Fact Sheet 15
Renewable Energy In New York
from a Hudson Valley Green Times article by David Wooley
Three-quarters of New York´s electricity is generated from imported
natural gas or from aging coal and nuclear plants. Most of our worst
air pollution problems, including acid rain, smog, haze, fine particles
and toxins, come from the nation´s electric power sector. Electric
prices rose dramatically last summer in this region, due in part to
increased prices for imported fossil fuel burned in power plants. No
one wants to end up like California. So how does a fossil-fuel-poor
state secure clean and reliable electric power supplies?
Energy conservation and regulatory changes are needed, but part of the
answer is blowing in the wind, and lying fallow on our farms. NY´s wind
energy potential, located mainly around farmlands in the central and
western part of the state, is greater than that of California. Recent
technical advances have greatly lowered the cost of electricity
production from wind. The state´s first two large-scale wind energy
farms went on line this Fall in Madison and Wyoming counties, and
experts believe there is 5000 megawatts of wind energy potential in NY.
Similarly, NY has enormous potential to generate electric power from
clean and renewable biomass resources. NY´s farmland is ideal for
growing energy crops, such as hybrid willow trees that can be planted
and harvested for boiler fuel with only beneficial impacts on the land
and economies of farming communities. Methane can be generated from
manure and agricultural residues to run small distributed electric
generators.
Last but not least, NY´s solar energy potential is large because the
peak of electric power production from photovoltaic (PV) cells coincides
with the peak demand for energy in our urban centers. In recent years
companies, such as the Powerlight Corporation, have developed
large-scale PV systems (100-1000 kW of generating capacity), that could
make important contributions to electric power peak loads in cities.
Imagine a megawatt of solar panels on every warehouse and strip mall
ringing NYC, and you get an idea of the potential, if we as a society
have the will to go after it.
Economic benefits from agricultural-based and urban renewable energy
development are considerable. Dependence on imported fuel sends huge
amounts of NY wealth on a one-way trip down coal mines and oil/gas wells
in other states and nations. By contrast, wind, solar and biomass
energy investment produces local jobs, income for farmers, local tax
payments and no pollution.
Renewables are initially capital intensive and are currently more costly
than average wholesale electricity prices. But once established, power
costs over the 20-30 year life of a wind turbine, are likely be lower
than power generated by traditional power plants. Increasing wind
turbine efficiency, federal tax credits and growing consumer interest in
`green pricing´ mean that wind energy needs only modest governmental
support. Similarly, small scale methane generators require only a
little bit of help to become well established in the state. These also
provide valuable water quality benefits by reducing stream pollution and
odors from traditional farm waste management. Urban solar installations
can reduce the risk of brownouts and distribution system failure, by
relieving the congested urban electric systems of load at precisely the
time when they are most vulnerable to failure. Think of the value of
that!
New ways of marketing renewable energy are just now beginning to emerge
in New York. One company, PG&E National Energy Group, is selling `Pure
Wind Certificates´ directly to consumers (separate from electric energy
sales) from its Madison Wind Power project (www.purewind.net) The idea
is beginning to catch on, but for certificate sales to support large
amounts of wind generation, masses of customers need a convenient option
to buy a wind energy product as part of a routine electric bill. Since
that is not yet happening, several policy changes are needed.
- First, NY should follow the example of Texas, and 7 other states, that
require all power retailers to gradually increase the renewable energy
content of their electricity products. These ³Renewable Portfolio
Standards² create a firm wholesale market for wind, solar and biomass,
unhampered by the uncertainties of the still immature retail electric
markets.
- Second, the Madison and Wyoming County wind farms as well as numerous
large PV systems (i.e., Ithaca Library) were supported by capital
contributions from the NY State Energy Research and Development
Authority (NYSERDA). These used `public benefit´ funds collected from
electric rates under a 1996 NY Public Service Commission (PSC) order.
The PSC has wisely decided to renew and increase the fund, and made a
five-year $47.5 million commitment to large and small wind generator
development. This level of commitment sustained over ten years, could
stimulate more than 500 megawatts of wind, solar and biomass capacity
and more than a half billion dollars in private investment in NY
projects.
- Third, wind `net-metering´ and tax credit legislation could create a
small turbine industry in NY. Net metering is an arrangement between
the electric distribution company and a customer or landowner, whose
electric bills are reduced in exchange for the surplus wind energy
supplied to the power grid. Net metering should eventually be expanded
to commercial-scale PV systems and small biomass generators.
- Finally, state power authorities (New York Power Authority, NYPA, and
Long Island Power Authority, LIPA) could offer long-term power purchase
agreements to wind, solar and biomass. This would create a long-term
hedge against electric price spikes for their customers. NYPA could
also finance power lines to connect wind sites with the grid.
- Wind energy is the world´s fastest-growing energy source, expanding 25%
to 30% annually. Biomass and solar generation are also growing fast.
New York State could share in this growth and become the East´s leading
renewable power state.
David Wooley is Director, Windpower NY, a project of the American Wind
Energy Association:
www.awea.org |