EECS4460.1310.7.191.pptx

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