MORGANTOWN — WVU law school’s Center for Energy and Sustainable Development envisions a greener and economically brighter energy future in a new report called “West Virginia’s Energy Future.”
The report outlines how shifting from coal to renewables could save utilities money, create construction jobs and help the environment.
It springboards from commitments by West Virginia’s two major utility companies – FirstEnergy, parent of Mon Power and Potomac Edison, and American Electric Power, parent of Appalachian Power and Wheeling Power – to go carbon neutral by 2050. Both companies are preparing their Integrated Resource Plans to submit to the Public Service Commission by year’s end that will outline their resouce plans through 2030.
CESD’s report proposes a Ramping Up Renewables scenario to get both Appalachian Power and Mon Power about 85% coal-free by 2035. (Natural gas is mentioned here and there but not discussed at any length.)
CESD Director James Van Nostrand commented, “West Virginia’s electric utilities are already planning to retire their coal-fired power plants by 2050 at the latest. The question we need to confront today is whether we want the electric utilities to continue tacking costs onto customer’s bills over the next few decades to keep those plants afloat, or do we want them to invest now to create local jobs in the growing renewable energy economy and reduce our exposure to downswings in the coal industry.”
The West Virginia Development Office gave the report a thumbs-up:“Developing renewable energy resources is critical to attracting business investment to West Virginia and creating local jobs in a growing industry. This report shows that we can create nearly 3,000 full-time jobs just by installing solar farms and energy efficiency in West Virginia – while also keeping electricity costs low and making our communities more attractive for business investment.”
The report offers five reasons for ramping up renewables: the cost of renewables is steadily decreasing’ businesses and individuals are demanding renewable energy; diversifying our energy mix will make us more economically competitive and viable; financial risks for coal are growing as carbon tax proposals gain ground; and financial institutions and investors, such as Black Rock, are pulling away from funding coal-fired projects.
CESD admits this transition wouldn’t be easy: “The transition described in our report can only be implemented in a favorable way if it is carried out with deliberate planning and care for everyone involved. Notwithstanding the challenge involved, it is a process that we should embark on urgently and with determination. Avoiding this discussion will not temper the broader economic and financial forces that are transforming the energy industry around us. Therefore, we should confront this challenge head on and begin a new of chapter of West Virginian energy leadership with the grit and perseverance that Mountaineers have demonstrated for centuries.”
As the report notes, earlier this year FirstEnergy announced its pledge to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, with an interim goal for a 30% reduction in greenhouse gases within its direct operational control by 2030, based on 2019 levels. FirstEnergy is while preparing for the transition away from coal-fired power in West Virginia by 2050.
AEP, in turn, wants to reduce CO2 emission by more than 80%, with an aspiration to be net-zero, by 2050. It’s already, it said, reduced its carbon footprint, cutting emissions by 65% since 2000.
CESD posits that a new renewable energy project can be cheaper to install and operate than continuing operaton of a coal-fired plant. It cites estimates by financial firm Lazard that a new solar project would cost $24 to $32 per megawatt hour compared to $34to $48 per mwh to operate an existing coal plant.
The report details at length its Ramped Up Renewables vision. Currently, Appalachian Power is 72% coal fuled, 19% natural gas, 5% renewables and 4% hydro. Mon Power/Potomac Edison are 99% coal, 1% hydro.
The RUR plan would see Appalachian Power, in 2035 with 44% wind, 23% solar, 15% coal, 10% combined cycle natural gas, 7% hydro and 1% natural gas (combined cycle uses both gas and steam turbines to generate more power, using waste heat from the gas turbine to turn the steam turbine).
Mon Power in 2035 would be 40% solar, 37% wind, 13% coal and 10% hydro. It foresees retiring the Harrison plant in 2029 and the Grant Town plant in 2033.
The plan projects the costs of power with and without carbon taxes, which it refers to throughout as carbon dioxide emission fees. With fees, AEP power would be 2.9% cheaper than continued coal dependence, and without the tax, 4.4% more expensive. For FirstEnergy, power would be 4.3% cheaper if carbon taxes are imposed, 5% more expensive if they aren’t.
Solar power is far more land intensive than coal-fired or gas-fired. For intance, the proposed new Longview gas-fired project near Morgantown will occupy 54 acres for a 1,200 megawatt plant. Its sister 20 MW solar plant will occupy 127 acres: more than twice the land to produce less than 2% of the output.
The report addresses this problem. Downstream Strategies, the Morgantown-based consultant that contributed to this report, envisions repurposing abandoned surface mines, landfills and former industrial sites for solar arrays. Downstream identified 140,160 acres of available brownfield sites, while the RUR vision calls for 8.2 gigawatts of solar power that would require 64,780 acres.
“This means that Ramping Up Renewables could feasibly occur without even breaking ground on greenfield sites,” the report says.
Regarding carbon taxes, the report says our Congressional delegation should withhold support for them unless legislation is paired with federal investment in the state “to honor the contributions of our coal communities and secure West Virginia’s role in the new energy economy. Doing so can ensure that ramping up renewable energy and energy efficiency in West Virginia is beneficial for all West Virginians and creates positive employment effects not only through 2030 but also beyond.”
The report also notes that discussions about coal can be emotionally charged.
“The ramping up of renewable energy and energy efficiency in West Virginia can and should be pursued in a way that works for our utilities, their employees and communities, and customers,” it says. “Debates over energy in the past have often descended into over-simplified ‘all-or-nothing,’ ‘for-or-against’ shouting matches. We propose a prudent approach that reduces our current complete dependence on coal while also maintaining an opportunity for the coal industry to evolve and compete in the new energy economy.”
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