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HomeMy WebLinkAboutGambell Energy Plan 1986 Alaska Power Authority ws LIBRARY COPY GAMBELL ENERGY PLAN Ry GAMBELL ENERGY PLAN Geniorexe JAMES GURKE JUDY ZIAICKI -DECEABER . 1986 GAMBELL 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 WIND GENERATION Prepared By: Judy Zimicki and James Gurke _ Energy Consultants to the Bering Straits Regional Strategy December, 1986 BER O10 SUMMARY What can the residents and city council of Gambell 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, Ine. Residents of Gambell use more electricity per household than other Bering Straits communities. Electrical conservation through increased powerplant efficiency and through changes in electricity use patterns should be a priority. * The city should exercise more control over the utility operator through its position as employer and through the AVEC delegate process. Load management and waste heat recovery should be pursued with the utility. * The city and residents need to become more aware of the energy usage of appliances and lighting. The city could develop programs in coordination with AVEC for energy education and for bulk purchase or increased availability of more efficient appliances and lights. * The city should look to the future and the lowering of electricity cost subsidies in making decisions about the sale of its wind generators. The best option may be to keep the machines for future operation. CITY ENERGY SUMMARY for GAMBELL November, 1986 Energy Money Coming Into City 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. Gambell receives about $89 thousand annually in PCE payments. Gambell has received grants and loans from the state for bulk fuel storage and study of waste heat recapture. The amounts are not known. In 1986, 55 homes were weatherized under the state weatherigation program. With a total dollar amount of $199,173 the average cost of improvements per house was $3621. . Of the 163 housing units in Gambell, 79 received Low Income Housing Energy Assistance Program money in 1985. Total amount was $69,798 for an average of $884 per house. Energy Money Going Out Of City Electricity is supplied to Gambell by the Alaska Village Electric Cooperative (AVEC). Net generation is 406 MWH with an average demand of 144 KW. Annual cost to consumer: 406,000 KWH/year: $86,884 at $.214/KWH Gallons fuel oil used for generation: 95, 000 cost: $115,000 at $1.21/gal. Gallons fuel oil for space heating: residential:125,600 cost: $200,000 ($1.59) comm/public: 46,600 cost:$ 56,400 ($1.21) school : 37,850 cost:$ 45,800 ($1.21) 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. A more active power plant operation in terms of match of generator size to electrical load would increase fuel economy and decrease maintenance. 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. The operation of the smaller generator could also reduce AVEC’s plant maintenance and replacement costs. As employer of the AVEC plant operator, the city should work with AVEC to enhance load management opportunities. With this kind of load management, much higher efficiencies can be. obtained from the diesel generators. Well-operated and correctly-sized diesel generators can achieve 11 to 13 KWH/gal. Assuming an efficiency of 8.5 KWH/gal for Gambell, this translates to a potential fuel savings of 33% or 31,000 gallons annually. The city has the opportunity to affect the quality of AVEC service through the representation of the city’s elected AVEC delegate. This person attends the annual AVEC Delegate meeting and votes on matters of utility policy and operations. If-the city has concerns about how the powerplant is operated, or any other aspects of power generation, it is their responsibility to go to the delegate meeting with an agenda that reflects the city’s needs. Issues that might be brought up by the delegate include waste oil disposal, the interaction of AVEC repairment with operators, and the responsiveness of AVEC to particular city concerns, such as waste heat. Shared savings programs which result in savings to both AVEC and the village should be developed. The city should develop programs which encourage residents and schools to participate in energy saving measures which would benefit the entire community by lowering power production costs as well as benefit the individual through lowered electricity bills. : : 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. AVEC has included appliance electric use information in its membership handbook but most residents are still unfamiliar with the energy costs of operating electrical appliances. 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 $.43/KWH would cost approximately $31/mo. or $372/yr. Even at the subsidized rate of $.214/KWH the annual cost is $15/mo. or $185/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. Your AVEC delegate should be a leader in understanding and applying these techniques to make the utility function efficiently. Existing Disincentives Unfortunately, there are two institutional barriers to actual implementation of conservation options. First, 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. Second, because it is a cooperative, AVEC shares the savings in power costs from any one village with all other villages served by the cooperative. Both of these conditions greatly minimize any incentive for a village to promote ways to reduce electrical consumption. 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. On the cooperative level, AVEC can be encouraged by the City’s AVEC delegate to provide local or regional incentives for reduced electricity consumption. This is on the assumption that their fuel and maintenance costs could be lowered and plant upgrades and major repairs minimized. SPACE HEATING CONSERVATION MEASURES. 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. 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 which allow all or a portion of the money saved by the local school through conservation measures to be spent by that school for its programs could be established. 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. WIND GENERATION The City of Gambell has an average wind speed of 18 mph, with the highest winds during the winter months. In an attempt to harness this power, Gambell has three 10 KW Jacob wind generators in place, although none are working presently because of problems with the synchronous inverters. Estimated average monthly production should be 1500-2000 KWH. The city recently decided to sell the wind generators because of the continued problems. However, with the expectation of decreased state subsidies in the form of Power Cost Equalization and the absence of a market for the secondhand machines, it may be worthwhile for the city to investigate other options. The city could set up a service contract with the dealer or authorized representative, and develop a training program for a village operator. If problems with the inverters continue, the wind-generated electricity could be used for resistive heating in the washeteria for hot water and space heating. This option would greatly simplify the electrical design of the wind system. Or the wind machines could provide heating for the new city water system. Operation and maintenance is the most critical consideration here, assuming the machines themselves are mechanically | sound. If the city can effectively operate and maintain the machines, they should more than pay for themselves through replacement of power presently bought from AVEC for the washeteria. In addition, the machines should pay for employment of an operator, creating a new job in the city. In consideration of wind generation, it is important for the city to understand that AVEC has a by-law approved by the Alaska Public Utilities Commission which prohibits installation of wind capacity of more than 5% of its largest generator. Therefore, the power produced by wind turbines will most likely not be purchased by the utility but will have to be used directly by the City for power or space heat. :