Below are some notes and references to contribute
toward the
discussions related to long term planning for energy requirements
(some 10 to 40 years into the future) for the Upper Gunnison River
Basin Community. The sources of information given below may be
helpful. Because website addresses tend to change, search on
topics or
on the names of entities.
Recent discussion of the proposed extension of 10 years to the present
30 plus years of Gunnison County Electric Association's contract
with
the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association for electrical
power has stimulated a very useful flow of thoughts. However,
little
attention has been given to potential responses by energy users within
the Upper Gunnison River Basin Community to technological changes over
this period of time. These can result in greater energy
conservation,
local energy generation, efficient local transmission capabilities, and
explicit planning to reduce dependencies upon sources of energy from
far outside the community. Technological development is occurring
so
rapidly that within 40 years, most dwellings and other parts of the
built environment will be able to provide most, if not all, of their
normal energy requirements on-site and perhaps also contribute extra
energy to local needs. This also creates greater local
security and
comfort in the event that energy supplies from outside the community
are interrupted or permanently stopped. Over time, creation of
less
demand for energy from sources beyond the community area can result in
higher prices per unit for what is received and then result in yet
further declines in demand.
Below are concepts and examples showing the need for greater
consideration of how the Upper Gunnison River Basin Community might
plan for serving its long term energy requirements.
1. Conservation � Reduce
energy requirements
How - Housing designed with orientation for passive
solar design,
south-facing glazing of up to 7% or more of the building area, thermal
mass, window insulation panels, design for summer shading and natural
cooling, vegetated roofs, and other features can greatly reduce or
eliminate the need for reliance on energy from off-site for heating and
cooling.
Source: U. S. Department of Energy, National
Renewable Energy Laboratory, web site.
Source: U. S. Department of Defence (2004)
Unified Facilities
Criteria (UFC) - Low Impact Development, web
s.
How - Individual building designs
and equipment utilizing
improved solar systems for heating air and water, electrical power
generation, and operating cooling systems are more efficient and less
costly for both dwelling units and commercial or office applications.
Source: City of Stockton, California, Energy
Efficiency web site.
How - Emphasize upon
pedestrianism, mixed-use, and long term
maintenance considerations in design of new community development can
reduce energy requirements for transport.
Source: Nelessen A. C. (1994) Visions For A
New American Dream -
Process, Principals, and An Ordinance To Plan And
Design Small
Communities, Planners Press, American Planning Association, Chicago,
Illinois, 374 pages.
Source: Wilson A., Uncapher J. L., McManigal L., and
others (1998)
Green Development; Integrating Ecology And Real
Estate, Rocky
Mountain Institute, John Wiley and Sons Inc., New York, New York, 522
pages.
2. Energy Production By Individual Units
Individual dwelling, commercial, office, and industrial units can
produce much or all of their energy requirements, particularly for
electrical power, heating, and cooling. This can result in cost
savings but is also sought to provide greater reliability,
security,
and sometimes savings in transmission.
How - In 2000, the Delta - Montrose Electric
Association, a member
of the Tri-County Association, offered a 10kw stationary fuel cell
generator for an initial price of $8,200 and anticipated that the cost
of such home systems would drop $3,000 to $4,000 per system within five
to seven years. The units were made by were made by H-Power
and about
5 feet by 4 feet by 3 feet in size. The cells were used
proton
exchange membranes or polymer electrolyte membranes and could be fueled
by sources of hydrogen such as propane, natural gas, methanol, and
ethanol. These in-house generation units also reduced costs
to
construct and maintain electric transmission lines to serve low density
housing development.
Source: GCEA News, Colorado Country Life Magazine,
December 2000, page 9.
Source: Torrero E. and McClelland R. (2002)
Residential Fuel Cell
Demonstration Handbook, NREL/SR-560-32455, prepared for the National
Rural Electric Cooperative Association Cooperative Research Network,
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
Golden, Colorado, multiple sections with about 90
pages, web site.
How - The Ballard Corporation announced a new
cogeneration system
for use in Japan. It is designed to provide the first
1 kwh of
electrical production for a home, to operate over 10 years, to be
fueled by natural gas or kerosene, and to provide for all household hot
water requirements. The intent is to reduce dependance on the
grid for
base electrical power in the event of grid system failures.
At the
national average cost of US$0.21 per kilowatt hour in Japan, customers
will save $600 in annual energy costs and carbon dioxide emissions are
reduced 40%.
Source: CCN Matthews (2006) Ballard Delivers First
Prototypes Of
Third Generation Long-Life Fuel Cell For Residential Cogeneration, June
8, LexisNexis, 3 pages, web site.
How - A fuel cell electric generator designed for
underdeveloped
villages in the third-world can produce about 1,000 watts of electrical
power, 1,000 watts of heat, and 10 gallons of purified drinkable
water
an hour. The designer is Dean Kamen who designed the Segway
super-scooter. The cost is around $1,000 per unit.
Source: Grossman L. (2003) Water Purifier, Time,
November 17, at front of special section on new technologies.
How - Parabolic trough solar collectors can be used
to provide hot
water for individual houses or larger facilities. The Federal
Correctional Institution near Phoenix, Arizons, has 18,000 square feet
of these collectors providing for the hot water needs of 1,100 inmates
and staff. The heat can be stored for extended periods.
Such a
collector system can also provide steam for generating electricity at a
commercial or office complex.
Source: Industrial Solar Technology Corp
(1999) website.
Source: Abboud L. (2006) Why Sun Reigns on
Spain's Plains, The Wall Street Journal, 5 December, p. A4.
How - The commissioners of Pitkin County, Colorado,
are spending
$10,000 on a study to determine the feasibility of utilizing methane
from the county land fill to generate electrical power. This is
done
in many other communities. Excess power generated over the needs
of
the landfill would be feed into the grid for a credit.
Source: Anon. (2007) Landfill's gas may be
powerhouse, The Denver Post, 19 January, page 5B.
How - Nexterra Energy Corp. and Johnson Controls Inc.
have designed
and built a 72 MMBtu/hr biomass gasification system for the University
of South Carolina. The system will provide 60,000 lbs/hr of steam
for
campus heating and cooling use and 1.38 MW of electricity that will be
sold to the grid. The cost is US $16 million. The system
uses residue
from local sawmills, helps the university become more energy
self-sufficient, and reduces its energy costs.
Source: CNW Group (2007) Nexterra Biomass
Gasification System Nears Completion, 31 January, 3 pages, web s
3. Energy Production By Community Units
Utilization of resources from within or produced by a community to
locally serve energy requirements.
How - A cow can generate about 2000 Kwhs of
electricity with its
manure each year. Processing manure from about 4.5 cows for
methane
production would be required to supply the average residential meter in
the GCEAcommunity. Gunnison County was reported to have about
22,000
beef cows and calves as of 1 January 2006.
Source: McNeil Technologies Inc. (2005)
Handbook on Renewable
Energy Financing for Rural Colorado, prepared for the Colorado
Governor's Office Of Energy Management and Conservation, Denver,
Colorado, 57 pages, web s.
Source: Colorado / USDA Livestock Inventory
web site.
How - A grassroots group in Highlands Ranch is
planning for a
portion of the large development to become a city completely free of
dependence on fossil fuels. The proposed incorporated city
will
become a "City of The Future" with successful "clean technology
incubator" developments providing sufficient royalties and fees to
replace sales taxes.
Source: Thornton S. (2007) Grand Vision For A
City Of The Future, The Denver Post, 1 March, 2 pages.
How - Below are sources for recent discussion of
costs for
alternative solar, biomass, geothermal, biofuels, and wind
technologies. Most utilities have little incentive to reduce
demand
for their product or improve efficiencies in production.
Source: Multiple authors (2007) The New Math
Of Alternative
Energy, special section ofThe Wall Street Journal, 12 February, pp. R1
- R14.
Source: Anon. (2007) Technology Quarterly
Report, The Economist, 10 March, 32 pages.
How - Alameda County officials showed off the one of
the San
Francisco Bay Area's largest fuel cell installations which is located
at the Santa Rita Jail. It will serve a jail facility for 4,000
inmates which had a yearly power bill of $1.6 million. The system
uses
natural gas. After grants and incentives, the cost was $3.7
million
financed with a 15 year loan. Generated heat will be used for
facility
needs. The fuel cell can use gases from landfills and waste
treatment. The fuel cell provides security and back-up in
the event
of a cut-off of electricity as occurred in 2000 and 2001.
Source: Douglas E. (2006) Jail Opens Door To More
Energy Self
Sufficiency, The Los Angeles Times, 10 August, 3 pages, web site.
How - Large size fuel cell installations utilizing
natural gas have
been in place for several decades as backup electrical power sources
for hospitals, airport, military facilities, mines, and as power
generators in remote locations. Such units provide a quiet,
clean,
and highly efficient on-site electrical power generating system and the
available thermal energy that can also reduce facility energy service
costs by 20% to 40%. Conversion efficiency can be 40% to 60% and
thermal recovery can be around 75% or higher of available energy.
Systems are usually installations of 200kW to 250kW generating
capacity. They are about 10 by 25 by 10 feet in size.
Most
installations are solid oxide fuel cell systems. These operate at
the
highest temperatures and are most tolerant of impurities found in
natural gas drawn directly from the ground or from sources such as
landfills. Emissions data and life-cycle cost analyses are
available.
The initial base cost is $650,000 to $900,000 per installation.
Source: U. S. Department of Energy (1995)
Federal Technology Alert - Natural Gas Fuel Cells, 32 pages, web s.
Source: U. S. Department of Energy (2003)
Types of Fuel Cells,
Hydrogen, Fuel Cells, and Infrastructure Program, 8 pages, web site.
How - Various technologies are available for biomass
conversion by
liquification and gasification using pyrolysis, material
reforming and
supercritical water partial oxidation. Types of feedstock include
wood, grasses, algae, feedlot manure, old hay, paper sludge, municipal
sewage, household garbage, tires, construction scrap, plastics,
grease, and other post consumer waste aside from those containing lots
of metals. The resulting output is varying mixes of primarily
hydrogen, natural gas, naphta, and chars which can be utilized locally
for production of electricity and heat. Some processes can
produce a
fuel for transportation use. Benefits can include local energy
production, emission control, reduction in landfill deposits, more
efficient recycling, the local utilization of locally produced material
such as wood from forestry thinning practices. Coal can
also be used
as a feedstock with more effective control of emissions than usually
occurs at most coal-fired electrical power generation plants.
Source: U. S. Department of Energy, National
Renewable Energy
Laboratory - numerous conference proceedings, progress reports, and
technical reports, on web sites.
Source: Gorman J. (2002) Hydrogen: The Next
Generation - Cleaning
Up Production Of A Future Fuel, Science, 12 October, pp. 235 - 236, web
site.
How - International comparisons of detailed costs for alternative
electrical power generation technologies with various types of
coal-fired power plants by costs for construction, efficiencies,
emissions, operational characteristics, and decommissioning.
Source: The Royal Academy of Engineering (2004) The
Costs Of
Generating Electricity, report by the Academy, London, England, summary
is 60 pages, web site.
The
Costs of Generating Electricity © The Royal Academy of Engineering
(http://www.countryguardian.net/generation_costs_report.pdf)
