land use issues for solar and landfill gas generation
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Land Use Issues for Solar and Landfill Gas Generation. Presented to T he Steering Committee for Missouri’s Comprehensive State Energy Plan October 28, 2014 By Floyd Gilzow Vice President of Environmental and Governmental Affairs. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Land Use Issues for Solar and Landfill Gas
Generation
Presented to
The Steering Committee for Missouri’s Comprehensive State Energy Plan
October 28, 2014
By Floyd GilzowVice President of Environmental
and Governmental Affairs
2
Municipal Utilities at forefront of Utility Scale Solar in Missouri
• Columbia 11.7 kW Adding 250 KW • Butler – 3.2 MW, 2014• Springfield – 4.95 MW, 2014• Macon – 3.2 MW 2014• Projecting 12+ MW by MJMEUC in four
different member cities by end of 2016• Nixa still negotiating contract - 8MW
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Butler Solar Farm
Macon Facility
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Solar Power Generation Configurations
A. Private roof top solarB. Solar Garden C. Community SolarD. Municipal Utility Solar
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Roof Top Solar
BENEFITS• Easily deployable• Privately financed through a variety of financial
venues• Interested citizens have ability to make the
commitment for themselves
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Roof Top SolarDRAWBACKS• Participation is largely limited to homeowners• Issue of moving from one home to the next
and losing some or all of the investment• Limited because of orientation issues and
solar obstructions• May have issues with building codes and
snow loads• Engineering limitations on distribution grid
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Roof Top SolarBARRIERS• No zoning barriers in the 10 largest cities in
the state of the Missouri• May have limitations based on property
covenants or subdivision restrictions• Previous BMP has been to plant trees to
shade roofs to reduce energy demand
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Solar Garden Operated like garden coop – BENEFITS• Available to all citizens whether homeowner,
renter, or whether structure is properly situated• Centrally managed and tied into distribution grid• Each person can contract for as little or as much
solar as they desire• Ownership is with the panel, not the property
on which it is located• Easier to grow as demand rises
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Solar Garden DRAWBACKS• Governance and long-term stewardship• Legal complications with current electricity provider
contract• Land Needed –3.5 to 10 Acres per Megawatt
o Purchase of land may be expensive, and appropriate land may not be readily available
o Routine maintenance – mowing and perimeter security for safety can also be costly
• Liability issues since the entity has few assets and is currently unregulated
• Leaving Community often means losing investment
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Community SolarOwned by city or established legal organization
BENEFITS• Similar to Solar Garden, except managed by an
established organization – so long term stewardship, liability and maintenance is less of an issue
• Same benefits as Solar Garden DRAWBACKS• Land acquisition • Cities often have Vacant land available
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Utility Scale Solar
Solar as a part of local utility’s portfolio of power
BENEFITS• Places no additional operational burden on
ratepayers• Available to all equallyDOWNSIDE• Cost to all ratepayers• Size of necessary field
Solar as 1% of Missouri Sales
(based on Butler Solar Farm output= 4,500 MWHr per year):
1%= 824,000 MWHr per year
2,300 acres of Solar Panels• The entire corporate limits of Willow Springs• Big Oak Tree SP and most of Lake Wappapello
SP• 12 acre solar farms in 183 cities
Solar as 1% of Missouri Sales
Siting Issues for• Safety• Effectiveness• Security• Cost containmentSolar PV does not lend itself to shared land use
Landfill Gas
Current Municipal Locations• Lamar – 5.6 MW• Black Oak/Hartville – 3.8MW• EPA LMOP lists four other projects not
including the two municipal sites
Landfill Gas Siting Considerations
• Existence of Landfill• Length of Time for Production• Proximity to Demand
or • Proximity to Transmission Grid
NOTE: EPA has not released its guidance document on how it will treat LFG under proposed 111(d) guidelines