FINAL REPORT Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) of Renewable Electrical Generation Technologies Compared to the WECC Baseline Conducted in accordance with ISO 14044 LCIA Framework and the Draft SCS-002/ANSI Life Cycle Metrics Standard, “Type III Life-Cycle Impact Profile Declarations for Materials, Products, Services and Systems” Prepared for the Western Area Power Administration and Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Inc. March 2009 2200 Powell Street, Suite 725 Emeryville, CA 94608 510-452-8000 PROJECT AUTHORS/CONTRIBUTORS Stanley Rhodes, Ph.D. — Project Manager, Senior LCSEA Practitioner Fjalar Kommonen — Senior LCSEA Practitioner and Modeler Chet Chaffee, Ph.D. — Senior LCA Practitioner Linda Brown — Senior Editor and Project Support Neil Thomas — GIS Specialist S. Clayton Palmer – Environmental Economist Bill Karsell -- Biologist © 2009. Scientific Certification Systems, Inc. Renewable Electrical Generation Technologies Compared to WECC Baseline — Final LCIA Report Main Report Life Cycle Impact Assessment of Renewable Elcctrical Generation Technologies Compared to the WECC Baseline TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary .................................................................................................i Terms and Definitions ................................................................................................. vi Section 1. Study Overview 1.1. Study Background...........................................................1-1 . 1.2. Study Goals.....................................................................1-1 . 1.3. Scope of Work ................................................................1-1 . 1.4. Limitations ......................................................................1-2 Section 2. Overview of LCSEA Framework 2.1. Historical Perspective .....................................................2-1 2.2. LCSEA Methodology and Metrics ................................2-2 2.2.1. Classification Protocols ........................................2-3 2.2.2. Characterization Protocols....................................2-3 2.3. Steps for Conducting Assessments ..................................2-4 2.3.1. Determination of Scope/Boundary Conditions.....2-4 2.3.2. Life Cycle Inventory Analysis..............................2-5 2.3.3. Life Cycle Impact Assessment .............................2-5 2.4. Impact Groups, Impact Categories & Category Indicators .........................................................................2-6 Section 3. Study Conventions, Assumptions and Considerations 3.1. LCI Conventions and Assumptions ................................3-1 3.1.1. Raw Materials.......................................................3-1 3.1.2. By-Products ..........................................................3-1 3.1.3. Fuel Inputs and Outputs........................................3-1 3.1.4. Emissions to Air ...................................................3-2 3.1.5. Emissions to Water...............................................3-2 3.1.6. Solid Wastes .........................................................3-2 3.1.7. Line Losses ...........................................................3-2 3.2. Site-Dependent Factors Used to Calculate Regional Emissions.........................................................................3-2 3.2.1. Regional Acidification Loading Assumptions......3-2 3.2.2. Ground Level Ozone.............................................3-6 3.2.3. Particulate Loading ..............................................3-11 3.2.4. Chronic Hazardous Chemical Loadings ..............3-15 T-1 Renewable Electrical Generation Technologies Compared to WECC Baseline — Final LCIA Report Section 4. 4.1. Project Description and Background ..............................4-1 The WECC (US) 4.1.1. Project Description ...............................................4-1 LCIA Baseline 4.1.2. Project Background ..............................................4-1 4.2. WECC Regional Power Baseline....................................4-1 4.2.1. General Description ..............................................4-1 4.2.2. Sub-NERC Regional Baselines ............................4-2 4.2.3. Scope of WECC Baseline Assessment .................4-3 4.3. WECC Baseline Power Mix ...........................................4-4 4.4. Data Sources ...................................................................4-4 4.4.1. Primary Data Sources ...........................................4-4 4.4.2. Additional Data Sources .......................................4-6 4.4.3. Upstream Unit Processes ......................................4-6 4.5. Key Project Assumptions and Considerations.................4-6 4.5.1. Characterization of Receiving Environments for Emissions Category Indicators .............................4-7 4.5.2. Water Resource Depletion....................................4-7 4.5.3. Key Species Indicator ...........................................4-8 4.5.5. Characterization of Wastes ...................................4-8 4.5.5. Characterization of Coal Assay to Determine Material Use..........................................................4-8 4.5.6. LCIA Data for Nuclear Power Systems................4-8 4.6. Summary LCI Results.....................................................4-9 4.7. Landscape Disruption Group — Habitats Disrupted.....4-10 4.8. LCSEA Results ...............................................................4-11 4.9. Summary of Results and Discussion...............................4-12 4.9.1. WECC Baseline....................................................4-12 Section 5. 5.1. Project Description and Background ..............................5-1 Stateline 300MW Wind 5.1.1. Project Description ...............................................5-1 Generation System 5.1.2. Project Background ..............................................5-1 5.1.3. Specific Issues Surrounding Functional Equivalency and System Boundaries...................5-2 5.2. Stateline Power Generation System Description ............5-3 5.2.1. System Boundaries, Scoping and Specific Unit Processes.......................................................5-3 5.2.2. Functional Unit .....................................................5-4 5.3. Baseline Case..................................................................5-4 5.4. Integrating Wind into Regional Power Pool System ......5-4 5.5. Data Sources ...................................................................5-5 5.5.1. Materials and Energy Used in Wind Farm Construction, Operations and Maintenance........5-5 5.5.2. Direct Physical Disruption Associated with the Wind Farm ....................................................5-6 5.5.3. Direct Physical Disruption Associated with Back-Up Power (Scenario 2) ..............................5-7 5.6. Key Assumptions............................................................5-8 5.6.1. Windforce Analysis ..............................................5-8 5.6.2. Back-Up Units in Scenario 2 ................................5-8 5.6.3. Amount of Back-Up Power Required for Scenario 2 ...........................................................5-8 5.6.4. Assumptions Related to Wind Farm Material and Energy Inputs...............................................5-10 5.6.5. Habitat Disruption Assumptions...........................5-12 T-2 Renewable Electrical Generation Technologies Compared to WECC Baseline — Final LCIA Report 5.6.6. Natural Gas Back-Up Power Assumptions...........5-13 5.7. Summary LCI Results.....................................................5-13 5.8. LCSEA Results ...............................................................5-14 5.9. Discussion of Results.......................................................5-19 5.9.1. Proper Scoping......................................................5-19 5.9.2. Wind System with No Added Back-Up Power (Scenario 1) .............................................5-20 5.9.3. 85% Wind Power / 15% Natural Gas Back-Up Power (Scenario 2) ..............................................5-21 5.10. Differences in Scenarios’ Performance .........................5-21 Section 6. 6.1. Project Description and Background ..............................6-1 Glen Canyon Hydropower 6.1.1. Project Description ...............................................6-1 Generation System 6.1.2. Project Background ..............................................6-1 6.2. Power Generation System Description ...........................6-3 6.2.1. System Boundaries, Scoping and Specific Unit Processes.......................................................6-3 6.2.2. Plant Location.......................................................6-5 6.2.3. Construction..........................................................6-6 6.2.4. Operations and Maintenance ................................6-6 6.2.5. Power Transmission..............................................6-8 6.2.6. Function and Functional Unit ...............................6-9 6.3. Baseline Case..................................................................6-9 6.4. Data Sources and Data Quality.......................................6-10 6.4.1. Data Sources .........................................................6-10 6.4.2. Data Quality..........................................................6-10 6.5. Key Assumptions and Scoping Considerations ..............6-10 6.5.1. Allocation of Impacts ...........................................6-10 6.5.2. LCI Model Assumptions.......................................6-12 6.5.3. Biophysical Impact Focus.....................................6-12