12 research outputs found

    Transition Support Mechanisms for Communities Facing Full or Partial Coal Power Plant Retirement in New York

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    New York State is undergoing a rapid and unprecedented energy transformation, particularly in the electricity sector. As new resources and technologies emerge to meet the demands of 21st century life, regulators must balance the need for cost effective and equitable participation in wholesale power markets while maintaining reliability on the grid. Furthermore, it is critical that all New Yorkers participate fully in the promise of a revitalized and equitable energy future. Such a transformation requires that the needs of all communities are factored into the polices and regulations that move New York toward the bold goals set forth under its Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) initiative. The precipitous drop in natural gas prices, the decreased costs of wind and solar energy, and the rise in the cost of coal, have contributed to the mothballing or retiring of coal-fired and nuclear energy generators across the country, including in New York. Communities that have been home to the electric generation units of the past, particularly struggling coal-fired power plants, are especially vulnerable during this transformation, because these communities often rely on the generators for tax revenues, such as through Payments in Lieu of Tax agreements. New York has the opportunity to ensure a just transition for these communities by adopting new, clean energy resources, technologies, and markets while fostering a trained and skilled workforce to support its ambitious goals. For all New Yorkers to enjoy the new energy future, leadership must address the impact of lost jobs, declining economic activity and lost tax revenue, and must support essential services in impacted communities with the same level of urgency and expansive vision needed to balance the integration of new technologies in the most cost effective manner to maintain grid reliability. At the same time, state and federal funding must be allocated to communities in transition for the remediation and redevelopment of shuttered power plant sites, and to provide the necessary support, training and tools for impacted communities to actively participate in the transition and implementation of clean energy resources. The first section of this report examines the lessons learned from other jurisdictions in when and how to address the fiscal challenges of retiring electric generation units (EGU’s). The challenges New York faces are not unlike the challenges faced by communities, legislators, and plant owners during periods of deindustrialization of the late 1960’s through 1980’s, described in Section One below, which additionally provides: 1. An evaluation of case studies that address the process of retirement, decommissioning, remediation and preparation for redevelopment for future use, along with the state and federal policies and funding sources that made revitalization possible. 2. An overview of case studies that illustrate local government fiscal and workforce support to communities during periods of plant transformation. These periods encompass three historical phases: a. Deindustrialization of the 1960’s to1980’s; b. Federally Mandated Social Programs to Support Enforcement of Federal Regulations 1990’s to 2000; and c. Coal Plant Closures and Community Transition in the Age of Carbon Emissions Reductions: Federal and State Initiatives between 2000 to 2015; and Section Two examines four New York coal-fired generators, some of which are currently mothballed, retired, or struggling financially. In addition to providing profiles of each generator, Section Two also describes the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreements that these generators have entered into with the towns, school boards, and counties in whose jurisdictions they are located. Due to the plants’ finances, several of the generators have made reduced PILOT payments in recent years, creating “budget gaps” for some of the communities. Finally, Section Three describes state and federal funding and support mechanisms that may be available to the New York communities described in Section Two. Because each community faces unique challenges and opportunities, this report does not attempt to provide specific recommendations for any of the communities. Rather, Section Three lists a number of support mechanisms that each community could consider in developing its own transition plan. New York State leadership can capitalize on the legislative legacy of prior eras and develop comprehensive approaches to reinvest in communities with obsolete industrial facilities that were once the primary source of jobs and economic activity, and revenue to local budgets

    Radiochemical specific of aerosols in the areas impacted with thermal power plants (the south of Western Siberia)

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    The paper presents the results of study the radiogeochemical features of particulate matter deposited in snow cover around of thermal power plants. Instrumental neutron-activation analysis was used to study U and Th contents in the samples of particulate phase of snow. It was revealed that U and Th contents were exceeded the background values from 2 to 43 times in the samples. These results demonstrated the anthropogenic origin of the elements. It was identified that U occurred in mode of phosphates and oxides in the samples. Uranium isotopes were mainly correlated with Fe and Mg oxides and insoluble fractions

    The New(Clear?) Electricity Federalism: Federal Preemption of States’ “Zero Emissions Credit” Programs

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    This Article proposes and applies a “conscious disregard” test for resolving the upcoming appellate litigation that involves the conflict between federal authority over the electric grid and state laws providing subsidies to nuclear power plants in the form of “zero emissions credits” (ZECs). This test draws upon principles of conflict preemption, as elaborated in three recent Supreme Court decisions on the intersection of state and federal jurisdiction over the electric grid under the Federal Power Act. It provides that if a state law explicitly aims to directly affect wholesale electricity market prices, terms or conditions, its subsidy program is impermissible as conflicting with the regulatory jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Applying this “conscious disregard” test, the Article concludes that federal law preempts the state laws and that lower courts’ decisions to the contrary were in error. The Article explains that the Court has ushered in a new era of jurisprudence under the Federal Power Act in which the states and FERC have significant and concurrent responsibilities for regulating the electric grid. It then contends that this dynamic, concurrent federalism environment of policy innovation is an essential backdrop to decision-making in the nuclear subsidies cases, as there is considerable unease about the interaction between state energy policies and the wholesale electricity markets overseen by FERC. Many commentators have called into question how the two can coexist going forward, and as a result, the Article explains how states’ “around-market” policies such as the nuclear subsidies involve overlaps between state and federal laws. The Article’s conscious disregard test for addressing these overlaps brings together three distinct concepts. A state cannot “aim” its subsidy law at the wholesale markets, as the Court held in ONEOK v. Learjet. FERC, not the states, has authority over the terms, conditions, and results on wholesale markets, under FERC v. EPSA’s “directness” standard. Hughes v. Talen Energy Marketing found unlawful state programs that disregard wholesale rates or are closely linked (or “tethered”) to the wholesale markets. The Article contends that the ZEC programs violated this test. Finally, the Article contends that only a test that is based on conscious disregard for wholesale market results can harmonize the three recent Supreme Court decisions, preserve valuable state policy experimentation, and set a narrowly defined preemption standard that avoids unintended consequences in future litigation

    Differences in the Growth and Bioenergetics between Centrarchids in a Midwestern Power Plant Lake

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    Black Crappie Pomoxis nigromaculatus and Bluegill Lepomis macrochirus are popular sportfishes that co-occur in similar bodies of water throughout most of the Central and Eastern United States but have distinct thermal physiologies. L. macrochirus is often found in warmer regions of freshwater reservoirs, where P. nigromaculatus tends to exploit cooler regions, especially in power plant cooling reservoirs. The coal-fired Coffeen Power Station ceased energy production in October 2019, providing an ideal scenario to study the organismal effects of the sudden shift in thermal regime. Previous studies showed that P. nigromaculatus inhabited the less thermally-impacted areas of Coffeen Lake, whereas L. macrochirus were more broadly distributed across the lake. I hypothesized that more thermosensitive species (P. nigromaculatus) will be also reflected at the mitochondrial level, indicated by the properties of the energy transduction (how much oxygen and carbon substrates are coupled to ATP production) machinery. Both water quality and specimens were monitored between the fall of 2019 and the fall of 2020, with the objectives of assessing population structure, growth, and subcellular energetics, while simultaneously linking these traits to the changes in physicochemical properties of the reservoir after the thermal shutoff. Following the shutoff of thermal effluent in October of 2019, no values indicating unnatural stratification in the water column were observed. At the population and individual levels, this study found significant differences in organismal growth, with L. macrochirus displaying irregular, linear growth and were unable to have von Bertalanffy functions fit to them. Linear regressions run on fall 2019 Bluegill, spring 2020 Bluegill, and fall 2020 Bluegill showed r2 values of 0.9845, 0.9961, and 0.9789 respectively, indicating a very high degree of fit to the data. Despite P. nigromaculatus and L. macrochirus seasonal fall data showing a statistically significant difference in distributions for length frequencies when v compared using a Kolmogorov-Smirnov test (p \u3c 0.05), both species displayed similar patterns in mortality. Total annual mortality values for fall Black Crappie, spring Bluegill, and fall Bluegill were 0.606, 0.774, and 0.732 respectively. When testing homogeneity of regression slopes on their respective catch curves, both species linear regressions for seasonal mortality proved to be similar to one another (p \u3e 0.05). At the subcellular levels, this study found significant differences in mitochondrial function between species, assay temperatures, and seasons. Fall 2019 samples at 30˚C showed coupling ratios of ATP production divided by the Electron Transport System (ETS) capacity (P/E) of 0.96 for P. nigromaculatus, compared to 0.84 for L. macrochirus. Fall 2020 runs showed very similar significant findings, with noticeable interspecies differences in coupling efficiency and proton leakage also documented. These results show the Oxidative Phosphorylation System (OXPHOS) of P. nigromaculatus operating closer to the ETS capacity in vitro, compared to L. macrochirus. Interestingly, L. macrochirus mitochondria showed less coupling, indicating the species function less efficiently under a wider range of temperatures. Complex I OXPHOS during fall 2019 showed increased activity for Black Crappie (295.766 ± 69.241) when compared with Bluegill (79.616 ± 59.965; Two-way ANOVA, df = 17, p = 0.033). This increase in Complex I activity for Black Crappie could further solidify their energetic machinery as a mechanism for temperature tolerance, as this protein is known for its heightened sensitivity to temperature change. Results suggests that the lower occurrence of P. nigromaculatus in previously warmed sectors of the reservoir may be a consequence of the thermal sensitivity at the mitochondrial level

    The mega-project paradox : is the “new-build programme” the last mega-project South Africa will see this century

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    Abstract : Projects are constructed daily across the globe. However very few of these are mega-projects. These mega-projects are deemed grand in scale and are designed to serve millions of people. Over the years a trend has emerged where these projects are having increasing problems related to time and cost overruns – despite issues related to labour, poor project management, reduced return on investment, poor design and non-completion – increasingly mega-projects are being built. Therein lies the mega-project paradox. Mega-projects are now facing major external market disruptors such as the spread of solar photovoltaics, economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa, diversifying the energy mix, changing consumer dynamics and market structure. One of the biggest threats to utilities is the changing regulatory reform and the move to ‘prosumers’. Given Eskom’s delayed and expensive New Build programme, the question then arises –will South Africa embark on another mega-project build in this century. This study utilised both primary and secondary data for analysis by means of mixed methods. Primary data from online surveys as well as analysis of secondary data from the Infrastructure Journal were used. Sixty percent (60%) of survey respondents said that South Africa would embark on another mega-project. This study reveals that mega-projects have sublimes which perhaps influence investment in them – political, economic, technological and aesthetic sublimes. In addition to these sublimes the social pacts these mega-projects bring are one of the biggest drivers for their investment. Furthermore, the future utility model has changed and Eskom will not survive the utility death spiral unless it adapts.M.Phil. (Energy Studies

    CHARACTERIZING SOURCES AND DYNAMICS OF METALS AND METALLOIDS IN URBAN SOILS

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    During the latter 20th century, global urban areas, and by extension, road networks have rapidly expanded. Urban soils are often contaminated with potentially toxic trace metals due to multiple human activities, and the relatively high loadings of trace metals to urban ecosystems pose a significant risk to public and ecosystem health. However, metal dynamics in near-road areas are driven by the interactions of many processes, and consequently, few studies have comprehensively examined urban soil metal dynamics. Examination of both anthropogenic and natural loadings of metals to urban areas and the interactions among processes (e.g., soil acidification, exchange reactions) reveal urban soil chemical dynamics. This dissertation documents findings resulting from a variety of approaches to clarify near-road and urban soil metal dynamics: 1) Soil acidification across regional gradients of road network density, climate, and geology in Southern California results in road construction material weathering (i.e., concrete) and significantly influences near-road soil metal dynamics. 2) Inputs of road material weathering offset calcium losses due to the flushing of soil exchange sites during road deicer pulses in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Moreover, complicated soil water flowpaths documented in this transect create discontinuous and delayed down slope transport of sodium. 3) Two centuries of metal inputs to a Southwestern Pennsylvanian lake revealed an unexpectedly long period and complicated mix of trace metal contamination, accumulated from a historical sequence of industrial transitions. 4) Synthesis of roadside soil phosphorus concentration data from both the Southern California dataset and the Pittsburgh transect indicate near-road soil phosphorus accumulation at magnitudes near estimated phosphorus accumulations in global agricultural soils, suggesting that vehicular emissions are a significant, yet under characterized component of the global phosphorus cycle. This research documents roadside soil metal dynamics and the role of historical metal inputs and ultimately will contribute to more effective management of road networks and urbanization

    Challenges of electric power industry restructuring for fuel suppliers

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