Renewable Energy Conference at Marshall Univ.

Conference looks into renewable energy throughout West Virginia

From an Article by Fred Pace, Huntington Herald Dispatch, May 12, 2016

HUNTINGTON – West Virginia is No. 5 in the country in the amount of energy it produces, according to Jeff Herholdt, director of the West Virginia Division of Energy, and not all of it comes from the most commonly thought of places.

“While our major sources of energy are coal and natural gas, there are renewable energy opportunities that do offer the job potential and economic development opportunities as well,” Herholdt said. “We want to stimulate jobs and economic growth with the wealth of energy resources in West Virginia.”

The West Virginia Division of Energy (WVDOE) and the Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) at Marshall University, partnered to host the “Renewable Energy in West Virginia: Projects and Prospects in 2016″ conference Thursday at the Brad D. Smith Foundation Hall on Marshall’s campus.

“West Virginia has a competitive economic advantage in energy development,” Herholdt said. “This advantage extends to our renewable energy resources.” Renewables are both an exciting and daunting prospect, he said.

“All of these energy sources have to compete in the global market place, and coal and natural gas are major players,” Herholdt said. “However, there are niche markets and future opportunities for these renewable energy sources.”

One of those companies that currently offer alternative energy sources is Hamer Pellet Fuel Company in Kenova. The company sells premium grade hardwood West Virginia pellets – compressed biomass capsules that act as fuel – for residential and commercial applications. “We are having an immediate impact on jobs and the local economy,” said Todd Webb, sales manager for Hamer. “We have been manufacturing pellet fuel for over 25 years.”

Webb said for every 50,000 tons of pellet production, there are 171 direct and indirect jobs created. “That doesn’t count local retailers that sell pellet stoves,” he said.

Other speakers mentioned the growing demand for solar power with homeowners. The event also featured a panel discussion on expansion of renewables, which included Jim Fawcett, manager of Energy Efficiency & Alternative Energy Initiatives for Appalachian Power, or AEP.

“We are continuing to incorporate renewable energy sources into our mix,” Fawcett said. In 2012, AEP energy source breakdown showed 74 percent from coal, 15 percent from natural gas and 11 percent from hydro/wind sources. “This year, those figures change to 61 percent from coal, 20 percent from gas and 12 percent from hydro/wind sources,” he said.

Coal use will continue to decrease in AEP’s future mix, Fawcett said. “By 2025, our estimates show 53 percent from coal, 17 percent from gas, 10 percent from hydro and 16 percent from wind and solar,” he said. “There are many opportunities to continue to transform and evolve going forward, but we must find a plan to make it economically viable, reliable and sustainable in the future.

Fawcett said the cost to produce a megawatt hour of energy is $73 with wind, $95 with conventional coal, $144 with carbon capture coal, $73 to $100 with natural gas and $114 with solar. “We have to see how costs change in the future and see exactly what the new clean power plant rules are going to be,” he said.

George Carico, director of the WV Brownfield Assistance Center, Center for Environmental, Geotechnical and Applied Sciences, spoke about renewable energy projects on surface mined lands. “We are currently working on three initiatives, which are surface mine land property evaluations for new use, wind energy resource studies on surface mine lands and renewable energy and agricultural sub-grants on surface mine lands,” Carico said. “There are lots of surface mine lands with potential for reuse and redevelopment. Property owners are very open to new ideas.”

Fawcett said these surface mine lands present that exciting and daunting prospect. “The infrastructure is there to some degree and the land is there and available, but the challenge will be to construct it to make it competitive,” he said.

The event featured other presentations from West Virginia-based business, research and project development leaders in the realm of renewable energy. Jennifer Shand, director of CBER, said they have being working with the state’s Division of Energy to put on the conference. “We want to raise awareness about the projects and opportunities with renewable energy,” she said. “It’s an important part of the energy landscape and we want to get the word out about projects and prospects for renewable energy in West Virginia.”

Shand said attendees learned about a wide variety of projects underway in the areas of hydropower, solar, enhanced geothermal, biomass, CO2 uptake by forests and production of CO2 offsets through reforestation. Projects include current production and development efforts as well as ideas to expand future resource utilization.

“The WVDOE is responsible for advancing energy development in West Virginia, and part of the division’s focus is on renewable energy sources,” Herholdt said. “In order to support renewable energy development, the WVDOE co-hosts an energy conference with CBER on a bi-annual basis.”

In addition to Hamer Pellet Fuels, the conference featured speakers representing organizations including Advanced Hydro Solutions, Appalachian Power, CEGAS/WVBAC, Geostellar, the Marshall University Chemistry Department, STF Group, Inc., Virginia Conservation Legacy Fund, Inc., West Virginia University and West Virginia State University’s Energy and Environmental Science Institute.

Evan Hansen, president of Downstream Strategies, spoke about West Virginia renewable energy opportunities. “The reality is that if it is due to clean power plant rules or if it is other state’s rules to comply with clean power plants, we will mine less and use less coal in the future,” Hansen said. “At the same time, this will create opportunities for renewable energy sources for West Virginia and we must take advantage of those opportunities.”

Hansen said West Virginia is a diverse state. “We must make sure as West Virginia’s energy economy continues to evolve that we take this opportunity to create jobs, tax revenue and support our coalfield communities hardest hit with the loss of coal jobs,” he said. “I think everyone in West Virginia has that goal in common, which is to take advantage of all of our energy sources and develop jobs that are sustainable for the long-term.”

Hannah Vargason, with Natural Capital Investment Fund, also announced grants for energy audits and renewable energy development that are being provided through the Rural Energy for America Program. “The United State Department of Agriculture (USDA) awarded 26 grants to help rural small businesses and agricultural producers across rural America conserve energy and develop renewable energy systems, ultimately reducing their carbon footprint, lowering overhead costs and helping to create jobs,” she said.

Robert Clark with Midwest Clean Energy Enterprise said the program will also help farms and small businesses right-size their energy systems and help with the installation costs for renewable energy equipment. “This is a significant opportunity for businesses and farmers in West Virginia to reduce their energy costs, keep jobs and grow jobs in the complicated economy we live in today,” Clark said.

Evan Hansen at US Senate

Hearing on Preventing Potential Chemical Threats and Improving Safety:

Oversight of the President’s Executive Order on Improving Chemical Facility Safety and Security

Testimony of Evan P. Hansen, Downstream Strategies, Morgantown, WV

Before the Committee on Environment and Public Works, US Senate, March 6, 2014, as reported by WV Public Broadcasting.

Panelists included representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Chemical Safety Board as well as authorities from communities that have witnessed recent chemical strife.

Evan Hansen, president of the Morgantown-based environmental consulting firm Downstream Strategies, spoke about the water crisis in West Virginia where a chemical leak into the Elk River recently polluted the drinking water of some 300,000 residents in the Kanawha Valley.

Hansen made some recommendations:

Chairman Boxer, Ranking Member Vitter, and members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify.

I am president of Downstream Strategies, an 11-person environmental consulting firm based in West Virginia. Since 1997, we have offered environmental services that combine sound interdisciplinary skills with a core belief in the importance of protecting the environment and linking economic development with natural resource stewardship. Our projects typically include elements of science and policy related to our Water, Energy, and Land Programs. Our tools include Geographic Information Systems, Monitoring and Remediation, and Stakeholder Involvement and Perspectives.

A summary of recommendations:

• Spill Prevention, Control, and Counter (SPCC) measures as they exist for oil containment, should be extended to chemical storage facilities.
• Develop safe drinking water laws. Public water systems should create protection plans, and both the assessment reports and the protection plans should be periodically updated as well as accessible to all downstream water systems.
• Make individual National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits for chemical facilities mandatory within zones of critical concern (above drinking water intakes).

Hansen also took advantage of the opportunity to point out that weaknesses in enforcement undermine any meaningful regulations.

Chairwoman Barbara Boxer—a democrat from California—stressed the importance of new legislation in the process of being drafted, saying that a bill to address new chemical concerns brought to light by the chemical spill in West Virginia was forthcoming.

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WV Senate Bill 373 Passes Out of the Legislature in the Last Hours of the 2014 Regular Session

WV Senate Bill 373 has now been approved by the WV Legislature.  It originated in the Senate and was significantly amended in the House of Delegates.  This updated version passed the Senate shortly after 10 pm on March 8^th. SB 373 now goes to the Governor, who must sign it before it becomes law in West Virginia.

A major theme of SB 373 is for the regulation and inspection of above-ground chemical storage tanks, with the greatest emphasis being those tanks within the critical zone of concern for drinking water intake ports.

The bill includes the long-term medical study of the 300,000 residents affected by the chemical spill of crude MCHM into the Elk River on January  9, 2014. The medical monitoring study would fall on the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health to conduct.

Also, all public water utilities in the State serving more than 100,000 customers will be required to install and monitor for containments by the same detection capabilities utilized by the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission, i.e. gas chromatography.  (When MCHM and PPH was leaked into the river, it traveled downstream to Cincinnati where they were able to shut off their intake and prevent the chemical from entering their facility.)

[Note that small drinking water systems which predominate throughout the State will be at some risk, given all the diverse sources of water pollution that can contribute both toxic organic compounds and concentrated metallic “salts”, such as chlorides, bromides, and sulfates.]

Storage Tanks on Elk River

WV needs changes in state regulations after chemical leak

From an Article by Whitney Burdette, Charleston Daily Mail, January 21, 2014

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The West Virginia Rivers Coalition and Downstream Strategies have co-authored a report outlining specific recommendations they think the Legislature should take in light of the recent chemical leak.

Angie Rosser, executive director of West Virginia Rivers Coalition, said in a news release this report is the only one of its kind to emerge after the January 9th chemical leak that contaminated the water supply for 300,000 residents and West Virginia American Water Co. customers.

“We speak for those who expect more of our government, more in its approach and much more in its attitude toward protecting our water supplies and our health,” Rosser said. “We bring the voices of all West Virginians whose water is threatened by contamination. They demand meaningful change and accountability at every level of government.”

The 84-page report focuses on issues, information gaps and policy remedies as they relate to environmental laws most relevant to the chemical spill, including the Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act and Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act.

Evan Hansen, president of Downstream Strategies, said the report presents “comprehensive reforms to protect our water supplies.”  “We show how state and local governments could have significantly reduced the risk of this spill occurring and more effectively responded to it,” Hansen said.

Downstream Strategies is a Morgantown-based consulting firm specializing in environmental science policy and research and water system research. The firm announced last week it is available to conduct independent testing of a consumer’s water supply.

The report makes several recommendations, including:

  Officials “change their tone and expectations to hold the Department of Environmental Protection accountable for fully and consistently enforcing its permits and all environmental laws,”

  The Legislature should require the Bureau for Public Health and other entities to write protection plans and fund those plans,

  The Legislature should provide state-specific protective standards for chemicals used in large quantities in the state, and

  Support local emergency planning committees and local governments in planning efforts to manage and minimize risk.

P.S. The full 84 page report is entitled “The Freedom Industries Spill: Lessons Learned and Needed Reforms“