Power System Management
EECS 4460/5460-901
Lecture #13
Power Systems and the Environment
1
Generation: 8652 power plants in the U.S.
Over 1.2MMw of Capacity (plants greater than1MW)
Over 20,000 individual generating units
Transmission: 600,000 circuit miles
240,000 miles at 230Kv and above
Substations: Over 55,000 substations
Distribution: Over 5.5 million circuit miles
Customer Interfaces
Over 151Million Customer Facilities and Connections
Generation, Transmission and Delivery of Electricity Clearly Impacts the Environment
Power Plant Water Quality
Cooling Process has been the topic of debate for years. Cooling
water temperature is increased at plant discharge –
“Thermal Pollution”
Once through cooling – water directly returns to source
Cooling Towers – cool the water (mechanical or draft)
Applicable to coal, nuclear and natural gas plants
Hydro plants change water temperature as well
Discharges from the plants include a variety chemicals
Flyash, bottom ash and coal pile runoff
Wastewater from flue gas control systems essentially transfer the air pollutants to the water (e.g mercury)
Water Use with increased emphasis on intake structures
Coal Fired Generation
Water Use Varies by Plant Technology
Cooling Systems Have Transformed
EIA-860, plants >100MW through 2012
Wide variety of Federal Standards on Water Quality and Related Topics – for example:
National Environmental Policy Act and New Sources
Endangered Species Act, Wetlands Protection
Coastal Zone Management
EPA: National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
Established by the Clean Water Act in 1972
Permits control the allowable discharges
Federal requirements and state implementation
Clean Water Act Section 316(b)
1976 regulation with a long history of legal challenges
Design and operation of intake structures
Final Rule passed in 2014 – facilities withdrawing at least 2 million gallons per day (521 factories and 544 power plants)
Regulations
Land Use and the Power System
Generation
Transmission
Substations
Distribution
Customers
“Footprint of Energy: Land Use of the U.S. Electricity Production”*
*Published June 2017 by Strata Policy
Data includes fuel sourcing, transportation
and waste management needs
Electricity Source | Acres per MW Produced |
Coal | 12.21 |
Natural Gas | 12.41 |
Nuclear | 12.71 |
Solar | 43.50 |
Wind | 70.64 |
Hydro | 315.22 |
Power Generation (U.S.)
“Footprint of Energy: Land Use of the U.S. Electricity Production”*
*Published June 2017 by Strata Policy
Coal Power Generation
Plant footprint total 107,950 acres or .699 ac/MW
Mining total 111,093 acres or .720 ac/MW
Transmission 1.6M acres or 10.31 ac/MW
Waste management 73,950 acres or .479 ac/MW
Natural Gas Power Generation
Plant footprint total 52,200 acres or .343 ac/MW
Fuel sourcing total 57.98M acres or .381 ac/MW
Transmission 1.584M acres or 10.406 ac/MW
Waste management minimal
Nuclear Power Generation
Plant footprint total 82,030 acres or .901 ac/MW
Mining total 129,632 acres or 1.42 ac/MW
Transmission 938,388 ac or 10.312 ac/MW
Waste management 6145 acres or .025 ac/MW
“Footprint of Energy: Land Use of the U.S. Electricity Production”*
*Published June 2017 by Strata Policy
Hydro Power Generation
Plant footprint total 6.035M acres or 237.55 ac/MW
Development total at 67.36 ac/MW
Transmission 293,280 acres or 10.31 ac/MW
Waste management minimal
Wind Power Generation
Plant footprint avg 60 ac/MW (varies from 24.7-123.6 ac/MW)
Development total .279 ac/MW
Transmission 225,600 acres or 10.362 acres/MW
Waste management minimal (blade disposal issue)
Solar Power Generation (PV)
Plant footprint avg 31.347 ac/MW
Development total 1.836 ac/MW
Transmission 28,800 ac or 10.135 ac/MW
Waste management from manufacturing not included
“Footprint of Energy: Land Use of the U.S. Electricity Production”*
*Published June 2017 by Strata Policy
Other Observations
The Grand Coulee Dam took 11,975,521 cubic yards of concrete to build,
or 16.7 Million tons – enough to build a four-lane highway from NY to LA
A two-unit nuclear plant (1800MW) occupies an 1100 ac (1.7 sq mi) site
The wind equivalent would need 108,000 ac (169 sq mi) of land
The solar equivalent would need 13,320 ac (21 sq mi) of land
U.S. Transmission system is an estimated 450,000 miles. With a 44-foot buffer
on each side, transmission occupies approximately 4.8M acres of land
Substation land use varies from 1-8 acres each (est. 100-300,000 acres total)
Distribution lines and customer service – no data
Most states have transmission line siting requirements
Application filing, typically part of PUC
Statement of need and line alternatives, permitting
Variations among the states
FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) also has jurisdiction
Appeal process
Backstop authority for interstate lines
Landowners/Residents
Public hearings and testimony
Safety issues
Environmental Impacts
Impact on scenic and historic sites
Plant and wildlife, hydrology
Location of airports and other sites
Transmission Line Siting
Transmission Lines and Trees
Transmission Line Vegetation Management has become a high priority
National Standards enforced by NERC*
*North American Electric Reliability Council
Helicopters speed up the process
Distribution Lines and Trees
Distribution line vegetation
management is also high priority
Fundamental reliability issue
Standards enforced at the State level
Property owners often unhappy
Cable, fiber and phone often not included
Configurations Vary Widely
The challenge is obvious
Globally, the case for climate change continues to grow
Global energy use continues to grow
Fossil fuels dominate our global and U.S. consumption
The U.S. electricity sector has made progress
The Global Picture and Climate Change
50% Increase in Global Energy Usage by 2050
Global Energy Growth by Source
And CO2 Emissions will Increase
CO2 Emissions by Source – all Energy
U.S. Energy Dominated by Fossil Fuels
Renewables and Nuclear are 20%
Carbon Intensity is slowly declining (kg of CO2/MMBtu)
Total CO2 Emissions (U.S.)
CO2 Emissions by Source (U.S.)
CO2: Utility Sector has made progress
ReCap: U.S. Carbon Emissions in 2018 by Sector
Residential | Commercial | Industrial | Transportation | Electric Power | Total | |
Coal | 0 | 2 | 101 | 0 | 1150 | 1259 |
Natural Gas | 274 | 191 | 538 | 46 | 581 | 1630 |
Petroleum | 65 | 60 | 357 | 1866 | 21 | 2369 |
Other 1 | 11 | 11 | ||||
Electricity2 | 679 | 638 | 442 | 4 | ||
TOTAL | 1018 | 891 | 1444 | 1915 | 1763 | 5268 |
Data is Million Metric Tons of CO2
1 – Combustion waste materials and geothermal
2 – Electricity sales to other sectors and the emissions
associated with the generation of that electricity
Global CO2 from Fuels
Global Carbon Footprint