Planning and Financing Energy Efficient Infrastructure in Appalachia
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Planning and Financing Energy Efficient Infrastructure in Appalachia Final Report With Academic Partners: Regional Research Institute, West Virginia University Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University December 30, 2011 Prepared for the Appalachian Regional Commission under Contract CO-16504-09 Table of Contents Executive Summary ......................................................................................................................................... 1 Key Findings ................................................................................................................................................... 2 Chapter 1: Review of Existing Energy Management Planning and Financing Tools ............................................... 5 Chapter 2: Best Practices in Planning and Financing Energy-Efficient Infrastructure—Case Studies in Appalachia 35 Eight Energy Conservation Measures–Snapshots of Best Practices ................................................................ 36 Chapter 3: Case Studies of Counties in Appalachia .......................................................................................... 62 Case Study 1–Tompkins County, New York ................................................................................................. 65 Case Study 2–Fayette County, West Virginia................................................................................................ 75 Case Study 3–Hamilton County, Tennessee ................................................................................................. 84 Case Study 4–Calhoun County, Alabama ..................................................................................................... 95 Chapter 4: Self-Assessment System for Local Governments in Appalachia....................................................... 100 Chapter 5: Partnership and Financing Opportunities ...................................................................................... 112 List of Figures Figure 1: Map of 2010 ACEEE Energy Efficiency Scorecard Rankings .................................................................. 28 Figure 2: Number of EPA Permitted Combined Sewer Overflow Systems per County in the Appalachian Region 39 Figure 3: View of Chattanooga, Tennessee’s Renaissance Park Rain Garden ..................................................... 41 Figure 4: Crop and Forest Residues in the United States ....................................................................................... 49 Figure 5: Relationship of Commissioning Costs and Payback Times in Existing Buildings ................................... 59 Figure 6: Geotube Illustration .................................................................................................................................. 82 Figure 7: Continuous Assessment Cycle............................................................................................................... 104 Planning and Financing Energy Efficient Infrastructure in Appalachia i List of Tables Table 1: Appalachian Region Chapters of the U.S. Green Building Council .......................................................... 11 Table 2: Appalachian Region State Energy Office Websites .................................................................................. 22 Table 3: Appalachian Region State DSIRE URLs ................................................................................................... 27 Table 4: 2010 ACEEE Energy Efficiency Scorecard Rankings for Appalachian States ......................................... 29 Table 5: Commercial and Residential Code Stringency Based Various Standards ................................................ 30 Table 6: Feebate Structure for New Commercial Buildings .................................................................................... 32 Table 7: Feebate Structure for New Multifamily Buildings Less Than 5,000 Square Feet ...................................... 32 Table 8: Savings from Water Supply Infrastructure Leak Detection, Repair, and Avoided Water Loss ................. 38 Table 9: Chattanooga, Tennessee Green Roof Cost-Benefit Analysis ................................................................... 42 Table 10: Comparative Green Roof and Conventional Roof Life Cycle Cost Analysis ........................................... 43 Table 11: Combined Heat and Power from Biomass .............................................................................................. 50 Table 12: Appalachian Regional Totals, Lighting Retrofit Savings Scenarios ........................................................ 53 Table 13: Alberta Report Energy Generation Capacity of Manure .......................................................................... 55 Table 14: Alberta Report Cost Estimates ................................................................................................................ 56 Table 15: Regional Digester for Biogas Analysis .................................................................................................... 56 Table 16: Traffic Signal Costs and Savings by Intersection .................................................................................... 58 Table 17: Appalachian Regional Total, Traffic Signal Retrofit Savings ................................................................... 58 Table 18: Appalachian Regional Totals, Building Systems Commissioning Savings ............................................. 61 Table 19: Objective Measures of Efficiency ............................................................................................................ 63 Table 20: Action Items included in the Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions (EGGE) Element of the Tompkins County Comprehensive Plan ................................................................................................................. 67 Table 21: Self-Assessment System for County Governments .............................................................................. 101 Table 22: Electrical Energy Use at the Community Level in the Case Study Counties ........................................ 109 Table 23: Applying the Self-Assessment System to the Case Study Counties..................................................... 110 Table 24: Potential Financing Partners ................................................................................................................. 112 Table 25: EPC Assessment Questions for Local Governments ............................................................................ 118 Planning and Financing Energy Efficient Infrastructure in Appalachia ii Executive Summary This report “Planning and Financing Energy-Efficient Infrastructure in Appalachia,” (2011) was prepared by The Cadmus Group, Inc.1 under contract to the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). The goal of the study is a practical framework to help local governments within the Appalachian Region assess, plan, and finance energy efficiency infrastructure and facility improvements. Chapter 1 identifies institutions and the tools they offer for implementing energy and water efficiency. To select the ones most valuable for local governments, tools had to meet four criteria: longevity (established track record and adequate future funding); credible content evolving in response to user needs; customer assistance and partnership potential; and low- or no-cost status. Each of these criteria is explained more fully at the beginning of the chapter. Chapter 2 provides examples of eight energy conservation measures (ECMs)—with documented costs and financial returns—being implemented in or near the Appalachian Region. Cost savings for each ECM are also extrapolated to reflect potential savings across the Appalachian Region if local governments adopted, to some degree, each ECM. Chapter 3 presents case studies of Appalachian counties that are pursuing energy-efficient infrastructure, and assesses their performance using the assessment framework introduced in Chapter 2. Chapter 4 introduces a self-assessment system—a framework of performance measures—for use by county or municipal governments, to assist them in identifying, implementing, and assessing progress towards energy- efficiency goals. This framework encourages local governments to: • Develop and promote a culture of energy efficiency and sustainability, within government and as public discourse • Assess energy use and retrofit the existing building stock • Implement efficient water and wastewater infrastructure, including stormwater control and low-impact development • Include renewables as part of their energy planning • Strive for high-performance and high-profile new construction • Lead by example through development of policies encouraging efficiency in all sectors. Using this framework, Chapter 4 assesses the performance of the four case study counties from Chapter 3. Chapter 5 discusses partnership and financing opportunities, and provides conclusions and recommendations that include the following observations. Energy efficiency is a source of wealth. If applied across the Appalachian Region, the energy conservation measures described in this report could result in significant wealth, with positive consequences: • Cost savings, used to fund further local government operations and services, is a measure of higher performance, and signals accountability to taxpayers. Case study Calhoun County, AL is an example of the cost savings and voter satisfaction available as the result of implementing