The AEA "Challenge:" Identify Local Sources of Renewable Energy and We Will Come

The idea is that there are untapped energy resources in the Chilkat Valley: hydro, wind, tidal, geothermal, biomass. So the Alaska Energy Authority (AEA) mailed us two maps: a USGS map of the Haines Borough (less the southern most portion, including Excursion Inlet); and a Wind Map of the Chilkat Valley.

AEA wants us to answer two questions:

What do you know about local energy resources and which resources do you think could possibly be developed to help lower costs?

Which resources do you prefer not to develop, and why?

Then they will return with data gathering equipment and assess the potential of the resources identified. They will apply some science to our hunches. This data is the first step toward additional sources of energy for the Haines Borough.

So the maps and a notebook are at the Haines Borough Library. Put your ideas on the maps; your comments in the notebook; and I will ship it all back to Steve Haggenson, AEA Executive Director. This is important. Other communities are having Energy Hall Town Meetings; we have maps. We need to come forward in order to move forward.

Go mark the maps, please.

Reach for the Stars - Energy Efficient Stars

This year the Alaska State Legislature appropriated $100 million for Home Energy Rebates (SB 256). They struck a nerve.

According to Scott Anaya at Alaska Buidling Science Network (ABSN), and Scott Waterman, at Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC), the response is nearly overwhelming – overwhelming because a homeowner has to have an energy rating before and after implementation of efficiencies in order to qualify for the rebate. So AHFC and ABSN are scrambling to train energy raters in a hurry. Let’s talk about how the rebate program works, and then let’s talk about two methods for Haines to get ahold of energy raters.

For starters, download the Home Energy Rebate Grant Program guidelines. (Scroll down the page until you get to "Click here for program guidelines.") Note that the rebates are available only to homeowners who are year-round occupants of the upgraded home.

The amount of the rebate is based on moving up the Alaska Home Energy Rating star steps. The system moves from one to five stars, two steps per star, so ten steps altogether. There are maximums on rebates. If you move just one step, the maximum rebate is $4000; if you move five or more steps, the maximum is $10,000.

The rebate reimburses recommended energy efficiency expenses only. For example, if you are able to move 6 steps for a mere $3500, you get $3500, not $10,000.00. You are allowed to do the work yourself.

There is no doubt about it. This is an awesome program. It is a spend-to-save program. And the savings will keep on coming in the form of reduced heating and electricity bills long after the money has been spent.

Now back to that one essential person: the certified Energy Rater. To participate, your home must be evaluated by an AkWarm rater. None of the 4 dozen raters live in Haines. Four live in Juneau. AHFC recognizes that this is a problem. More raters are needed, so right now, if you qualify as an applicant for the energy rater training (2 years experience related to residential construction, weatherization, etc.) you can get trained for free! Unfortunately, although AHFC will pay tuition, there is no funding for transportation, housing, or meals. I asked. But when I described this situation at last night's Haines Borough Assembly meeting, a member of our community approached me and offered to help pay transportation and housing for a Haines applicant! So I think we can make this work. Please don't let finances deter you if you have always wanted to be an Home Energy Rater! This is a very good time to add that skill set to your resume.

The Energy Rater class calendar will be posted on the Alaska Building Science Network website. Classes will be held first in Anchorage and Fairbanks - later in Southeast – probably Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan. According to Scott Waterman at AHFC, the initial focus is up north because the building season there is shortest. To get started, download and submit an application.

Meanwhile, Mr. Waterman challenged me to identify 6 Haines homeowners willing to get an AkWarm Energy Rating on their residences. If I do that, then I can call him up, and he will send a rater down to get us started. Count me in! How about you? Give me a call at 766-2718.

Hydro or Diesel Today? In Haines, It's Hard to Tell.

When the AP&T diesel generators, located in the heart of down town Haines fired up, we all knew it. That was hard to miss, even though the thrumming sound soon receded into the background. Cock an ear, and you could tell. When those generators were running, no one could stand down town and confidently state, “We’re on hydro.” But now that more fuel efficient diesels in Skagway are running, that’s exactly what can happen. In Haines we can believe we are on hydro when we are not. It happened yesterday.

I wanted to talk to a local mover and shaker about the Alaska Energy Authority’s decision not to hold an Energy Town Hall Meeting in Haines (see "Left Out," April 25), and the VIP basically said he was unconcerned because, “We’re on hydro.” That’s just the point. We’re not. But we don't know it.

Starting on or about April 28, and for the subsequent 4 weeks, we will be on 50% hydro electiricty, 50% diesel generated electricity. (Personal email from Stan Selmer, AP&T Regional Manager located in Skagway).

The more diesel AP&T has to use, the higher the Energy Charge. It’s gone up twice since January, from $.0770 to $.0831 to $.1061. The Electric Rate is $.1243 per KWH. THAT’S the rate for hydro. The extra 10+ cents is for diesel. The Energy Rate itself is a combination of the price of diesel (ever rising) and how much diesel is used (also apparently rising). This is a problem for rate payers because the utility simply transfers the cost of the fuel it needs to power the grid to us.

Most tariffs (rates) utilities set, or change have to go through a public hearing process. Not so for Energy Rates, known in the industry as COPA. In the early 70’s when fuel prices were rapidly rising, the Alaska State Legislature decided public notice for Energy Rate or COPA filings was not necessary.

3 AAC 52.504:
(d) For a COPA filing under (b) of this section, an electric utility is not required to give public notice under AS 42.05.411 . However, if an electric utility seeks, outside of a general rate case, a change to its COPA methodology, a change to a COPA cost element, or a change to its COPA that the commission considers to be of significant interest to the public, the commission will require notice to the public in a form that the commission considers sufficient for the particular changes proposed.

Funny. To my way of thinking, the rapid rise of fuel prices should TRIGGER public notice, not prevent it. I am hoping that the last sentence (d) will enable us to persuade AP&T to give notice of its intent to raise (or lower. That has happened.) Energy Rates. They are required to file quarterly Energy Rates/COPA notices with the RCA but can file more frequently if conditions warrant. Let’s see. The announcement today that fuel prices are rising in Skagway just might trigger an early filing.

If AP&T doesn’t publish its intent to file for higher COPA rates in Haines and Skagway, but does file, how will you find out? After the fact. Ex post facto. It will show up on your bill. Opps. You will have been blithely consuming at one rate, and find out, after the fact, that you were actually paying a higher than expected rate. That seems backwards to me, and just a little unfair. Isn’t that what Juneauites protested when AEL&P suggested that their billing procedure would end up in having the higher rates applied to some consumption that took place before the avalanche? I think so.

So let’s get together and kindly request AP&T to let us know if they are going to have to charge more for the diesel they are using. That’s what I did. It’s the first step in the RCA informal complaint procedure. I sent an email to Mary Jo Quandt (maryjo.q@aptalaska.com), AP&T Vice President in Port Townsend, WA with a copy to Stan Selmer (stan.s@aptalaska.com). Very non threatening. Email me (sscott@aptalaska.net) if you would like a copy.

My argument is that the more consumers know about the cost of energy, the more choices they can make. Maybe if we knew that our electricity costs were going to go up we might use less (conserve) or we might even decide to buy that energy efficient appliance. Given the rising cost of power, the new appliance is more likely to pay for itself.

Knowing the cost of something BEFORE you buy it is simply good sense. I think this should apply to electricity as well as to gas and groceries. Can you imagine going to the store, picking out food, piling it at the check out counter, giving the grocer a blank check, and walking out with your food – only knowing what it cost when you get your bank statement at the end of the month? Impossible you say. But that’s what happens with your electric bills when you are notified of a rate change after the fact. And that’s the current state of affairs with respect to the Energy Charge. Let’s change that. We can.

Kilowatt Creep

The first full month I was hooked up to AP&T’s grid, I used 91-kilowatt hours. Then I went to the Middle East to work – mostly to recoup the expense of hooking up. While I was gone, a very frugal young woman stayed at home to mind the plants and animals. Her usage was extraordinary: 50, 40, and a “high” of 67 kilowatts a month in December, which, probably can be chalked up to my return Jan. 4. (The usage period included 13 days in January.)

I left my house sitter with all toys in place: refrigerator, answering machine, stereo, freezer, AC pump in the well, blender, mixer, TV/DVD player, vacuum, washer, dryer, and of course, lights which are exclusively CFLs. Clearly, my house sitter was not an energy hog. Alas, I am.

It’s true that I have installed a few new – and, ahem, “essential” – electronics. I have added a microwave, a laser printer, an “airport” for wireless Internet, and a DSL router.

What’s going on? Well, I haven’t been minding my watts; nor have I been doggedly turning lights and appliances off like my house sitter must have been; like folks in Juneau certainly are.

Sierra Kaden, a former Juneauite, now happily transplanted to Haines, sent me an Excel spreadsheet of the wattage of appliances and the cost of operation per hour at Juneau’s new rate: $.54 per kilowatt hour (KWH). Trusting that the wattages are at least in the ballpark for the appliances (no brand names are given), a friend made a version of the spreadsheet using Haines rates, with and without the Power Cost Equalization (PCE) Credit. Our base rate is $0.2304 per KWH. The PCE program drops our rate down to $0.0846. (Juneau is not in the Power Cost Equalization Program.)

Here are some estimated per hour costs from the spreadsheet. If you would like the complete Haines spreadsheet, please email me and I will send it to you (sscott@aptalaska.net).

Coffeemaker, automatic brew-cycle, 880 watts per hour @$0.13/hour
Coffeemaker, drip brew-cycle, 1500 watts per hour @ $0.22/hour
Freezer (16.cu.ft) manual defrost, 333 watts per hour @$0.05/per hour
Refrigerator, new (14 cu.ft), 130 watts per hour @ $0.02/per hour
Microwave, 1000 watts per hour @ $0.15/per hour
Range, 12,000 watts per hour @ $1.75/hour
Toaster, 1100 watts per hour @ $0.22/hour
Clothes Dryer, 5000 watts per hour @ $0.73/hour
Television, color, 120 watts per hour @ $.02/hour
Computer, 120 watts per hour @ $0.02/hour

Considering that refrigerators, freezers, and answering machines run 24/7, my house sitter’s frugality is even more amazing. My personal best in kilowatt usage is 122. To get back there, I need to shave 29% off of this past month’s usage. Why bother? Well, for one, it’s fun. I’ve always loved those Timex challenges – you know, how fast can you do this or that. I’m one of those people who sets a timer to see how many wheelbarrow loads of wood I can bring in 20 minutes. But there’s another, more serious, reason.

I hooked up to the grid September 2006 because I thought that AP&T was hydro. I traded in my solar panels, my huge lead-acid batteries (I couldn’t even move them), my 5 KW Northern Lights Diesel generator for a cleaner, more environmentally responsible power source. Silly me. I feel very very foolish. Right now, this very minute, 50% of the electricity I am using is being generated from costly, polluting (both air and noise) diesel. So I am determined to do my part by using as little power as I can. If everyone were to take on a similar challenge, maybe AP&T could satisfy more of our demand with its presently limited hydro capacity, thus using less and less diesel. Let's see, exactly what is in our control? The level of Goat Lake? Probably not. The level of our consumption? Probably so. When Goat Lake is low we can either put on diesel, or use less electricity. Which will it be? Even without considering the impact of diesel emissions on climate, the soaring cost of diesel pretty much makes the answer obvious.

I am inspired by Juneau. Juneauites have cut demand by 20%. Admittedly, they are motivated. There is a world of difference between eight cents (Haines) and 54-cents (Juneau) per kilowatt hour. We are so lucky. But that is no reason to be piggy about power. I am going to try to slim down.

Let X Mark the Spot - May 13, Haines Borough Assembly Meeting

I just got off the phone with Steve Haggenson, Executive Director of the Alaska Energy Authority. His enthusiasm for helping communities locate and develop renewable sources of energy is exciting. It is, in fact, “energizing.” Still, AEA is not going to schedule a Town Hall Energy Meeting in Haines. Too bad. I think that Steve’s enthusiasm and “can do” attitude could galvanize our leadership, could galvanize “us.”

Haggenson was formerly the CEO of Golden Valley Electric Association. He knows electric utilities. I mentioned that some folks in Haines were interested in forming an energy coop. Now, this seems like a daunting proposition to me. Not to Mr. Haggenson. In fact, he said, you could do it with 10 people. No municipality required.

When I asked Steve how that might be done, he rattled off a scenario based on dollars and cents. Looking at AP&T’s current rates in Haines, he suggested a rate we could offer to sell power to AP&T that would be profitable for our power coop and still be attractive to AP&T. He explained how, once we had an agreement with AP&T, that agreement would be considered “bankable,” and could be the basis for a loan for the development of the infrastructure. Maybe, if we did the feasibility work, AP&T might even offer to do the development themselves!

And that’s where AEA comes in. The purpose of the Energy Town Hall Meeting is to gather local information on renewable energy sources. The AEA folks will put up maps and locals will draw circles on them: “this is a good wind spot,” “snow never melts there, that’s probably a good geothermal spot,” “…strong 15 knot current there – tidal power maybe.”

AEA is also interested in sources of waste heat. They want to know what temperatures are coming off the water treatment plant. How hot is the heat generated by the solid waste reduction operation at Community Waste Solutions? As he said, they have a building full of experts in Anchorage who want to help communities assess and develop their resources and they are relying on us to tell them what we have. Then they will come.

Well, AEA is still NOT coming to Haines for an Energy Town Hall meeting. (I just can’t seem to let this go, can I?) But they are going to do the next best thing. They are sending us maps. We can put them up and draw our circles - Let X mark the spot. Haines Borough Mayor Fred Shields is going to allow time for me to explain the AEA request for energy source information at the May 13 Borough meeting. I’ll hang the maps. You can draw the circles! Then we will send the information back up north to AEA; in turn they will send down equipment-laden analysts and we will let science go to work. A data-based analysis of our resources will help us know where best to focus our human and financial efforts. That seems very sensible.

By the way, Mr. Haggensen said that he would like to come to Haines. Maybe we can get a meeting together in July. In the meantime, please come May 13, 6:30 PM, and add your local knowledge to the Haines renewable energy resource maps. We will have lots of red pens.

A Penny Saved

Last night I applied for a grant – a journalism grant. I think there is about a one in a million chance that I’ll get it, but I had fun dreaming up an idea.

Here’s my idea: I’ll get a few power monitor and power use systems; ask women heads of households to work with me to install them in their homes; and then together we’ll tell the story of how knowing exactly how much power your electronics and home is using changes or doesn’t change power consumption practices. I wanted to focus on women because I wanted to whittle away at the stereotype that women fumble when it comes to electrical and mechanical systems. Besides, many of the women I know are very concerned with how rising energy costs are taking up a greater and greater share of the household budget. And finally, women are great networkers. If something is helping, they are going to share that information.

Like I said, getting my idea funded is a long shot, but getting these power monitors and power use systems into homes in the Haines Borough is as easy as ordering one of the monitoring devices. It would be great if one of our building supply outlets would pick these up so that we look at them and ask questions before we purchase them.

Tim June demonstrated a power monitor last Sunday for Earth Day celebrations at the Haines Borough Public Library. What you do is plug it into your outlet and then plug your appliance into it. You can then see how much electricity your appliance is using. Models for 110V appliances to look for are Kill A Watt (seems to cost between $18-24) , the Kill A Watt EZ, about $70, and Watts Up? . The Watts Up? product line has a range of models, including a model that can interface with a PC computer via a USB cable. Windows supported software allows access to the data table, offers charting and payback analysis, and permits the export of data. This product line seems to start at $100 and ranges up to $270 for the model that interfaces with a computer.

A power use system monitors the total electrical consumption of your home – all use rolled into one. It is not appliance specific. There is Cent-a-Meter, Power Cost Monitor (each about $160), or the Energy Detective (about $190). Brochures for all these instruments can be downloaded from the Power Meter Store.

People like to say, “You can’t manage what you don’t measure.” I think this is true. Power monitors give us the opportunity to measure daily use and make the changes we want to make, BEFORE we get the electricity bill! It’s a way, as they say, to “get rich slowly.” But before you pop for a power meter, consider this saying, "The cheapest unit of electricity is the one not used." Habitually unplugging will also help you "get rich slowly." That's what I'm going to do.

Thanks to John Hunt, KHNS, News Director, for the link J-Lab’s McCormick Tribune New Media Women Entrepreneurs initiative .

Saving Oil in a Hurry

What if we had a sudden disruption of our supply of transportation fuel? What if there was an even steeper price hike? What if we were running out of gas like Juneau ran out of electricity? If this happened, it would be good not to flail around trying this, experimenting with that – wasting precious fuel in a trial and error approach.

In 1995 the International Energy Agency published Saving Oil in a Hurry. This report outlines the fuel savings that would be realized by the implementation of a variety of policies and the cost of implementation of the policies. For example, transitioning the workforce to telecommuting has a large impact on oil consumption, but it can require investment in infrastructure. The savings realized depends on what is required in terms of infrastructure to facilitate implementation. Car pooling and compressing the workweek turn out to be two polices that are very inexpensive to implement and have very large and large fuel savings respectively.

It is text like these that we should ask our Borough leadership to have in their energy tool-kit. You never know when you might need them. Thanks to Mike Denker, former chair of the Haines Energy Task Force, for the tip about the IEA publication.