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HomeMy WebLinkAboutGolovin Energy Plan 1986Alaska Power Authority LIBRARY COPY GOLOVIN ENERGY PLAN GOLOVIN ENERGY - PLAN JAMES GURKE JUDY ZIMICKI DECEMBER . 1986 GOLOVIN ENERGY PLAN SUMMARY CITY ENERGY SUMMARY ELECTRICAL CONSERVATION POWERPLANT OPERATION APPLIANCE PURCHASE AND USE EXISTING DISINCENTIVES SPACE HEATING CONSERVATION MEASURES HEATING SYSTEM REPLACEMENT ANNUAL HOME MAINTENANCE BERING STRAITS SCHOOL WASTE HEAT RECOVERY Prepared By: Judy Zimicki and James Gurke Energy Consultants to the Bering Straits Regional Strategy December, 1986 BER 204 SUMMARY What can the residents and city council of Golovin 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. ' The city and residents of Golovin have the chance to be more long-term thinking in their energy decisions than most other cities: in the Bering Straits Region. * Furnace maintenance and heating system replacement offer the quickest paybacks of all energy opportunities because of low up-front costs and immediate energy savings. * The city should start working immediately with the Alaska Power Authority in designing and ordering materials for the waste heat system. * The city and utility should concentrate on energy education and the development of programs to encourage decreased energy use and increased efficiencies. CITY ENERGY SUMMARY for GOLOVIN November, 1986 Energy Money Comin, nto 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. Golovin receives about $52 thousand annually in PCE payments. Golovin has received $295 thousand in grants and loans from the state for bulk fuel storage and bulk fuel purchase since 1982. In 1985, 23 homes were weatherized under the state weatherization program. With a total dollar amount of $75,000, the average cost of improvements per house was $3260. Of the 37 housing units in Golovin, an unknown number | receive Low Income Housing Energy Assistance Program money. The average payment to households receiving assistance was $641 per year. Energy Money Going Out Of City . Electricity is supplied to Golovin by the city-owned and ‘operated Golovin Power Utility. Approximately 215,000 KWH of power is sold annually with an maximum peak load estimated at 100 KW. Average KWH/yr: Annual cost to consumer: Residential: 104, 600 $18,828 Comm/Public: 73,500 $13,230 School : 36,900 NA Gallons fuel oil used for generation: 41,000 . cost: $48, 800 at $1.19/gal. Gallons fuel oil for space heating: residential: 17,000 cost: $34,000 ($2.00) comm/public: 9,600 cost:$11,400 ($1.19) school 723, 000 cost: $27,300 ($1.19) 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 Golovin, the similar size of the two generators makes it useless to switch generators to match demand and thereby 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 ¢gen- erator 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. Golovin Power Utilty currently has a fuel efficiency of about 6.4 KWH/GAL. Well-operated and correctly-sized diesel generators can achieve 11 to 13 KWH/GAL. This translates to a fuel savings in Golovin of. about 50% or 20,000 gallons annually. 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 $.45/KWH would cost approximately $32/mo. or $389/yr. Even at the subsidized rate of $.179/KWH the annual cost is $13/mo. or $155/yr. 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 Heating System Replacement Significant energy savings can be gained in both residences and community buildings through replacement of inefficient heating systems as needed. For example, a typical house may consume 1200 gallons of fuel oil using a pot-burner type oil heater which is estimated to be 50% or less efficient. By replacing the pot-burner with a heater that is 80% efficient or greater, 500 gallons of fuel oil could be saved annually. At a cost of less than $1000 installed and including the cost of electricity to run the new heater, the payback period is less than 2 years at current fuel oil prices. If a pot-burner is replaced by a forced air furnace which requires a considerable amount of electricity to operate, savings from the use of less fuel oil may be substantially reduced by higher electric costs. Availability of parts and service is important in remote installations. If a back-up heating system which requires no electricity, such as a wood stove is not present, it may be wise to leave the existing pot-burner hooked up. In this case the flue pipe should be .- Plugged to stop warm air from escaping when the pot-burner is not in use. . Annual Home Maintenance 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. 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. 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 RECOVERY The city received a legialative grant several years ago for the design and construction of a waste heat system. The Alaska Power Authority was requested to aid in system design. It is expected that this design will be complete by spring, 1987. In order to use the grant monies, the city must build the system in the summer of 1987. Therefore, it is essential that the city ensure that the APA design is completed on time, and that project materials are ordered in the spring for summer construction. To this end, the city should contact the APA as soon as possible to discuss system design and possible construction management options.