Transcript Energy Efficiency as an Air Quality Improvement Strategy

Energy Efficiency as an
Air Quality Improvement Strategy
2013 Mid-America Regulatory Conference
Annual Meeting
Little Rock, AR
Presented by John Shenot
June 11, 2013
The Regulatory Assistance Project
50 State Street, Suite 3
Montpelier, VT 05602
Phone: 802-223-8199
web: www.raponline.org
What are National Ambient Air Quality
Standards (NAAQS)?
• Health-based standards
established by EPA for
certain air pollutants
• All areas of the country
required to eventually
attain the standards
• Reviewed every 5 years
2
Consequences of
Nonattainment
3
4
What if the Ozone NAAQS is Tightened?
5
Power Sector: A Major Share of US Air Emissions
Sulfur Dioxide (SO2), 2009
9.5 Million Tons
3.8 Million Tons
40%
5.7 Million Tons
60%
Electric
Power
Other
Sectors
Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), 2009
15.3 Million Tons
13.3 Million Tons
87%
Other
Sectors
Coal
97%
Other
Sectors
2.0 Million Tons
13%
3.9 Billion Tons
60%
Electric
Power
Coal
85%
Other
Sectors
52 Tons
46%
0.5 Million Tons
4%
Electric
Power
2.6 Billion Tons
40%
Coal
83%
Electric
Power
Mercury (Hg), 2005
114 Tons
Particulate Matter (PM10), 2005
14.8 Million Tons
14.3 Million Tons
96%
Carbon Dioxide (CO2), 2008
6.5 Billion Tons
Other
Sectors
Coal
95%
62 Tons
54%
Electric
Power
Coal
>99%
Coal-fired
power plants:
vast majority of
power sector
air emissions
7
Sources: SO2 and NOx - NEI Trends Data and NEI 2005 Version 2 (2009) and CAMD Data & Maps (2010); PM10 - NEI Trends Data (2009); Hg - NEI 2005 Version 2 (2009); CO2
- Inventory of U.S. GHG Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2008 (2010) and 1990-2007; “Other” sources include transportation, other mobile sources, and industrial sources
6
Average Unit Cost to Control Pollution
with Selected Measures
Nitrogen
Oxides
Particulate
Matter
Sulfur
Dioxide
$0/ton
$0/ton
$0/ton
$1550+/ton
No reduction
No reduction
Fabric Filter (“Baghouse”)
No reduction
$42+/ton
No reduction
Electrostatic Precipitator
(“ESP”)
No reduction
$40+/ton
No reduction
Wet Flue Gas Desulfurization
(“Wet Scrubber”)
No reduction
$80+/ton
$80+/ton
Energy Efficiency***
Selective Catalytic Reduction
(“SCR”)
*** Assuming only cost-effective energy efficiency measures are implemented
7
If EE is such a great air quality strategy, why
do we have to convince people to use it?
• Air regulators have been skeptical:
– EPA previously limited the use of EE in SIPs
– State air regulators can’t enforce EE
programs, so some don’t want to rely on them
• Even if you overcome skepticism, it’s hard:
– Quantifying emission reductions from EE is
technically challenging
– Is the lemon worth the squeeze?
8
Progress at US EPA
•
•
•
•
Support from the top
EE/RE “Roadmap”
New Tools
Advance Program
9
EPA’s EE/RE Roadmap “Pathways”
Baseline Pathway
Control
Technology
Pathway
Emerging/
Voluntary
Measures Pathway
Weight-OfEvidence Pathway
Types of Projects
For “on the book”
policies; Best on a statewide or regional basis
For “on the way”
policies
For locally-based
activities; Can be
bundled
Any
SIP Credit Limit
None
None
6% of total required
emission reductions
No credit taken but do
get emissions benefits
Enforcement
State enforceable but
not Federally
enforceable
Federally enforceable
against the
responsible party
Not enforceable
against the
responsible party
None
What happens if
SIP reductions do
not Materialize?
CAA SIP Call; Air agency
required to make up for
the emissions shortfall
Responsible party
required to comply
State responsible for
reductions
-
Level of
Documentation
Required
Significant analysis to
show reductions are in
place for planning
period, quantify
impacts, and ensure no
double counting
Significant analysis to
show reductions are
permanent,
enforceable,
quantifiable and
surplus
Moderate
Can range depending
on level of analysis
10
11
Progress with State Air Regulators
• Training and
Outreach Requests
• Pilot Testing of
EE/RE “Roadmap”
• Response to
Advance Programs
12
The Biggest Challenge
• It’s difficult enough to estimate energy
savings from EE programs
• It’s harder still to estimate avoided
emissions:
– Usual EM&V challenges, plus…
– Timing and location of energy savings affect
amount and location(s) of avoided emissions
in complicated ways
13
Your Role
• Many air regulators are just beginning to
understand the need and opportunities for
EE as an air quality strategy
• Most are not experts on energy or EE data
– They need your help; work with them!
• Air regulators can be a new ally for your EE
and RE programs; work with them!
14
About RAP
The Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP) is a global, non-profit team of experts that
focuses on the long-term economic and environmental sustainability of the power
and natural gas sectors. RAP has deep expertise in regulatory and market policies
that:
 Promote economic efficiency
 Protect the environment
 Ensure system reliability
 Allocate system benefits fairly among all consumers
Learn more about RAP at www.raponline.org
John Shenot: [email protected]
802-498-0728