Transcript Commonwealth Wind: Program Refinements and Research Projects

Commonwealth Wind:
Program Refinements and
Research Projects
Mass. Wind Working Group
July 18, 2012
Installed Wind Generating Capacity
120
Capacity (MW)
100
80
60
Annual Installations
40
Current Year Pipeline
Cumulative
20
0
Year
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Wind Project Development Challenges
1. Economic competitiveness
 Competition with regional wind projects
 Competition with other renewable energy sources
 Expiration of federal PTC/ITC; uncertainty regarding renewal
2. Siting and Community Acceptance
 No standardized siting rules to guide project reviews
 Strident opposition with conflicting messages, especially regarding health
 General lack of wind/energy literacy for public and decision-makers,
 Minimal public outreach/stakeholder engagement in early project
development stages
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Program Refinements:
Economic Competitiveness
1. Community scale projects
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Re-evaluate funding levels for design and construction to address expiration
of federal incentives
2. Commercial projects
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Monitor and support state policy developments
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Program Refinements to address:
Siting and Community Acceptance - 1
1. Require stakeholder engagement and public education at all development
stages
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Support use of facilitation services
Support or provide “wind energy 101 and 201” sessions
Undertake comprehensive energy planning exercises in
communities/regions
2. Remove some program distinction between community scale and
commercial projects
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Extend site assessment services to private, community scale projects
Use the same solicitation for both types of projects at site assessment and
feasibility study stages
3. Providing additional funding for pre-construction acoustic studies
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Revised Program Structure
Business
Planning
Grant
100+
kW
Site
Assessment
Services
Design &
Construction
Grant
Wind Monitoring
Feasibility Study
Acoustic Study
Development
Grants and
Loans
Education and Facilitation Services
Legend
Cmty. & Cmrcl.
Community Only
Commercial Only
Small Only
< 100 kW
Construction
Rebates
Program Refinements to address:
Siting and Community Acceptance - 2
4. Provide information resources at MassCEC.com
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Environmental benefits
Property values
Acoustics
Health
Grid integration
Others . . .
5. Target MassCEC support to well-sited projects with good prospects for
obtaining local approvals
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Employ rigorous analysis and conservative assumptions
Employ solid public engagement and education processes
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Research Projects - 1
1. Pre-construction acoustic study methodology – done
2. Property value study with regional focus – in process
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MA focused/Smaller projects
Residential transactions at multiple distances and periods
3. Solicitation for projects needing to evaluate alternative grid upgrade
solutions – coming soon
4. Falmouth Wind Turbine Options Process – in process
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Facilitation and technical support in response to request from Town
5. Kingston acoustic monitoring
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Technical support in response to request from developer
Results will inform developer, Town boards, state officials and general
public, but do not constitute a compliance test
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Research Projects - 2
6. Research Study on Wind Turbine Acoustics
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Collaboration between MassDEP and MassCEC
Objectives
− Measure the level and quality of sound emissions from a variety of
operating wind projects in Massachusetts
− Seek to understand and quantify the influence of variables including
turbine type and size, wind conditions, topography and distance
This is a research study, not a compliance test
Measurements and analysis will be done by a consulting group selected by
MassDEP and MassCEC
RFP to be released soon
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Thank You . . .
MassCEC Commonwealth Wind Team
Nils Bolgen
Peter McPhee
Leigh Cameron
Tyler Studds
Seth Federspiel
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
617-315-9311
617-315-9343
617-315-9315
617-315-9378
www.masscec.com
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