Powering Appalachia

I attended the Renewable Energy in West Virginia conference on June 5 at the Conference Center in Flatwoods, West Virginia. The aim of the conference was to bring together organizations and individuals with experience implementing and managing renewable energy projects in West Virginia.

The event could not have come at a better time. With climate change reports divulging scary data on a seemingly weekly basis, the battle over energy production is at the forefront of American discourse. Coupled with the EPA's recent proposed rules limiting carbon dioxide emissions for power plants, the energy production landscape is changing. Considering West Virginia gets around 96% of its electricity from coal-fired plants, the prevalence of renewable energy (as well as the momentum to support a conference) in the Mountain State may seem surprising. But don't be fooled by Big Coal and our brazen representatives - renewable energy is alive in West Virginia and carries significance in both employment and state tax revenues. 

First, some quick facts on West Virginia's energy landscape from the Energy Information Administration:

• WV ranked 5th among states in total energy production in 2011, producing 4.9% of the national total
• In 2012, WV was the largest coal producer east of the Mississippi and second largest in the nation behind Wyoming; WV accounted for 12% of total U.S. production that year
• In 2012, 45% of the coal mined in WV was shipped to other states; 40% was exported to foreign countries 
• Coal-fired power plants accounted for 96% of WV net electricity generation in 2013; hydro and wind contributed only 4%
• WV typically generates more energy than it consumes; in 2010, 56% of its net electricity generation was consumed outside the state

The conference was structured with a lineup of leaders in various fields, ranging from independent business owners and fuels salesmen to government officials at state and federal levels. The event was moderated by Christine Risch, Director of Resource and Energy Economics for the Center for Business & Economic Research at Marshall University. Here's a breakdown of the presentations that caught my attention, their main takeaways, and my reflective thoughts on the information disseminated. 

Jeff Herholdt - Director of West Virginia Division of Energy (DOE)

Renewable Energy in the State of West Virginia

It was fitting that Herholdt spoke first, as everyone was still waking up, gathering their thoughts, and not yet on the offensive. As the head honcho of a state agency that issues unwavering support for the (highly-unregulated) coal industry, Herholdt attempted to advance the agenda that the state is cultivating a renewable-friendly environment. Considering that simple mention of regulation or renewable energy sources throws state officials into the 'War on Coal' battle cry, I can see why Herholdt got his presentation over with early in the day. He did throw some statistics out to paint West Virginia's energy picture:

WV Energy Flow from Coal (2011 - based on EPA consumption data)

• Exported coal accounted for 3,277.1 trillion BTUs
• WV used 724.2 trillion BTUs

2012 Electricity Generation

• Coal - 96%
• Renewables - 4%

Wind Capacity

• 583.1 Megawatts (MW)
• From 2007 - 2011, WV had the largest wind production capacity in the South East

Solar Capacity

• 1.92 MW
• From 2006 - 2014, capacity increased from ZERO MW to 1.92 MW

Geothermal HVAC

• Northwestern WV was recognized as a geothermal hotspot by Google

Biomass

• Switchgrass can be planted in energy parks
• Wood pellets as heating fuel
• Biochar from poultry litter
• Charleston landfill gas project
• Summer capacity: 2.2 MW

While Herholdt's figures shed dim light on the depressing lack of renewables currently in use, the mention of geothermal and biomass from a state official was a step in the right direction. As for the economic viability of geothermal in a state where cheap electricity comes from coal, we'll have to see what kind of projected costs a large-scale geothermal HVAC plant would involve. I'm a big proponent of biosequestration and biofuels coming from organic matter, and one look at the jungle-like growth of hardwood forests following the spring bloom shows the potential of biofuels as small-scale alternatives for rural communities and individual households in West Virginia. 

Robert Anders - Chief of Staff, Renewable Power for U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)

Federal Renewable Energy Initiatives

Serving as a top-level federal official making his appearance in Coal Country, Anders' presentation provided a snapshot of the national energy picture. I have cherry picked the items pertinent to renewables and their viability in Appalachia:

Growth of Renewables in U.S.

• Capacity from 7.1 Gigawatts (GW) to 11.5 GW in the previous year alone

Double-Double Plan for 2020

• This DOE initiative seeks to double wind, solar and geothermal capacities
• The first 'doubling' occured from 2008-2012

According to Anders, the DOE subsidiary Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) has an initiative that seeks to make renewables cost-competitive to traditional (fossil fuel) energy sources WITHOUT subsidies. That is a huge goal with a massive undertaking - fossil fuels subsidies in 2011 accounted for over $500 billion in breaks to producers world-wide. While renewables receive far greater subsidies in ratio to fossil fuels, the pure dollar amount oil and gas producers are gifted leaves renewables remaining woefully unfeasible.

Tom Feldman - VP of Project Development for Free Flow Power (FFP)

New Hydro at Existing Dams: Making Beneficial Use of Existing Infrastructure

In this intriguing yet controversial set of ideas, Feldman's presentation detailed exactly what the title implies: retrofitting existing dams to take advantage of the potential energy in their hydrological flows. The big issue with FPP isn't retrofitting the dams, but rather the dams themselves. These structures are typically built for flood control and navigational purposes, but have unintended consequences. Dams pool water, flooding areas that may once have been ecologically, geographically, or even archaeologically important. The loss of free flow in a river is devastating for fisheries and other ecology. Sedimentation at the dam wall and at mouths of major rivers due to loss of free flow causes environmental problems. At peak dam construction in the 1960s, over five dams were being constructed per day. There are over 75,000 dams in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' National Inventory of Dams. Fortunately, the frenzy has subsided, and watershed advocacy groups are now fighting to remove dams (mostly on major Western rivers where salmon runs have diminished and agriculture has deemed the waters dead). Here in the East, I don't see any dams being removed as the population is too concentrated on river banks below potentially deadly floodzones. While people need to recognize the flood plain as part of the river, enough of them live on one that dam removal isn't feasible anytime soon. With that said, I think FPP has a noble idea - using existing infrastructure is part of the green movement. After all, one of the R's in the recycle logo is to reuse. Recognizing existing potential energy is as important as finding new forms of energy. 

• 10 of FPP's 21 current projects are on the Allegheny, Ohio and Monongahela rivers
• Totaling 208 MW capicity
• Why West Virginia?
• FPP recognizes the abundant water resources in WV
• The drop in water surface elevations creates high amount of potential energy
• For FPP, the most important geographical region is the Monongahela River
• Morgantown Lock and Dam project
• Estimated generation: 197 GW
• Total capacity: 5 MW

The Morgantown Lock and Dam project is highly controversial due to its proximity to the public - the Mon River railtrail passes directly alongside the dam, which is located downtown on the Wharf District. This area has been the recipient of mass revitalization and construction in the past decade, and now is a major source of recreation for many of Morgantown's residents. While the idea of a new clean energy source in our fair city is enticing, the unsightly mass of a power generation facility was not received well by the community. Here was Feldman's answer: The redesign of the project places 2/3 of the powerhouse below the water level, with the exposed 1/3 rising 20 feet above the waterline below the dam. The design will use all existing transformers, utility lines and poles to transmit power to the grid without the need for new infrastructure. The original design called for rerouting the railtrail - but Feldman claims placing the powerhouse below waterline will cause no disturbance to the rail trail or the viewshed on the river. 

Eric Miller - Director of Business Development for Invenergy

Update on the Expansion of the Beech Ridge Wind Facility

Invenergy is the largest wind energy producer in the U.S., and Miller was present to blow hot air on the Beech Ridge project in Greenbrier County, West Virginia. This large-scale wind farm is comprised of 67 turbines that produce 200-300,000 Megawatt hours (MWh) per year. The big takeaway wasn't cryptically coded in the onslaught of bar graphs and pie charts that Miller clicked through - we all know wind is effective and efficient on localized-grid production scales - but rather, it came in the form of every wind opponent's favorite talking point: bird deaths. The common battle cry against wind is that it decimates bird populations. A few searches on avian mortality will not provide a consensus, but rather a wide range of estimates and figures. What some literature generally does show, however, is that the fossil fuel industry, cats, and even collisions with glass result in far more avian deaths than windmills. 

The issue at hand in West Virginia is centered around the Indiana Bat, which currently resides on the endangered species list. This requires Invenergy's Beech Ridge facility to obtain federal incidental take permits, a less-morbid term for the number of birds the feds allow Invernergy's blades to polish off each year. This permit also requires summer curtailment - a process when the turbines shut down when reaching lower speeds at night - to cater to the nocturnal hunting methods of these ecologically-important flying mammals. Invenergy spends over $50,000 per year (as well they should) on lawn maintenance around the turbine bases so trained technicians can comb the lawns for bird carcasses. The company even plants carcasses to test the efficiency of its crews. 

And you know what Invenergy has found? Only one (1) bat fatality and zero (0) bird fatalities since April 1. Just one. For a ridge-length facility containing 67 mills. The average large wind turbine has a blade length of 50 meters. That's a rotational diameter of 100 meters. That's 6,700 meters (21,981 feet!) of Indiana Bat gauntlet at Beech Ridge with only one 'take.' I'm not throwing bird caution to the wind - consideration of any and all environmental impacts is absolutely crucial to the future of energy production. But it was nice to hear some factual information from one facility to quell the ungrounded bird fears of fossil fuel lovers. 

Colin Williams - VP of Sales & Marketing for Mountain View Solar

Solar in the Mountain State: Growing West Virginia's Renewable Energy Industry

This was one of the most engaging, inspiring, and thought-provoking presentation of the event. Williams' excitement for the future of solar in West Virginia was evident in his enthusiasm. Mountain View Solar (MTV) is located in the Eastern Panhandle town of Berkeley Springs and completes residential and commercial solar installs while advocating for pro-solar legislation in the Mountain State. MTV Solar was instrumental in the 2009 passage of the WV Residential Solar Energy Tax Credit. 

According to Williams, solar is growing in WV for several reasons:

• Solar is a cost-effective way to control utility costs
• Greater public awareness equates to increased public confidence in solar as a viable alternative 
• Federal tax credits help offset high initial costs 
• Solar is a consistent source of back-up power if the main electrical grid goes down
• Recognition of national job growth and employment:
• 150,000 people directly employed
• Up from 20,000 in 2009
• 24% increase in 2013 alone

MTV Solar has been responsible for:

• 1.52 GW capacity produced over 200 home installs
• Over 4 MW total installs
• 550 panels on the Mountain Line public transit headquarters in Morgantown
• Provides near all energy on-site
• Largest solar array in WV: carport of American Pubic University System financial center in Charles Town
• 407 kilowatt (KW) array
• Produces 35% of energy used in-building
• Includes 15 charging ports for electric vehicles
• MTV Solar awarded U.S. Small Business Administration 2012 WV Entrepreneurial Success of the Year

Another admirable mention included the company's Solar Goodness program, which has helped 11 low-income families install solar panels on their Habitat for Humanity homes. This program goes to show that solar isn't only for well-heeled tree huggers. Solar Goodness successfully illustrates that collaborative philanthropy can produce energy-efficient affordable housing and assist needy families by lowering their utility bills. 

"Solar has no political affiliation and has absolutely no adverse effect on any other energy industry in the state," Williams said. 

One reason solar is an accessible alternative for individual consumers is its incremental nature - one panel can be installed at a time. While initial up-front costs for a general solar install typically range from $10 - $30,000, residents don't have to cover their entire roofs all at once. Williams also mentioned the ability of solar to function as a "power island," stating that advancements in battery backup systems allow power to be created, stored, and used during grid failures. In a state where major storms in all seasons knock power out to tens (and sometimes hundreds) of thousands of customers, backup systems can potentially mean life or death for vulnerable and extremely rural residents.

The biggest barrier to private solar feasibility in West Virginia, however, is that individual generators can not sell energy they produce from their solar systems back to the grid. Williams directly addressed West Virginia Public Service Commission (PSC) director Caryn Short, claiming this was a major issue for the PSC to tackle.

Edward "Ed" Evans - Athletic Director for Mount View High School, Welch, WV
Solar Photovoltaics in a High School Classroom

Mr. Evans was right alongside MTV Solar's Williams in positivity, enthusiasm, and inspiration. As a teacher in McDowell County, West Virginia, the poorest county in the state, Evans has his work cut out for him. I was so entranced in his presentation that I completely forgot to scribble down notes. Somehow, someway, Evans was able to obtain funding to have solar panels installed on Mount View High School in Welch. For those unaware, Welch used to be a booming industrial town with a population of over 100,000 in the first half of the 20th Century. When mechanization of the coal industry caused mass job loss and poverty to set in, Welch's population began its downward spiral and now stands at 2,406. A colleague from journalism school recently produced a Peabody Award-winning documentary and interactive website dubbed the Hollow project- I highly encourage a visit.

With high mortality rates, job loss, and brain drain sucking away any of the area's talented youth, Evans is working from a black hole. But unlike intelligent students and industrial jobs, light can't escape the black hole that is eating Welch from the inside out. It is this light that Evans is using to illuminate the minds of his students at Mount View. He described the curriculum as an applied science - students not only get hands-on, roof top experience with the panels, they use advanced computer programs to monitor the output and performance of the array. Evans claims any one of his students can look at all the technical terms that appear in this post and know what they mean, how they apply to the energy grid, and how to make applicable use of them. 

Evans, who garnered the America's Top Science Teacher award in 2008 following a two-day competition at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, is successfully promoting this solar curriculum in the most poverty-stricken county in the state - one that takes immense pride in coal mining as a legacy career and has felt the destructive shockwave of the boom-and-bust industrial cycle. If he can alter the path of one student to progress in a STEM career (or even to stay and promote renewable energy in Welch), Evans claims his program is a success. He must have figured out a way to store that solar energy on his person - his presentation cast a noticeable light on conference attendees who had started to fade by the time he went on in the afternoon session. I have reached out to Mr. Evans in hopes of interviewing him for a spotlight piece on this blog - stay tuned to see if it comes to fruition.

Sources for all information were obtained directly from the presenters detailed in this post and from the links available in the text - DJ