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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWhite Mountain Energy Plan 1986WHITE MOUNTAIN ENERGY PLAN Qe o1crere JAMES GURKE JUDY ZIAICKI DECEMBER. !986 WHITE MOUNTAIN ENERGY PLAN SUMMARY CITY ENERGY SUMMARY ELECTRICAL CONSERVATION POWERPLANT OPERATION APPLIANCE PURCHASE AND USE EXISTING DISINCENTIVES SPACE HEATING CONSERVATION MEASURES ANNUAL HOME MAINTENANCE BERING STRAITS SCHOOL WASTE HEAT RECAPTURE ENERGY ALTERNATIVES WIND GENERATION HYDROELECTRICITY Prepared By: Judy Zimicki and James Gurke Energy Consultants to the Bering Straits Regional Strategy December, 1986 SUMMARY What oan the residents and city esuneil ef White Mountain do to decrease individual and community energy costs? The purpose of this energy plan is to provide some specific ideas and actions for individuals and local governments to increase energy efficiency, and to decrease energy use and costs. A more complete discussion of the issues raised in this plan and the role of regional policies and organizations is included in our Energy Consultant’s Report to the Bering Straits Regional Strategy, available through Kawerak, Inc. Because wood is available for home heating, White Mountain should concentrate on ways of electrical conservation to decrease its energy costs. * With the construction of a city water system, residents and the city council should develop a program where energy-efficient hot water heaters and washing machines are encouraged or made available to residents. * Construct the water system so that generator waste heat can be used in the future to keep the lines from freezing. * Pursue anemometry studies if there is interest in wind power. Development should only occur after good reconnaissance. * Encourage continued use of wood burnt in high efficiency wood stoves. * Keep track of fuel oil used for heating city buildings to provide base information for energy retrofit decisions. CITY ENERGY SUMMARY for WHITE MOUNTAIN November, 1986 E Mi Comi I Cit Power Cost Equalization (PCE) is a program set up by the state of Alaska to help rural residents with high electricity costs. With the program, electricity rates charged by the local utility are subsidized. White Mountain receives about $43,000 annually in PCE payments. White Mountain has received $320 thousand in grants and loans from the state since 1980 for bulk fuel storage and bulk fuel purchase. There have been several state weatherization projects in the city. 35 homes have been weatherized by the state at an average cost of $3554 for each home. Of the 41 housing units in White Mountain, 33 received Low Income Housing Energy Assistance Program money in 1985. Total amount was $16,923, for an average of $513 per house. Energy Money Going Out Of City Electricity is supplied to White Mountain by city-owned and operated generators. In 1986, net generation was approximately 280,000 KWH with a maximum peak demand of 110 KW. Average KWH/yr: Annual cost to consumer: Residential: 90,500 $17,648 Comm/Public: 84,868 $16,549 School :104, 300 NA Gallons fuel oil used for generation: 40,000 cost:$50,400 at $1.26/gal. Gallons fuel oil for space heating: Residential: 5,000 cost:$ 8,500 ($1.70) Comm/Public: 4,600 cost:$ 5,796 ($1.26) School :41,850 cost:$52,731 ($1.26) ELECTRICAL CONSERVATION Electrical conservation measures can significantly reduce the peak load on the generator through load management. This results in increased generator efficiencies and lower power production costs. The purchase of energy-efficient appliances and their appropriate use can significantly lower power production costs and individual electric bills. Powerplant Operation Often in a village, the operator runs the largest generator needed to meet the peak loads of the day even though this peak load may only be a portion of the day. In White Mountain, the identical size of the two generators makes it useless to switch generators to match demand. There is no option to increase fuel economy and decrease maintenance. If a smaller generator were available, for example, the operator could switch to the smaller generator during the night after the load drops. This may occur at 11:00 pm or earlier. The larger generator would then be brought back on line in the morning before school begins and the load increases. It is estimated that the synchronous switch gear needed to transfer generators would cost $10-15, 000 installed. The added work for the operator would be paid for by the fuel savings, thus trading fuel oil for employment in the village. With this kind of load management, much higher efficiencies can be obtained from the diesel generators. White Mountain Utilty currently has a fuel efficiency of about 4.8 KWH/gal. Well-operated and correctly-sized diesel generators can achieve 11 to 13 KWH/gal. This translates to a fuel savings in White Mountain of about 60% or 24,000 gallons annually. Utility safety in White Mountain could be improved by an upgrade of the distribution system. Appliance Purchase and Use Refrigerators, freezers and hot water heaters are large power users. An energy ’hog’ can cost up to 2-3 times more than an efficient model in yearly electricity cost. With the chance of decreased Power Cost Equalization monies in the future, more attention needs to be paid to lighting and appliance electricity consumption. The Power Cost Equalization program encourages utilities to provide electrical conservation education but provides no monies for such efforts. Unlike oil and gas appliances which can be easily judged for fuel consumption by the amount of fuel bought within a given time, the electricity use of individual appliances is not measured and often not known. For example: one 100 watt light bulb left on in the entry way will use 72 KWh/month and at $.55/KWH would cost approximately $40/mo. or $475/yr. Even at the subsidized rate of $.214/KWH the annual cost is $14/mo. or $169/yr. A comparison on the monthly bill of that month’s use compared with the same month last year could be instructive to homeowners. Many appliances do not require continuous operation and can be shut off during peak periods. Large electrical appliances such as refrigerators, freezers, hot water heaters and air handling systems can be operated with clock timers which control the on/off cycle. Improvements in energy efficient appliances have made great strides in the past few years. For example, fluorescent light bulbs are available which consume only 25% of the electricity of a standard incandescent light bulb while providing the same amount of light. Improvements in refrigerators and freezers have reduced the annual electrical consumption from 1200 KW/yr to less than 400 KW/yr. Power factor controllers and soft start capabilities have improved the efficiency of motors by 10% or more. The cost of these energy saving appliances are generally more than the comparable inefficient product but can in many cases return the cost of the added investment in less than one year and provide many years of additional energy savings at no extra cost. In order to assure the most cost effective appliance is purchased, minimum appliance efficiency standards could be adopted by the city to encourage residents to purchase . energy efficient models. Some electric utilities have given rebates to customers who purchase energy efficient appliances. Existing Disincentives Unfortunately, there is an institutional barrier in the Power Cost Equalization program to actual implementation of conservation options. The PCE program and methods of calculation for PCE subsidies actually penalize consumers by lowering PCE subsidies when electric conservation and load Management reduce powerplant costs. Changes to the PCE program to encourage electrical conservation will have to be made on the state legislative level and will most likely be addressed in the next legislative session. The city should work with their legislators to develop changes which benefit both the state and the city by supporting conservation and efficient powerplant operation and management. One method is to include a lifeline rate with higher PCE awards for increased powerplant KWH/gal rates. In the meantime, calculations of payback periods for conservation measures will have to be done looking at both the true and subsidized costs of electricity. SPACE HEATING CONSERVATION MEASURES Annual Home Maintenance Every building requires a level of maintenance to continue to be as energy efficient as possible. Thirty-five homes in White Mountain have been weatherized under the state weatherization program. The city is listed low on the state : priority list for additional weatherization efforts. A village or regional homeowners association could be established to provide many of these routine maintenance tasks such as caulking, weatherstripping and heating system maintenance. For example, efficiencies in boilers can be improved 15-20% with simple cleaning and adjustment. In the washeteria, this could mean a savings of up to $600 in annual fuel costs. Simple thermometers installed in heating system flue pipes can help a homeowner monitor the efficiency of the heater. Funding for such a program could be initiated with a grant and ongoing operations could be supported by a maintenance fee. The city should consider developing such a program to provide another source of employment in the village. The Bering Straits Regional Housing Authority might be in a position to administer such a program. Model organizations exist in other parts of the country, including the Institute for Human Development and the Citizens Conservation Corporation. The Job Training Partnership Act could likely be available for training of eligible residents at the Kotzebue Technical Center or the Seward Vo-Tech Center. High efficiency wood stoves should be bought when existing stoves are replaced. Bering Straits School The School District should be encouraged to apply for the Institutional Conservation Program (ICP) for energy engineering studies and for the purchase and installation of energy conservation improvements. Maintenance staff should be trained to identify energy con- servation measures which require minimal costs. Such mea- sures include efficiency testing of boilers, weatherstrip-— ping and caulking of poorly sealed doors and windows, plas- tic storm windows for single and double pane windows and temperature set back thermostats. Savings can also be found in replacement of fluorescent ballasts or installation of simple reflectors in fluorescent lights. To encourage energy conservation in village schools, incen- tive programs could be established which allow all ora portion of the money saved by the local school through conservation measures to be spent by that school for its activities. Programs similar to this have been successful in schools around the country and a similar program may soon be started in the Anchorage school district. The community could also encourage the school to educate children in energy consumption and conservation. WASTE HEAT RECAPTURE The utility powerhouse is locted about 180 feet from the high school gymnasium. At present, waste heat from power generation is not used for space or water heating. The design for the new water system includes a loop for the water through the generator module. The city should ensure that this loop is kept in the design so that generator waste heat can be used to keep water lines from freezing in the future. The city should also work with the Bering Straits School District to provide waste heat to the school for space heating. ENERGY ALTERNATIVES Wind Generation The city has expressed interest in wind generation as an option to expansion of the existing diesel system. Before wind generators are seriously considered, the city should assess the wind resource through installation of an anemometer on nearby White Mountain. To do this, the city would buy a dataplot type recorder ($1000) and a wind instrument ($1000). The state could provide a telescoping 30 foot tower with tie down stakes. The city would pay for guy wires, shipping, and installation. It is recommended that a minimum of one year of data be collected before wind power decisions are made. The computer readout and analysis of the dataplot recorder could be done free of charge by the State Climate Center of the University of Alaska - Anchorage. Hydroelectricity In 1981, the Corps of Engineers prepared an inventory and reconnaissance study of hydropower projects in Northwest Alaska. Six options were considered for hydroelectric power near Golovin although only one of these options, a diversion dam on Eagle Creek, included transmission of power to White Mountain. The study concluded that the estimated construction cost of the hydroelectric facilities is quite high compared to the amount of energy produced. An operating season of only 6 months, May through October, necessitates that a diesel system sized for operation during the six months of highest electrical usage be maintained in addition to the hydroelectric system. Total estimated construction cost of the Eagle Creek system was $8.5 million, with a present value estimate of less than half that.