VERMONT RENEWABLE PORTFOLIO STANDARD FOR ELECTRICITY

The General Assembly enacted a Renewable Portfolio Standard, RPS, mandate requiring 55% of utility retail electricity supplies to be from renewable sources by 2017, and 75% by 2032, per Act 56. 

 

On a contracted and self-production basis, GMP’s RE was about 34.7 + 5.6 +18.1 = 58.4% of its retail electricity supplies in 2016, of which RECs were retained or sold. GMP’s electricity mix was about as follows:

 

Fiscal 2016

%

Traditional

81.9

Large hydro (Hydro-Quebec)

34.7

VT hydro (existing)

5.6

Market purchases*

27.4

Nuclear

13.8

Oil/Gas (GMP peaking plants)

0.4

 

 

Renewables

18.1

Methane^

0.3

Hydro^

4.9

Solar^

2.1

Wind^

8.2

* Purchases on the wholesale market, which trades the NE grid energy mix. See URL.

^ No RECs or RECs sold.

 https://www.greenmountainpower.com/2016/12/01/fuel-mix/

 

On a physical basis, GMP obtains almost all of its energy from the NE grid, which has the following sources, in %:

 

NE-generated, 85, of which Gas, 41.3; Nuclear, 25.1; RE, 7.7; Hydro, 6.4; Coal, 3.1; Oil, 1.5

Net external ties, 16.5, of which New Brunswick, 3.2; Quebec, 10.2 (Hydro-Quebec); New York, 3.1

Pumped storage: -1.5

https://iso-ne.com/about/key-stats/resource-mix

 

GMP Meeting RPS Requirements: GMP could meet the RPS mandate of “55% by 2017 and 75% by 2032” in at least 3 ways:

 

1) Owning RE generation facilities, such as Lowell; adds to the assets base on which it earns 9%/y.

2) Purchasing RE from other entities, in-state and out-of-state; adds nothing to asset base.

3) Purchasing RECs, which are a claim to the renewable attributes of renewable generation not owned; adds nothing to asset base.

 

- If GMP sells RECs associated with renewable generation, GMP can no longer claim the environmental attributes of that generation, per FERC ruling regarding “double-counting”. For bookkeeping purposes, GMP includes that energy under “Market Purchases”. Vermont cannot count that energy towards its goal of “90% RE of All Energy by 2050”.

- GMP sold a portion of its RECs, 18.1% in table, for about $30 million in 2016.

- GMP has to own sufficient RECs to meet the RPS mandate of “55% by 2017 and 75% by 2032”. The $30 million REC revenue likely would become less in 2017, due to not selling as many RECs and lower market prices of RECs, which would result in future rate increases.

- GMP is allowed to sell high value RECs (wind and solar) and substitute them with low-value RECs; somewhat of a shell game to fool lay people. 

 

Solar Subsidies to Achieve RE Goals: GMP buys PV solar surplus energy at about 19 c/kWh and even higher. Vermont would be in the poorhouse, if all ratepayers, instead of just 5% of ratepayers, got onto the PV solar bandwagon, because GMP electric rates would go through the roof. I pointed this out about 8 years ago but was pooh-poohed by legislators at that time.

Grid-Connected Residential Systems: Here are some numbers slightly out of date, but they serve the purpose:

- GMP has an average monthly service charge for residential customers of about $11.25 per month. The utility sells electricity to residential customers for about 14 c/kWh, excluding taxes, fees and surcharges.

- GMP offers a generous feed-in tariff equal to about 6 cents more than the going retail rate. In other words, even though it costs only 14 c/kWh to buy electricity, GMP will pay you about 19 cents for every kWh produced by your PV solar system.

Say you use 500 kWh during the month of April and your production was only 410 kWh that month. Here’s what your bill might look like: 500 x 0.14 = $70 for the electricity you used, plus a service charge of $11.25, for a total of $81.25.

However, you get a credit of 410 x 0.19 = $77.90 for your solar energy, for a monthly bill of 81.25 - 77.90 = $3.35!!!! Obviously, any taxes, surcharges (including there EV surcharge) and fees would be minimal on such a small bill.

http://www.greenbuildingadv...

Public Service Board Coddling Multi-Millionaires: It is bad enough for the Public Service Board to do the public a disservice by approving large, multi-MW projects that pay multi-millionaires-with taxshelters 24 to 30 c/kWh for ALL of their solar output.

Many of those millionaires are out-of-state. They deface Vermont's meadows and open spaces with large, multi-MW solar arrays. They sell the green rights to out of state entities so THOSE ENTITIES can buy their way to be clean and wear the green halo. Vermont cannot count that solar energy towards its RE goals, per FERC rules. It is a form of energy colonialism, encouraged with Vermont government subsidies.

A Much Better Way to Meet RPS Requirements: Vermont utilities could satisfy the RPS mandate within a few years (well before 2032) by buying more low-cost, low-CO2 emitting, renewable, hydro electricity from Hydro-Quebec. It would require no subsidies and near-zero capital costs, because private corporations would design, build, own and operate the high voltage transmission lines from Quebec to Vermont. No complicated and expensive “energy transformation" of the Vermont economy would be required. However, Vermont utilities have refused to so. They could satisfy a future RPS mandate of 90 or 100% RE by buying more electricity from HQ, i.e., no additional damage to Vermont’s ridgelines and meadows. See NOTE.

 

Governor Scott Against Ridgeline Wind Turbines: Gov. Scott opposes more wind turbine plants on Vermont's pristine ridgelines. Wind electricity likely would not increase while Scott is Governor, unless that electricity is bought from out-of-state wind turbine plant owners. Solar electricity likely would continue to expand as suitable sites are found and any local opposition is “dealt with”.

 

Hydro Quebec Spare Hydro Capacity: HQ has about 5,000 MW of underutilized hydro plant capacity, which could produce over four times Vermont’s total annual electricity purchases. HQ is also planning and building about 5000 MW of additional hydro plant capacity over the next ten years.

 

An approved 1000 MW high voltage direct current transmission line, in operation late 2018/early 2019, will run from Quebec, under Lake Champlain, to a DC-AC converter station at Ludlow, VT; most of that electricity would go to southern New England. As part of the agreement with Vermont, TDI-New England has reserved 200 MW of the line’s capacity for Vermont; the 200 MW could provide about 1.3 million MWh/y, replacing most of what Vermont lost when Vermont Yankee was shut down in 2014.

https://vtdigger.org/2016/02/09/army-corps-of-engineers-approves-1-...

 

But Vermont utilities have shown little interest in the 200 MW, because of the Comprehensive Energy Plan politically inspired penchant for much higher cost wind and solar electricity, so-called “local, small-scale, distributed generation”. In fact, Vermont utilities have steadily reduced future HQ electricity supplies, as contracts expired.

 

GMP Against HQ Energy For Business Reasons: From GMP’s viewpoint, it is understandable not to go with the 200 MW, because it does very little for GMP’s asset base, on which GMP earns about 9%/y. Instead, GMP prefers to own/lease to ratepayers heat pumps (made in Japan), solar systems (PV panels made in China with dirty coal plants) and Tesla Powerwall 2.0 batteries (made in Nevada), because that adds to GMP’s asset base on which it earns 9%/y, and helps GMP collect cash grants, tax credits and subsidies, and have fast w

rite offs, to minimize paying federal and state taxes, and increase its net profit. Buying power from other producers, such as H-Q, does none of that. It has nothing to do with saving the world. That is just window dressing. 

 

Hydro-Quebec A Much Better Alternative: Hydro-Quebec has about 5600 MW of spare hydro plant capacity, and has under construction and in planning stages an additional 5000 MW of hydro plant capacity. Here a list of the benefits of hydro energy:

 

- Clean (no particulates, no SOX, no NOx)

- Low-cost (5 - 7 c/kWh, plus 1 c/kWh for transmission), much less than wind and solar

- Very low CO2/kWh emissions, much lower than wind and solar

- Steady, 24/7/365 energy, i.e., NOT variable and NOT intermittent, unlike wind and solar, which are weather dependent, variable cloudiness dependent, night and day dependent, and season dependent

- NO federal and state subsidies and investment tax credits

- NO capital outlays by Vermont’s government

- NO enriching of multi-millionaires and their lucrative, risk-free, tax shelters

- NO additional environmental impact in Vermont

- Private entities would own the transmission lines from Quebec to New England

- RECs would not be sold to out-of-state entities so they would be wearing the green halo, instead of Vermonters.

- Much less social discord than controversial wind on pristine ridgelines and solar in fertile meadows

 

Here are some URLs about increased hydro energy from Hydro Quebec.

 

http://vtdigger.wpengine.com/2015/01/28/utilities-want-flexibility-...

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/eversource-hydro-qu-bec-offer-170400...

http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/increased-canadian-hydr...

http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/more-energy-from-hydro-...

http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/gmp-refusing-to-buy-add...

 

Electrical Primary Energy is Only 35% of All Primary Energy: It is important to make a distinction between ALL primary energy, and electrical primary energy, which is only 35% of ALL primary energy. 

 

According the Vermont Energy Action Network, EAN, implementing the CEP for Vermont’s “energy transformation” (90%  RE of All Primary Energy by 2050) would require capital investments of at least $33.3 billion during the 1917 - 2050 period, or about $1.0 billion/y, not counting interest and finance charges, and replacements and refurbishments, due to wear and tear, during that period. See URL Page 6 of annual report.

 

That burden is far in excess of what the near-zero, real-growth Vermont economy (with tens of thousands of households and businesses in survival mode) could afford. 

 

The arbitrary, picked out of a hat, not legally binding, voluntary goal of “90% RE of All Primary Energy by 2050” should be reduced to about "50% RE of All Primary Energy by 2050". That would require about $500 million/y, a somewhat less onerous goal to aim for by the near-zero, real-growth Vermont economy. Vermont likely would exhaust itself, even with that reduced goal.

 

http://eanvt.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/EAN-2015-Annual-Report-...

https://emp.lbl.gov/sites/all/files/rps_summit_nov_2013.pdf

 

According to the Report, as a minimum, the "energy transformation" would include:

 

- Weatherizing almost all buildings to be "zero-net-energy", or "energy-surplus", or be "off the grid", and providing them with heat pumps and solar systems, etc. See URLs.

- Replacing almost all light duty vehicles with electric vehicles; not high-mileage hybrids, as that would “lock in evil fossil fuels”. See URLs.

- Building EV charging stations everywhere.

- A very significant increase in liquid biofuels, such as ethanol-from-corn, which are partially renewable, but do not reduce CO2 compared to fossil fuels.

- A very significant increase in harvesting wood for burning from already-stressed forests, which is partially renewable, but does not reduce CO2 compared to fossil fuels. See URLs.

 

Here are some articles for information:

 

http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/wind-turbine-noise-adve...

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/german-renewable-energy...

http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/economics-of-batteries-...

http://www.windtaskforce.org/profiles/blogs/comparison-of-grid-conn...

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

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Maine as Third World Country:

CMP Transmission Rate Skyrockets 19.6% Due to Wind Power

 

Click here to read how the Maine ratepayer has been sold down the river by the Angus King cabal.

Maine Center For Public Interest Reporting – Three Part Series: A CRITICAL LOOK AT MAINE’S WIND ACT

******** IF LINKS BELOW DON'T WORK, GOOGLE THEM*********

(excerpts) From Part 1 – On Maine’s Wind Law “Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine if the law’s goals were met." . – Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, August 2010 https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/From Part 2 – On Wind and Oil Yet using wind energy doesn’t lower dependence on imported foreign oil. That’s because the majority of imported oil in Maine is used for heating and transportation. And switching our dependence from foreign oil to Maine-produced electricity isn’t likely to happen very soon, says Bartlett. “Right now, people can’t switch to electric cars and heating – if they did, we’d be in trouble.” So was one of the fundamental premises of the task force false, or at least misleading?" https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-swept-task-force-set-the-rules/From Part 3 – On Wind-Required New Transmission Lines Finally, the building of enormous, high-voltage transmission lines that the regional electricity system operator says are required to move substantial amounts of wind power to markets south of Maine was never even discussed by the task force – an omission that Mills said will come to haunt the state.“If you try to put 2,500 or 3,000 megawatts in northern or eastern Maine – oh, my god, try to build the transmission!” said Mills. “It’s not just the towers, it’s the lines – that’s when I begin to think that the goal is a little farfetched.” https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/flaws-in-bill-like-skating-with-dull-skates/

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Hannah Pingree on the Maine expedited wind law

Hannah Pingree - Director of Maine's Office of Innovation and the Future

"Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine."

https://pinetreewatch.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/

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