Consulting-Specifying Engineer - November 2008 - (Page 12)

In The News Lights out in 2009 new study reiterates experts’ warnings that the United States faces a serious risk of power brownouts and blackouts as early as next summer that may cost tens of billions of dollars and threaten lives. The NextGen Energy Council’s “Lights Out in 2009” study draws from the latest information the nation’s leading experts have compiled on the status of the U.S. electricity grid. The report indicates that the electricity generation infrastructure must be changed and calls for a greater investment in new power plants and power lines. The study reports that U.S. baseload generation capacity reserve margins declined to 17% in 2007, from 30% to 40% in the early 1990s. A 12% to 15% capacity is the minimum required to ensure reliability and stability of the nation’s electricity system. Adding to the capacity deficiency, the projected U.S. demand in the next ten years is forecasted to grow 18%, far exceeding the projected 8% growth in baseload generation capacity between now and 2016. In total, the United States will require about 130 GW of new generation just to maintain a 15% reserve margin. The study used data from the North American Electric Reliability Corp. to estimate that the country will require more than 14,500 miles of new electricity transmission lines by 2016. The investments in new generation and transmission required by 2016 will cost a minimum of $300 billion. The report acknowledges several impediments to strengthening the nation’s electricity infrastructure. Renewable energy proponents argue that the United States should only add renewable power facility such as wind farms. The annual capacity factor of wind generators is 25% to 35%, but the likelihood that wind generators are available at their rated value during annual peak periods is 5% to 20%, which makes wind farms an unreliable baseload capacity resource. A Additional barriers to the proposed electricity infrastructure improvements include: • Lawsuits by environmental groups against power plants, transmission lines, and natural gas production • Regulatory uncertainty tied to federal and state climate change policies • Challenges associated with integrating more intermittent power sources on the transmission grid • The reluctance by state regulators to approve rate increases related to the imposition of new environmental or climate-related regulation. The “Lights Out in 2009” study is available on the web at www.nextgenenergy.org. European legislators back emissions rules uropean Union legislators voted Oct. 7 in favor of laws aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, reports the New York Times. However, the news frustrated some environmental advocates because the laws take steps to ease the burden on industry. The European Union created the world’s largest emissions trading market in 2005 to require heavy industries to cap their pollution levels. So far, that initiative has not cut emissions significantly, leading policymakers to propose changes. The most contentious changes would make it more expensive for heavy industries to pollute, by requiring them to buy more of their carbon permits after 2012. European governments currently award the majority of the permits for free. The Environment Committee of the European Parliament voted to support proposals that would require most electric utilities to buy all their permits starting in 2013. Countries like Poland that rely heavily on coal seek a more gradual introduction. How- E ever, legislators added proposals that could exempt utilities that feed heating systems or use high-efficiency technologies for heating and cooling. They also voted in favor of subsidies worth about 10 billion euros, or $13.6 billion, to help utilities develop technologies to capture and store carbon dioxide from coal plants. The committee supported adding the aluminum and chemical sectors to the system by 2013. It now includes the steel, cement, glass, and pulp and paper industries. Businesses have warned that the plan will cost billions of euros. In a concession, legislators said that industries would need to buy only 15% of their permits starting in 2013—a move intended to shield them from competition from manufacturers outside Europe, where there is less regulation. The commission had proposed requiring industries to buy 20% of the permits starting in 2013. The proportion of permits that companies would be required to buy would increase each year, to 100% by 2020. 12 Consulting-Specifying Engineer • NOVEMBER 2008 Photo Courtesy of NASA http://www.nextgenenergy.org

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Consulting-Specifying Engineer - November 2008 Contents Viewpoint News M/E Roundtable Comissioning Lighting Controls Prevent Plugholing: Smoke Control Done Right Commercial Geothermal Heating and Cooling System Design Codes &�Standards Case Study New Products Equipment Lifecycles Advertiser Index Green Space

Consulting-Specifying Engineer - November 2008

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