Browsing by Subject "RPS"
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Item Energy transitions on the Hawaiian Islands : water resources implications for Hawaii's electrical power system(2014-08) Dawes, Colleen Marie; Pierce, Suzanne Alise, 1969-; King, Carey; Beach, FredImported fossil fuels currently supply over 90% of the Hawaiian Islands' annual consumed electricity, the majority of which is produced by petroleum-fired power plants. The state of Hawaii has a goal to dramatically reduce this reliance on imports and achieve 30% locally sourced, renewable power use by 2030. This goal signals an energy transition for the state that is achievable through decommissioning, repurposing and new development in power generating technologies and infrastructure. In addition to dependencies on imports and fossil fuels, Hawaii's electrical industry is also currently the largest water user in the state of Hawaii with over 75% of all surface water and groundwater withdrawals attributed to thermoelectric generation and cooling. Transitions in Hawaii's fuel mix from a petroleum dominant mix to renewable fuel for power generation could have significant impacts on water use and availability: a small change in energy resources could mean significant changes in water use. Integrated planning and management for these two resources is needed. A successful energy transition for Hawaii in the next 15 years will involve precise planning, and strategic decision-making for both energy and water. This research adopts a systems view to evaluate energy-water interdependencies within Hawaii's electrical system, comparing the current fuel mix and projections for energy trends on the islands with the continental United States. A power plant database built from Hawaii-specific utility-scale data combined with national averages for thermoelectric water use reported in the literature provide an overview of Hawaii’s current electrical sector and its water use. This snapshot identifies critical resource management needs and reveals disparities between the electrically detached islands. Scenario analysis of projected change in Hawaii’s electrical sector is used to assess the implications for water use intensity across a range of locally sourced power capacity and generation options. Results indicate that, because it displaces petroleum power production, increases in renewable energies on Hawaii will produce substantial water savings, especially in total operational water withdrawals.Item Risk management strategies and portfolio analysis for electricity generation planning and integration of renewable portfolio standards(2010-05) Ritter, Stephanie Michelle; Spence, David B.; Groat, CharlesRenewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) require electricity providers to supply a minimum fixed percentage or total quantity of customer load from designated renewable energy resources by a given date. These policies have become increasingly prevalent in the past decade as state governments seek to increase the use of renewable energy sources. As a policy tool, RPS provide a cost-effective, market-based approach for meeting targets which promote greater use of renewable energy in both regulated and deregulated markets. To facilitate the obtainment of Renewable Portfolio Standards, most states allow the trading of Renewable Energy Credits (RECs). RECs represent the environmental attributes of renewable energy generation which are decoupled from the generated power. These credits are created along with the generation of renewable energy, decoupled from energy generation, tracked by regional systems, and eventually purchased by retail suppliers to fulfill their RPS obligations. As of April 2010, RPS have been passed into law in 29 states and Washington D.C. and an additional 6 states have non-mandatory renewable portfolio goals however the U.S. government has yet to enact a Federal Renewable Portfolio Standard. Although the final requirements and details of a Federal RPS are undecided, federal standards would be unlikely to preempt or override state programs which are already in place. A key concern regarding the passage of a federal RPS is that a national REC market would result in a shift of wealth from states with few renewable energy resources and limited resource potential to regions richer in renewable resources. Because of the implications that a federal renewable portfolio standard would have on the economy, the environment, and the equitable treatment of all the states, many issues and concerns must be resolved before federal standards will be passed into law. A theoretical case study for an electric utility generation planning decision that includes obligations to meet Renewable Portfolio Standard is presented here. A framework is provided that allows decision makers and strategic planning teams to: assess their business situation, identify objectives of generation planning, determine the relative weights of the objectives, recognize tradeoffs, and create an efficient portfolio using Portfolio Theory. The case study follows the business situation for Austin Energy as it seeks to meet Texas State RPS and mandates set by Austin City Council and prepares for potential National RPS legislation.