GroWNC Energy WG 1. wnc.org

Transcription

1 GroWNC Energy WG 1 wnc.org

2 Existing Conditions

3 Outline Energy Plan and Report Evaluation Local (GroWNC): County Plans, Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) Regional: Western North Carolina (AdvantageWest, EvolveEnergy Partnership, MRC) State Current Energy Conditions/Trends Issues Opportunities Goals

4 Energy Baseline How and where is energy consumed in the GroWNC region produced (fuel type, location)? How much energy is consumed by sector (residential, commercial, industrial, government, transportation)? How much does energy cost the consumer? What are the trends?

5 Energy Generation Duke Energy and Progress Energy generate 96% of state's electricity Considerable amount sold to munis and EMCs via wholesale electricity markets Western NC (MRC 27 county region) in 2008: 2,435 megawatts of electricity generation capacity (8.3% of state s total) 50% powered by coal, about 31% by hydroelectric, and 17.4% natural gas Sources: 2011 North Carolina Clean Energy Data Book, NC Sustainable Energy Association, June 2011; Understanding the Impact of Electric Generation Choices on North Carolina Residential Electricity Rates, NC Sustainable Energy Association, November 2011; Western North Carolina Vitality Index, 2012

6 Energy Consumption NC has over 9.5 million residents NC has no local deposits of coal, petroleum, or natural gas vast majority of energy resources for the state must be imported Source: Western North Carolina Vitality Index, 2012

7 Energy Consumption in NC Sources: North Carolina State Energy Report, March 2010; Western North Carolina Vitality Index, 2012

8 Energy Costs Residential electric bill increases mainly attributable to cost recovery for new conventional power plants, air pollution control retrofits, and for increasingly expensive fuels 7% rate increase for Duke Energy approved by NC Utilities Commission in January 2012 (15% requested initially) Source: Understanding the Impact of Electric Generation Choices on North Carolina Residential Electricity Rates, NC Sustainable Energy Association, November 2011

9 Installed Green Power Systems Source: NC GreenPower, last updated March 9, 2012

10 Current Energy Trends Clear shift in focus to clean and efficient energy and energy conservation nationally as well as locally Number of firms in North Carolina s clean energy sector by reported year entering the sector, 2011: Source: North Carolina Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Industries Census, NC Sustainable Energy Association, November 2011

11 Clean Energy Cluster & Growth A cluster of renewable energy and energy efficiency focused businesses has formed in Henderson & Buncombe counties 3 rd largest in the state Renewable energy industry employment is growing Source: 2011 North Carolina Clean Energy Data Book, NC Sustainable Energy Association, June 2011 Source: Western North Carolina Clean Energy Cluster Analysis, September 2011

12 Codes & Ordinance Review Locality Solar Wind Biomass Geothermal Hydro Building Lighting Definitions Other Remove Barriers Create Incentives Enact Standards Asheville Brevard Buncombe Co. Haywood Co. Range of use classifications and definitions Hendersonville Madison Co. Marshall Transylvania Co. Waynesville = direct = indirect

13 Plan Evaluation Issues Issue Increasing energy prices (electricity, gasoline, natural gas) Air quality impacts due to conventional electricity production, transportation effects on resident health, appeal to visitors Energy security & reliability WNC fuel shortages following Hurricanes Katrina & Rita in 2005 NC imports all of its energy supply, except for a small amount of wood, hydro and solar energy National recession affecting markets for clean energy sector products, most exported to other states or countries Shortage of engineers, lack of opportunities to retain young professionals Energy baseline for GroWNC counties/municipalities? Local Codes/Ordinances? Region All GroWNC, Western NC Western NC, State wide GroWNC, Western NC Western NC

14 Identified Opportunities Opportunity Cost avoidance/limiting costs by changing energy demand Alternative/clean energy industry growth = jobs Large biomass resource, strong wind resources, solar and geothermal firm expansions, expansion of electricity production from landfill gases Residential energy efficiency 35% of homes in region built prior to 1970 Region GroWNC GroWNC GroWNC, Western NC Western NC

15 Workgroup Identified Issues & Opportunities

16 Energy Workgroup Issues Issues Access to Financing Key obstacle to continued development of multiple clean energy sectors; interrelated to other key issues (finance stakeholders, data); educating finance professionals Documented Data on Energy Savings Lack of data on documented energy savings; information gap with regard to direct financial savings from investments; communication is key to reaching wider audience Uncertain Regulatory Environment Ensure local decision makers aware of relevant state & federal regulatory issues (market barriers); concerns regarding weakened state and federal support; opportunities to streamline public performance contracting should be identified and explored Limited Resources and Capacity Issue common to many smaller localities and organizations; need to clearly communicate local government s need for policy & supporting resources & the benefits of investments Aging (residential) Infrastructure Older and low income residential structures present energy challenges, direct and immediate need for energy upfits Others?

17 Energy Workgroup Opportunities Opportunities Cross sector collaborations & leading by example Educational Institutions Unique opportunity to implement projects and lead byexample; resources for partnerships Local Government Lead by example through demonstration projects, innovative deployments, and public private partnerships Agriculture Decline of farming presents opportunities (biomass, biofuels) Finance Continue to push financial sector Public outreach and awareness campaign Outreach should start at educational level and emphasize local community; key to catalyzing regional shift More effectively addressing rural urban gap Opportunity to more effective address rural urban gap Recognizing differences and developing programs that leverage unique resources of both Others?

18 Goals and Objectives

19 Plan Evaluation Goals & Objectives Implement greater % of renewable energy sources (utility scale and distributed generation) to improve environmental performance and reduce dependence on outside sources of energy and fuels Continue to attract clean energy sector businesses and retain existing jobs Improve the energy efficiency of existing buildings (all sectors) and construct new buildings using sustainable design, e.g. LEED standards Improve energy conservation and energy efficiency measures outreach to residents and businesses Implement energy conservation plans and policies for local governments Reduce vehicle miles traveled and promote alternative transportation fuels to improve environmental performance of energy use in the transportation sector and reduce costs Double avg. fuel efficiency of the region s transportation fleet by 2025 Adopt, modify, remove, add, set specific targets?

20 Wrap up/next Steps Nominate Steering Committee representative Next Steps Explanation of Reality Check #1 Preview of WG 2 meeting Keypad polling to assess Energy Workgroup composition

21 QUESTIONS?