern New Hampshire wood burning power plants claim they are operating at a loss, because of low wholesale market prices. They want to receive up to about 10 cent per kilowatt-hour for their electricity, instead of about 5 cent, which is the annual average NE wholesale price.

 

New Hampshire Electricity Generation

In 2016, about 17.2 percent of electricity generated in New Hampshire was from renewable resources. Renewable energy is likely to continue to increase as a percentage of total electricity generation in New Hampshire. It is amazing numbers for 2017 could not be found. See URLs and table 1.

 

https://www.nh.gov/osi/energy/energy-nh/index.htm

https://www.nh.gov/osi/energy/programs/documents/2018-10-year-state...

 

Table 1/Source	2011	2016
	GWh	GWh
Nuclear		10761
Natural Gas		4744
- Biomass (wood)	1025	1689
- Hydro	1605	1145
- Wind	66	432
Coal		422
- Solar		52
Petroleum liquids		39
- Total RE	2696	3318
RE, % of generation		17.2
Total generation		19284

 

New Hampshire Wood-Chip Power Plants

 

New Hampshire has six wood-chip power plants. The data in table 2 was obtained from URL. The production for the plants was calculated by proration, based on actual Ryegate numbers.

https://www.esf.edu/nekda/documents/WoodEnergyinNH-SarahSmith.pdf

 

The NH wood-chip plants could produce about 995/19284 = 5.2% of NH generation, based on 19,284 GWh in 2016.

https://www.eia.gov/electricity/state/newhampshire/

 

ENGIE, a French-owned energy conglomerate, based in Houston, claims it bought about 500,000 ton of wood chips for $13.4 million in 2017, or $26.8/ton.

 

Table 2/Plant	Owner	MW	Wood-chip	Production
			Ton/y	GWh/y
Hemphill, Springfield	So. Korean	13.8	208,000	108
Bridgewater, Bridgewater		15	229,000	117
Pinetree, Tamworth	ENGIE, French	20	286,000	156
Pinetree, Bethlehem	ENGIE, French	15	227,000	117
Whitefield, Whitefield	So. Korean	13.8	187,000	108
PSNH, Portsmouth		50	450,000	390
Total		127.6	1587000	995
Nearby plants:
Rygate Power, Rygate, VT		20	250,000	156
Sappi, Westbrook, ME		N/A	400,000

Wood Source Energy Factor (Power Plants): Losses = Upstream (harvest, chipping, transport (2.5%) + Conversion to electricity, including site self-use (75%) + Transmission and distribution (7%) = 84.5%, i.e., 15.5% arrives at the user meters.

The source energy factor for wood-chip power plants is 100/15.5 = 6.45, i.e., the energy equivalent of 5.45 of 6.45 trees is wasted. 

http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/more-realistic-energy-s...

Vermont Ryegate Power Plant: Vermont has the Ryegate wood burning plant, which gets about 50 percent of its trees from northern NH. Its efficiency is about 25%, but the efficiency from “forest to electric meter” is about 15.5 percent.

 

Ryegate burns about 250,000 ton of trees per year, which has about 250,000 ton of combustion CO2 emissions per year. In New England, it takes about 40 years for the CO2 to be reabsorbed by new tree growth; it is about 20 to 25 years in planted and fertilized forests in Georgia.

 

That means, if a wood burning plant operates for 40 years and is then shutdown, it would take another 40 years before all its combustion CO2 is absorbed.

 

There is an additional CO2 of about 15% to 20%, on a forest-to-electric meter basis, such as due to logging and power plant operations, disturbance of the forests, various losses, etc.

 

http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/is-burning-wood-co-2-ne...

http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/wood-for-fuel-logging-i...

http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/a-comparison-of-wood-ch...

http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/dismal-economics-and-in...

 

NOTE:

- The owners of the Ryegate, VT, 20 MW, wood-chip power plant receive about 10 c/kWh for electricity fed to the NE grid (156 million kWh in 2015), under Vermont’s SPEED program, which subsidizes wood burning.

- NH wood-chip power plant owners receive wholesale rates of about 5 c/kWh.

- NE wholesale prices have averaged about 5 c/kWh for the past 9 years, and likely will not be increasing, due to an abundance of domestic, low-cost, natural gas.

http://www.vermontstandardoffer.com/ryegate-production/

 

NOTE: Below are listed the wood tonnage and combustion CO2 tonnage of Vermont’s wood chip power plants in 2015. See URLs and table 2.

 

Vermont Wood Power Plants		McNeil	Ryegate	Total
Table 2		ton	ton	ton
Electrical, wood	2015, McNeil	469,190.0	249,843	719,033
Electrical, wood CO2	EPA, McNeil	473,100.4	251,925	725,025

 

http://www.maforests.org/McNeil Emissions 2015.pdf

http://www.maforests.org/RYEGATE TECHNICAL.pdf

 

Wood-Chip Heating Plants Waste Much Less Trees

 

Wood Source Energy Factor (Building Heating Plants): Losses = Upstream (harvest, chipping, transport (2.5%) + Conversion to heat, including site self-use (30%) + Thermal distribution (5%) = 37.5%, i.e., 62.5% arrives at the user heating appliance.

 

The source energy factor for building wood-chip heating plants is 100/62.5 = 1.6, i.e., the energy equivalent of only 0.6 of 1.6 trees is wasted.

 

NOTE: Heating plants are not base-loaded plants. Their conversion efficiency is the seasonal average, which is less than the rated value in brochures.

 

NOTE: District biomass and waste plants can produce electricity and heat. The plant annual average efficiency is dependent on full, year-round utilization of the rejected heat. That efficiency usually is less than the rated value in brochures.

 

Wood Source Energy Factor (Heating Plants)	%
Upstream (harvest, chipping, transport)	2.5
Conversion to electricity, including site self-use	30.0
Transmission and distribution	5.0
Total loss	37.5
Arriving at user meters	62.5
Source energy factor 100/62.5	1.6

APPENDIX 1

LNG Deliveries to Everett, MA During 2017/2018 Gas Shortage

 

Delivering the LNG: The Christophe de Margerie, a Russian-owned icebreaking tanker, named after the deceased former CEO of Total, motored into Isle de Grain, UK, on Dec. 28, according to market information provider ICIS. It unloaded LNG from the new Yamal gas/oil plant in Russia. See URLs and Note.

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/lng-yamal-shipping/table-arc7-class...

https://photos.fleetmon.com/vessels/eduard-toll_9750696_2272589_XLa...

https://www.vesselfinder.com/?p=2511

 

The Gaselys, a French-owned tanker, arrived at Isle de Grain, UK, which is a large LNG storage facility in the UK that receives gas from many sources, including the Netherlands, Norway, Middle East, Russia, etc.

It took on a cargo of commingled LNG, including LNG from the Christophe de Margerie, an ice-breaking LNG carrier; LNG capacity 172,600 m3, or 77,670 metric ton.  See Note.

Isle de Grain left the port on Jan. 7 

It arrived at the ENGIE terminal (owned by a French company) in Everett, Mass., three weeks later and delivered its payload.

Both tankers were built in Korea.

 

Everett LNG Terminal: LNG is imported from Trinidad and Tobago, where the gas is cooled to -260 F, turned into LNG, reducing the volume by 1/600th, then shipped to Everett.

The gas fields of Trinidad and Tobago have had decreasing outputs due to depletion, which means increased likelihood of more expensive LNG from Louisiana and highly expensive LNG from Russia and the Middle East, while various NE energy measures are being implemented during the next few decades.

Average LNG density = 450 kg/m3 x 0.62428 = 28.1 lb/ft3, depends on gas composition and temperature.

Everett has 2 LNG tanks, each 180 feet tall.

Everett LNG storage is about 160,461 m3, or 3.4 bcf (gas equivalent after gasifying the LNG); peak vaporizing capacity 1.0 bcf/d; maximum continuous 0.715 bcf/d,

GDF Suez Gaz NA, a French company, owns the LNG plants in Trinidad and Tobago that supply most of the LNG to Everett.

It is amazing how much of the LNG infrastructure, and LNG storage plants, and LNG fleets are built and owned by foreigners! See URL.

 

http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/the-eu-and-internationa...

https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060076897

http://www.powermag.com/everett-lng-terminal-at-the-crossroads/?pag...

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/lng-terms-tonsyear-cubic-meters-btus...

 

NOTE: Shipments of Russian oil and gas are not subject to sanctions, but “US persons and those in the US” are prohibited from financing Novatek, the lead company in the construction of Yamal LNG. The French, our friendly trading partner, took advantage of that.

 

- Yamal LNG; operated by Yamal LNG company; owned by Russian independent gas producer Novatek (50.1%), Total, a French company (20%), CNPC (20%) and Silk Road Fund (9.9%); capital cost $27 billion; capacity 16.5 million mt LNG, 3 trains.

- Yamal LNG 2: operated by Yamal LNG company; owned by Novatek (60%), Total (20%); Others (20%); capital cost $25.5 billion; capacity 19.8 million mt LNG, 3 trains.

 

https://www.ft.com/content/56f19604-fd6d-11e7-a492-2c9be7f3120a

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-14/russia-dreams-bi...

https://www.total.com/en/media/news/press-releases/yamal-lng-projec...

APPENDIX 2

New England Wholesale Electricity Prices: New England wholesale prices have averaged about 5 c/kWh for steady, 24/7/365 electricity since about 2008, primarily due to:

 

1) Natural gas electricity; 50% of NE generation; low-cost (5 c/kWh), low-CO2 emitting, no particulates, domestic fuel. 

2) Nuclear electricity; 26% of NE generation; low-cost (5 c/kWh), minimal-CO2 emitting, no particulates, domestic fuel.

3) NE hydro electricity; 8.4% of generation, low-cost (5 c/kWh), minimal-CO2 emitting, no particulates, domestic.

4) Tie line electricity; 16.7% of NE grid load; low-cost (5.7 c/kWh), minimal-CO2 emitting, no particulates, imported.

APPENDIX 3

High Electricity Prices for RE in New England: The highly subsidized wholesale prices of wind and solar paid by utilities to producers are much higher than in the rest of the US, because of New England’s mediocre wind and solar conditions.

http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/subsidized-solar-system...

 

Wind and Solar Far From Competitive with Fossil in New England: The Conservation Law Foundation claims renewables are competitive with fossil. Nothing could be further from the truth. Here is a list of NE wholesale prices and Power Purchase Agreement, PPA, prices.

 

NE field-mounted solar is 12 c/kWh; competitively bid

NE rooftop solar is 18 c/kWh, net-metered; GMP adds costs of 3.813 c/kWh, for a total of 21.813 c/kWh

http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/green-mountain-power-co...

NE wind offshore until recently about 18 c/kWh

NE wind ridgeline is at least 9 c/kWh

DOMESTIC pipeline gas is 5 c/kWh

Russian and Middle East imported LNG is at least 9 c/kWh

NE nuclear is 4.5 c/kWh

NE hydro is 4 c/kWh; about 10 c/kWh, if Standard Offer in Vermont.

Hydro-Quebec imported hydro is 6 - 7 c/kWh; GMP paid 5.549 c/kWh in 2016, under a recent 20-y contract.

NE annual average wholesale price about 5 c/kWh, unchanged since 2009, courtesy of low-cost gas and nuclear.

 

NOTE: Vineyard Wind, 800 MW, fifteen miles south of Martha’s Vineyard, using 8 or 10 MW turbines, 750 ft tall.

Phase 1 on line in 2021, electricity offered at an average of 8.9 c/kWh over 20 years

Phase 2 offered at an average of 7.9 c/kWh over 20 years

 

https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2018/08/13/vineyard-wind-offer...

https://www.boem.gov/What-Does-an-Offshore-Wind-Energy-Facility-Loo...

 

NOTE: The NE grid is divided in regions, each with Local Market Prices, LMPs, which vary from 2.5 - 3.5 c/kWh from 10 pm to about 6 pm; slowly increase to about 6 - 7 c/kWh around noon time, when solar is maximal; are about 7 - 8 c/kWh in late afternoon/early evening (peak demand hours), when solar is minimal. Unusual circumstances, such as power plant or transmission line outages, can cause LMPs to increase to 20 - 40 c/kWh, and even higher when such events occur during peak demand hours.

 

NOTE: The above prices would be about 50% higher without the subsidies and even higher without cost shifting. See Appendix.

 

NOTE: Here is an ISO-NE graph, which shows for very few hours during a 13-y period were wholesale prices higher than 6 c/kWh. Those prices are low because of low-cost gas, low-cost nuclear and low-cost hydro. The last four peaks were due to:

 

- Pipeline constraints, aggravated by the misguided recalcitrance of pro-RE Governors of NY and MA

- Pre-mature closings of coal and nuclear plants

- Lack of more robust connections to nearby grids, such as New York and Canada. See URLs.

https://www.iso-ne.com/about/key-stats/markets/

http://truenorthreports.com/rolling-blackouts-are-probably-coming-t...