APWA Congress Solar Feed-in Tariff the Gainesville Way

Transcription

1 APWA Congress 2011 Solar Feed-in Tariff the Gainesville Way 1

2 City population of 124,354 City area: 62 square miles County population of 247,336 County area: 930 square miles Employment Center for the North Central Florida region Median Age: 25 Median Household Income: $31,426 Home to the University of Florida (Gators) 2

3 Greetings from Albert and Alberta 3

4 Gainesville Regional Utilities City-Owned Utility (93,000 electric customers, gas, water, wastewater, telecom) Providing wholesale and retail electric service Generation 60-70% Coal 20-30% Natural Gas 4% Nuclear 1% Oil 1% Renewable Energy Budget of $385 million 4

5 Learning Objectives 1. Why Gainesville implemented a solar feed-in tariff. 2. The economic development potential of solar energy. 3. Lessons learned in Gainesville on implementation. 5

6 Carbon Reduction Efforts Committed to U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement Must achieve 7% of 1990 CO2 levels by 2012 (Kyoto Protocol) Applies to City operations (including electric generation) Gainesville will meet in 2013 Documented in City Plan 6

7 Carbon Reduction Strategies Current Strategy Estimated CO2 Reduction (2012) (tons) Cumulative Impacts on 2012 Baseline (tons) Cumulative Percent CO2 Emissions Above Kyoto 2012 Baseline - 2,426,909 36% 10,000 Acre Forest Preservation 30,283 2,396,626 34% GRU South Energy Center DH Unit #2 Retrofit Traffic Management System Upgrades 101,176 2,295,450 29% -11,840 2,272,341 27% 81,867 2,190,474 23% 7

8 Current Carbon Reduction Strategies Estimated CO2 Cumulative Cumulative Strategy Minimum Reduction Housing Impacts Code on (R-19) 2012 Percent CO2 (2012) Baseline (tons) Emissions (tons) Above Kyoto 25,086 2,165,388 Minimum 25,086 2,165,388 21% Housing Code 21% (R-19) 162,389 LED Traffic 2,725 2,162,663 21% Lights 21% Solar PV 250KW 274 2,162,389 21% 50 MW Biomass Power Plant 345,707 1,816,682 2% 50 MW PPA 120,998 2,041,391 14% Total 466,705 1,695,684-5% 8

9 Strategies & Options Energy Efficiency Lowest kilowatt-hour usage per residential customer in Florida* Customer incentives/ education Rebates for efficient gas and electric appliances Information Rate designs Renewable energy based on resource availability Biomass and Solar Wind, hydro, geothermal, tidal not available *Among utilities serving urban areas 9

10 Renewable Energy 100 MW Biomass Waste Wood Third party will build and operate Online in late

11 Renewable Energy Solar Energy Solar hot water heaters Residential solar photovoltaic rebates Net metering 11

12 Solar Programs Rebate program, utility concerned might not recover investment PV system could be moved (or blown) off roof and never function again By 2009 only 0.25 MW of solar developed after several years of rebates and net metering 12

13 Feed-in Tariffs (FIT) System of payments for each unit of electricity generated from a renewable source such as wind or solar. Price is generally paid based on the cost of the electricity produced, plus a reasonable profit for the producer. Most successful policy in facilitating low-impact renewable energy. Estimated that 50 per cent of the worlds solar photovoltaic systems have been installed as a result of various feed-in tariff policies. 13

14 Why FIT? Helps achieve Climate Protection goals Provides jobs and economic growth 14

15 How FIT Works in Gainesville GRU pays producers 32 cents per kwh for building or pavement mounted solar systems 10 kw or smaller (20 years) Price declines as systems increase in size and for larger ground mount systems (20 years) Digression schedule for future pricing through 2016 Assures profitability for investor 15

16 Economic Benefits Stop loss of 4 MW a year to manage rate impact Hit stop loss two days prior to implementation date of March 1, 2009 Capacity queue was filled through 2015 even though the price is unknown 16

17 Economic Benefits Substantial increase in solar By end of 2011, expect MW Jobs and investment in Gainesville Contractor community has grown tremendously from one solar contractor in 2006 to five Example: one contractor hired 8 additional employees and is bringing in $1 million of business Contractors from other states and around Florida are participating Providing opportunities for roofers, electricians and investors 17

18 2 MW Ground Mount 18

19 Roof Mounts 3,000 sf home with 2 solar water heating panels on the left and 44 solar electrical panels on the right Large commercial application of solar electrical system 19

20 Lessons Learned Tree City versus Solar City Tree canopy coverage dropped from 60% to 50% between 1995 and Comprehensive plan goals and objectives established to change this declining tree cover conflict with solar goals. Wetlands and Stormwater Management floating solar panels Historic Preservation Trade Off not visible from street 20

21 Fire Safety Lessons Learned Firefighters must assume solar system is charged at all times; limits vertical ventilation thru roof; heavier roof may require earlier evacuation of firefighters Coordination among various governmental agencies is key Everyone wants to be involved: residential, government and business Highly competitive environment need well defined selection processes 21

22 Questions? 22