Keeping Track of Environmental Compliance & Permitting

Like it or not, environmental compliance and permitting (C&P) requirements can often be affected by day-to-day operations. Often, facilities are not aware of these impacts or do not consider environmental compliance in day-to-day decision making. This can lead to unanticipated issues, extra work, or poor quality estimates when addressing end-of-year reporting requirements such as those related to the National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI), Toxics Reduction Act (TRA), Greenhouse Gas (GHG) reporting, and preparing Annual Written Summaries (AWS) required by an Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA). Failure to consider C&P requirements can also lead to surprise findings if you are inspected by the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MOECC).

Consider the following examples:

•       A facility switches from a mix of xylene and toluene solvents for cleaning equipment to purely xylene solvent. This change pushes xylene usage above the threshold for TRA requirements. At year end, the facility is shocked to find out that they must prepare a reduction plan and complete in-depth toxics accounting for xylene, a significant and costly effort.
   
•     A facility makes the minor change of re-ducting an existing paint spray booth exhaust under the Limited Operational Flexibility conditions on their ECA. The plant manager does not remember the continuous assessment requirements imposed by the ECA, and no updated assessment is prepared until the AWS is due. When the assessment is completed, it is determined that the exhaust relocation does not comply with emissions standards due to the close proximity to a neighboring unit’s air intake. There is now a requirement for retroactive abatement.

Other common occurrences include failing to amend an ECA for changes to processes or equipment, or not considering that the expansion of operations may result in exceeding a GHG reporting threshold. Sometimes, only knowing at year end that you are required to report can lead to difficult problems, since not everything can be remedied retroactively (such as the requirement to calibrate certain meters or measure certain parameters for Ontario GHG reporting).

The establishment of an environmental C&P due diligence process, which could be a simple as a checklist of considerations, can save you lots of headaches and costs when a requirement to report or reconcile comes around.

Need assistance? ORTECH can help you:

•       Establish an environmental C&P due diligence process
•       Report to the NPRI
•       Prepare a Toxics Substance Reduction Plan and complete Toxics Substance Accounting
•       Apply for an Environmental Compliance Approval with Limited Operational Flexibility
•       Prepare and submit an Annual Written Summary

Managing your Service Ontario ONe-Source Account

Service Ontario’s ONe-Source for business is an online service made available by the government of Ontario to provide access to government services, forms and information.  The Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) uses ONe-Source for business to facilitate registrations on the Environmental Activity and Sector Registry (EASR) and section 20.18 order requests for the inclusion of EASR activities in an Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA) application. A section 20.18 order request is a commonly required as part of an ECA application – so the use of the ONe-Source is often required as part of a compliance & permitting project. The MOECC has also indicated that they plan to expand services delivered using ONe-Source in the future, for example, the ECA application process itself.

ONe-Source is accessed using an ONe-Key login ID.  To access the MOECC services, the ONe-Key account must be registered with MOECC. This registration process requires the provision of a business number, postal code, and legal name for verification against information on file. Only one ONe-Key account can be registered with the MOECC per business number. For business operation several facilities on Ontario, it is especially important to keep track of the ONe-Key account information associated with the MOECC, since multiple facilities will need to use it and each facility’s ECA project could be led by completely different staff. Also, since ONe-Source is used for services not related to the MOECC, such as accessibility reporting requirements, a business may wish to keep all activities consolidated to a single account for convenience. If you are overseeing an ECA application project and are part of a multi-facility business, it is recommended that you coordinate with corporate or administrative staff to ensure that a record of the account is kept on file, or that access to an existing account can be arranged.

If the information for the ONe-Key account registered to your business number with the MOECC is lost, the administrative process of recovering the account can take up to several months resulting in significant days to project timelines.

Need assistance? ORTECH can help you:

•       Create your ONe-Key account and register it with the MOECC
•       Register an Activity on the EASR
•       Complete a section 20.18 order request
•       Prepare an ECA application and supporting documentation

Incoming Dispersion Modelling Updates – What it Means for You

The Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) will be updating the approved versions of the AERMOD and ASHRAE method dispersion models later this month through the publication of a notice on the Environmental Registry. A pre-notification of the incoming update was sent to stakeholders earlier this year. The approved versions will now be AERMOD version 14134 and the method described in the AHSRAE 2011 Handbook, chapter 44.  A change in model version has the potential to result in increased point-of-impingement concentration (POI) predictions. This means that on the extreme end of the impacts, a facility could move from compliance to non-compliance as a result of the change, potentially triggering notification and abatement requirements. Other considerations include:

Facilities required to update an Emissions Summary and Dispersion Modelling (ESDM) report annually (e.g. Schedule 4 or 5 facilities) will need to use the newly approved versions for their updated report due March 31. This might result in additional costs for facilities that do not undergo year-to-year changes and previously updated simply with an administrative note.

Facilities with Environmental Compliance Approvals (ECAs) with Limited Operational Flexibility are required to keep an up-to-date ESDM report that demonstrates compliance. This means that the ESDM report would need to be updated to use the new versions once they are in effect. Additionally, if increases to POI predictions for contaminants without standards could trigger the requirement to submit a toxicological assessment request to the MOECC depending on interpretation.

The MOECC has indicated that existing ECA applications which have not yet been approved may be retroactively required to reassess using the new versions. This means that there is a potential for additional unanticipated costs if your facility currently has an ECA application using an older version in queue.  The MOECC has also indicated that they will phase in new versions on an on-going basis. This creates additional uncertainty in the ECA application process as the time in queue is often longer that the lifespan of a model version. There is now a real risk that the assessment you submit in support of your ECA application will be obsolete and require update by the time it gets reviewed.

Need assistance? ORTECH can help you:

•       Prepare or update an ESDM report
•       Use an approved dispersion model to assess your facility
•       Assess the impact of an incoming model update
•       Support an existing ECA application that requires updated modelling

What does Energy Storage in Ontario mean for Developers?

By Ka-Ming Lin (klin@ortech.ca)

The current Energy Storage environment in Ontario is a very dynamic situation.  There are numerous drivers, both internal to the Ontario market and global factors which are creating the need for solutions like energy storage.  It’s also very broad and has the potential to impact every level and all aspects of the energy industry from generators to transmission and distribution owners and operators to end-users.

Our whole approach to energy is changing.  Fuel mix changes and renewable integration, conservation, grid modernization, distributed energy resources, load profile changes as the economy moves from traditional industrial to more knowledge based sectors, EVs and the upcoming electrification of everything, the emerging importance of resilience and climate change adaptation.  Ontario’s current response to the changes was the green economy transformation but the cost implication of this shift has resulted in significant backlash.  That’s going to affect what we do and when we get to do it.

There are applications that are starting to become economic, as well as potential new applications related to the changing grid.  The hardest part of figuring this out is the timing.  A lot of these changes are interrelated, and the rate of uptake on things such as EVs or conservation is going to change the needs and demands on the grid.  So I see a lot of change coming, with some parts counter-balancing others, and a lot of uncertainty as well.

 For more information on ORTECH's Energy Storage Services, click here.

October 20, 2016 Energy Matters: Renewables

- Clean energy investments are on the retreat. Worldwide investments in clean energy totaled $42.4 billion in the third quarter of 2016, down 31% from the second quarter and down a striking 43% from the equivalent three-month period of 2015. The summer quarter is typically sluggish, but the main reason is because investments in China and Japan have slowed considerably.

 - Featured resource:  After three years, Comcast has finalized its plan to reduce energy use and CO2 and achieve sustainability. AES Members have access to Comcast's strategic plan.

- New questions have been raised about the climate impact of biofuels. Some scientists, including the US DoE, have argued that using biofuels to replace gasoline significantly reduced CO2 emissions. On the other hand, new research suggests that once all the emissions associated with growing feedstock crops and manufacturing biofuel are factored in, biofuels actually increase CO2 emissions.

- The departments of both Energy and Interior just released the National Offshore Wind Strategy report, the federal government's playbook to build 22 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030 and 86 GW by 2050. 

- In an effort to cut costs and reduce carbon emissions, a popular Paris public swimming pool is heating its water by recovering the warmth generated by local sewers.

- In the five boroughs of New York City there are 5,300 solar installations, up from 186 in 2011; an additional 1,900 are in the pipeline. 

- Percent of electricity generated from wind in 2015 for European countries: Denmark (50%); Ireland (23%); Portugal (22%); Spain (18%); Germany (13%)

- Bill Gates has invested again in biomass, this time with Renmatix, a company that converts plant waste and biomass into sugars that can be converted into biofuels.

For more information on ORTECH's Renewable Energy Services, see below:

• Solar Services
• Wind Services
• Management Consulting Services
• Due Diligence Services

October 20, 2016: Energy Matters: Conventional

Petroleum

 - Now that oil prices have stabilized, perhaps it's time to look back and assess the carnage ... according to OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo, cartel member nations lost the equivalent of $1 trillion (USD) over the course of the three-year slump.

 - Much like the world’s major oil exporters — Nigeria, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, etc. — the US has its own petro-states whose specialized economies suffer when oil prices drop; they include: Alaska, Wyoming, Louisiana, North Dakota and Oklahoma. 

 Natural gas

 - Featured story: The US Department of State considers the spread and use of natural gas around the world a key geopolitical strategy, calling the fuel "critical to economic growth" and democracy. The department is working with national governments to put "the right investment climate in place," according to Robin Dunnigan, deputy assistant secretary of state for energy diplomacy.

Coal

 - In the first half of 2016, six former Soviet countries produced 232 million tons of coal, the highest output in a six-month period since 1996. Meanwhile, China's National Developm has asked 74 coal mines to boost thermal coal output by 500,000 tons per day in order to ease supply shortages ahead of the winter; this directive will bring another 15 million tons of new supply each month to the market.

 - Don Blankenship, who led Massey Energy Co. during the 2010 Upper Big Branch disaster that killed 29 miners in 2010, wrote a 68-page booklet from prison declaring that he is a victim of long-running animosity from labor unions, the Obama administration, the judiciary system and Hillary Clinton. AES Members have access to his self-published book.

 Nuclear

 - In 2010, Japan got 25% of its electricity from nuclear power; today, it gets .4%.

Ontario CAP and TRADE Program

As of today, there are only 39 days left to register in Ontario’s Cap and Trade Program. This deadline (November 30th, 2016) cannot be extended.

 You must be registered in Ontario’s Cap and Trade Program before you can participate in Ontario’s first cap and trade auction in March 2017. Registration is also required if you wish to participate in a practice auction that will be held in January 2017.

Cap and Trade Program Registration

Registration takes time to complete.

• Registration is a two-part process. Part 2 cannot be completed until Part 1 is completed, submitted to and approved by the Ministry.
• The time required to meet some of the requirements of registration, such as the notarization of documents, may be outside of your direct control. This should be taken into account when you are planning for your registration.
• Completing the Business Relationship Disclosure Form can be an extensive process.

Auction and Practice Auction

Ontario will host training webinars in December before the practice auction in January 2017.  

To be eligible to participate in an auction, your CITSS registration must be submitted early enough so that it can be reviewed and approved in time to participate in a scheduled auction. Register in CITSS as soon as possible to be eligible to participate in the January 2017 practice auction.

Additional auction information will be posted to Ontario’s cap and trade website (https://www.ontario.ca/page/cap-and-trade) next week.

Ontario’s Cap and Trade Help Desk team is available to answer your registration and auction questions. Contact the help desk by email at CThelp@ontario.ca or toll free at 1-888-217-3326.

As of today, there are only 39 days left to register in Ontario’s Cap and Trade Program. This deadline (November 30th, 2016) cannot be extended.

 You must be registered in Ontario’s Cap and Trade Program before you can participate in Ontario’s first cap and trade auction in March 2017. Registration is also required if you wish to participate in a practice auction that will be held in January 2017.

From Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Office
 at Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change

 

Government of Alberta Aims to become 50% Solar-Powered

The Canadian Solar Industries Association (CanSIA) states that the Government of Alberta is leading by example as the first provincial or territorial government in Canada to explore the feasibility of meeting 50% of their annual electricity needs from solar energy.  Minister Shannon Phillips, Alberta's Minister of Environment & Parks (and Minister responsible for the Alberta Climate Change Office) announced their intent today at the Solar West 2016 conference in Edmonton, hosted by CanSIA for the solar energy industry (listen to audio on CanSIA's Public Appearance webpage). The process, if successful in identifying a supplier or suppliers that can construct and operate a solar farms that meet the province's economic criteria, could give rise to 100 MW of new installed generation capacity in the province - enough to power 18,750 Alberta homes for a year.  The announcement received significant media attention including in the Global News, Calgary Herald and Edmonton Sun.  Further details on the Request For Information (RFI) can be viewed on the Alberta Purchasing Connection (interested parties should register as a Vendor).

From CanSIA

Canada Ratifies Paris Agreement, Announces National Carbon Pricing Details

The Government of Canada formally ratified the Paris climate accord on Wednesday October 5th, after easily beating back an effort from the opposition to give provinces the sole authority to deal with carbon pricing.  Members of Parliament approved a motion supporting both the United Nations agreement and the federal-provincial declaration issued last March in Vancouver that committed Canada to undertake the joint action needed to "meet or exceed" its Paris commitment to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 30 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030.

Earlier that week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau introduced the motion on the Paris accord with the announcement that Ottawa would require provinces to have a carbon-pricing plan - either a tax or cap and trade - in effect by 2018. Where premiers refuse to do so, Ottawa will impose a tax of $10 per tonne, rising to $50 per tonne in 2022, the equivalent of 11 cents per litre at the pump.  The approach led to much politicking in the media, here is one with some well-crafted arguments that we enjoyed.

From CanSIA

Capture Every MWh – Wind O&M Dallas Program Launched for 2017

October 12, 2016

The program for Wind O&M Dallas 2017, the world’s foremost conference for global wind energy stakeholders, is today October 12, being launched by Wind Energy Update.

Taking place April 10-12, 2017, and with its most ambitious agenda and impressive speaker line-up yet, it marks a major turning point in the wind energy industry by helping executives achieve genuine wind park ROI and learn to maximize value from every single turbine collectively.

“In order to truly succeed in this industry, issues such as major power purchase investments from industrial giants, the explosion of independent service companies, advanced energy storage technology, the utility of data driven software, and more, demand a complete re-think.

“And, it’s for this reason that we’re proud to invite 600+ of the world’s top wind stakeholders, from right across the value chain, back to Dallas next spring for our most value added, business driven program ever,” says Kerr Jeferies, Project Director at Wind Energy Update.

All-new case studies, workshops, seminars, keynote panels and networking will ensure that attendees will leave with all the critical tools, insights and connections they need to protect the integrity and transform the productivity of their portfolio well into the future.

Powerful C-Level keynote addresses, from the likes of Patrick Woodson, Chairman, E.ON Climate & Renewables; Chris Brown, President, Vestas; Mark Albenze, CEO Siemens Wind Power & Renewables; Andy Holt, CEO Renewables, GE Renewable Energy; Tom Kiernan, CEO, AWEA and many more, will break new ground by raising the bar for the O&M industry’s imminent +$3Billion growth spurt.

While a good O&M strategy for wind energy will make or break the business case for a single turbine park, an innovative yet considered and well executed Asset Management approach will unlock expansive long-term economic opportunities for entire wind portfolios.

“We’re excited to be presenting a brand new ‘Asset & Risk Management Track’ to go alongside our premier ‘Rethink Reliability – The Core O&M Topics Track’ to ensure that asset value can be protected, nurtured and grown by asset managers chasing risk, revenue and reward as well as field technicians and engineering specialists can,” he explains.

Importantly, this annual gathering – which has enjoyed a 30% growth in attendee quality year-on-year since 2012 - provides the platform true leaders need to establish thought leadership, dominate market thinking and harness the collective strength of this truly exciting global market.

Major stakeholders from E.ON, Duke Energy, Pattern Energy, EDF Renewable Energy, SunEdison, Siemens, Goldwind, GE Renewable Energy and Vestas have already confirmed their attendance at this - the most important wind stakeholder meeting to hit Texas in years. NGC Transmission & Equipment, EDF Renewable Services and Tech Safety Lines have joined as Diamond, Silver and Bronze sponsors respectively.

“This annual gathering, above all others, continues to tap into the progressive business models that’ll secure the industry’s future, making it the can’t-miss event for all top energy decision makers,” concludes Victoria Auckland, Project Director at Wind Energy Update.

So make sure to save the date: 10 April 2017 in Dallas, Texas and for more information visit http://www.windenergyupdate.com/operations-maintenance-usa/

Government of Ontario suspends LRP II from CanSIA

On September 27th, the Government of Ontario announced the immediate suspension of the second round of the Large Renewable Procurement (LRP II).  For the solar industry in Ontario this means that 250 MW of utility scale solar projects will not be procured in 2018 as was previously planned.  The Government has also communicated, however, that this decision will not affect ongoing FIT and microFIT procurements.  

John Gorman, President and CEO of the Canadian Solar Industries Association (CanSIA) released this statement following the announcement:

"CanSIA is disappointed with the Government of Ontario's decision to suspend the LRP II procurement as it represents a significant back-step from previously committed renewables procurement in the Province that we believe will be required to deal with supply and GHG emission risks, such as delayed nuclear refurbishment schedules, un-met conservation targets, or increased demand as a result of electrification to meet the province's climate change targets. Cancelling or delaying the procurement of renewable electricity could leave Ontario unprepared to effectively deal with these risks cost-effectively and without increasing electricity sector GHG emissions.  CanSIA remains hopeful that the upcoming Long Term Energy Plan (LTEP) process will provide further opportunities for the industry. Both the Ministers of Energy and Environment and Climate Change have received mandate letters which include a strong focus for reducing electricity sector GHG emissions even under high electrification scenarios, encouraging the growth of renewables, and making Ontario one of the most cost effective North American jurisdictions for installing solar panels. Through the LTEP CanSIA will be advocating for the Ministry of Energy to adopt policies that encourage greater consumer choice in the adoption of energy solutions to meet communities' power needs and GHG reduction targets."

CanSIA will continue to inform members of new information and new developments as they arise. CanSIA remains hopeful that the upcoming Long Term Energy Plan (LTEP) consultation process will provide opportunities for all renewables, including large-scale solar. Participate in CanSIA's LRP II Forum to be a part of the on-going discussion and if you have questions or comments please contact, Ben Weir, CanSIA's Director of Policy and Regulatory Affairs

Alberta announces firm target of 30% by 2030, Support for 5,000 MW

On November 30 2015, Alberta's Minister of Environment and Parks and Minister Responsible for the Climate Change Office Shannon Phillips, announced that the province will commit to a firm target of 30% by 2030 and support 5,000 MW of additional renewable energy capacity. During a session later in the day at the conference where the announcement was delivered,  CanSIA and CanWEA representatives Patrick Bateman & Evan Wilson delivered the key message that "30% renewables by 2030  is achievable in Alberta both cost-effectively and without compromising reliability of supply".  The announcement was covered by several news outlets including the CBC, Globe and Mail and Calgary Herald and the practical implications of this target will be discussed during CanSIA's Solar West 2016 in Edmonton from October 5th to 7th.

Questions about Solar, please contact

Information courtesy of CanSIA

October 3, 2016: Energy Matters: Climate Change

Courtesy of American Energy Society
 

Policy

- Featured: At root, the case against the Clean Power Plan is about whether, not how, power plants can be regulated by the EPA for carbon dioxide emissions. So far, arguments have centered on one issue: are the changes mandated by the CPP "transformative?" If so, then such changes can only be required by Congress, thus making the CPP unconstitutional.

- Of the 27 states challenging the EPA Clean Power Plan, Arkansas, North Carolina, Oklahoma and South Dakota are already on track to meet the CPP targets.

- PRESIDENTIAL MEMORANDUM: for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies
SUBJECT: Climate Change and National Security
DATE: September 21, 2016

MESSAGE: By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby direct the following:

SECTION 1. Purpose. This memorandum establishes a framework and directs Federal departments and agencies (agencies) to perform certain functions to ensure that climate change-related impacts are fully considered in the development of national security policies, and plans.
SECTION 2. Background. Climate change poses a significant and growing threat to national security, both at home and abroad. 
AES Members have access to the full memorandum.
 

- Inside the Beltway: US Department of Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz is talking to Congress about passing tax credits for utilities that burn coal more cleanly and allowing private companies to dispose of the growing stockpile of nuclear waste at US power plants. Previous attempts to store nuclear waste on public lands have been blocked.

- California regulators have established the first mandatory energy efficiency standards for computers and monitors - gadgets that account for 3 percent of home electric bills and 7 percent of commercial power costs.

Climate Change: 

 - The most sustainable city in the world?  Zurich. The most sustainable city in North America?  Vancouver. The most sustainable city in the United States? New York City.  AES Premium Members have access to the full report and rankings.
 

- A coalition of 25 military and national security experts, including former advisers to Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, have warned that climate change poses a “significant risk to US national security and international security” and requires more attention. AES Premium Members have access to the Briefing Book by the Climate and Security Advisory Group.

- The chemical hexavalent chromium, also known as chromium-6, gained notoriety as the carcinogenic water contaminant that Erin Brockovich sued a utility over in California. Water supplies in a number of US cities appear to contain unsafe levels of chromium-6. The worst offenders: City of Phoenix, Missouri American Water (St. Louis County), City of Houston, City of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, and Suffolk County Water Authority in New York.

- About 5,600 animal species and about 30,000 plant species receive some sort of endangerment protection. The upcoming Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) 17th Conference of Parties (CoP17) in Johannesburg, South Africa, held through October 4, will decide which new species will receive protection and which will not. About 500 species, ranging from tropical timbers like rosewood and agarwood to marine species like corals, nautiluses, sharks, and rays to iconic mammals like African elephants and lions, and lesser known ones like pangolins, are up for review.
 

- About 100,000 beetle-infested trees die every day in Wyoming ... and also in Colorado, Montana, Idaho, and especially California.  

- Obama is getting a new namesake — a species of fish. Discovered 300 feet deep in the waters off Kure Atoll, the fish reminded scientists of Obama's campaign logo. The dorsal fin coloration of the male is a circular red spot ringed with blue. It's the one fish known to live only within the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument that President Obama set aside for protection. 

Liberals set carbon price to start at $10 a tonne in 2018

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal Liberal government will establish a "floor price" on carbon pollution of $10 a tonne in 2018, rising to $50 a tonne by 2022. Trudeau is making the announcement as he kicks off a debate in the House of Commons over whether Canada should ratify the Paris accord on climate change.

ENERGY STORAGE ONTARIO TO REBRAND AS ENERGY STORAGE CANADA

Industry Association to Offer New Platform, Expanded Value to Members

ENERGY STORAGE ONTARIO TO REBRAND AS ENERGY STORAGE CANADA

Toronto, September 28, 2016 – Energy Storage Ontario (ESO) today announced it is rebranding to become Energy Storage Canada – a move that reflects the industry association’s expanded advocacy and engagement at the federal level on behalf of members.

The change provides a stronger platform to build the market for energy storage across Canada to achieve multiple benefits: improve the flexibility and resiliency of the power grid for electricity system operators and customers, offer a proven channel for federal and provincial climate change initiatives, and drive economic development and innovation.

“Rebranding as Energy Storage Canada reflects the growing interest and momentum in the energy storage industry across the country,” says Patricia Phillips, Executive Director.  “We need to capitalize on the opportunities in order to realize the economic and environmental value of energy storage on a broader scale for utilities, businesses and residential customers."   

Energy storage adds value at all points in the energy system. It can increase the value of the energy produced by other sources and adds capacity value to the system. It can act as a load and as a generator and provide a range of balancing services both short-term and long-term such as capacity and congestion management and ancillary services. It allows for the deferral of costly transmission and distribution infrastructure investments. And storage can help consumers manage energy in their own homes.

As Energy Storage Canada, the association will continue to focus on expanding the energy storage infrastructure in Ontario, a leading jurisdiction for energy storage in North America.   The association will also leverage the strength of its membership of technology providers, project developers, power generators, local electricity distribution companies, and NGOs to advocate for regulatory changes to open other storage markets in Canada.

The new website address is energystoragecanada.org.

Federal engagement activity will build on achievements made by Energy Storage Ontario since 2013. In Ontario, the association has made energy storage a key focus for policy makers by driving awareness about the value energy storage delivers, working to create a competitive market, promoting economic development, and ensuring regulatory fairness. Among other successes, the association was instrumental in advocating for a 50MW energy storage procurement in the province’s 2013 Long-term Energy Plan.

Energy Storage Canada (ESC) is the voice of leadership in energy storage in Canada and represents the full supply chain of energy storage. ESC focuses on advancing opportunities and building the market for energy storage through advocacy, knowledge-sharing, networking and stakeholder education.

For more information, contact:  Patricia Phillips – 416-575-8539 pat.phillips@energystoragecanada.org

If you have questions about Energy Storage, contact ORTECH at Michael Tingle mtingle@ortech.ca or visit our Energy Storage services page.

LRP II and EFW Procurement cancelled by the IESO.

This is a bit surprising.

The IESO received a direction from the Minister of Energy on September 27, 2016, that indicated the government’s intention to suspend the Large Renewable Procurement (LRP) and the Energy from Waste (EFW) procurement. As a result, the IESO is cancelling the LRP II RFQ process and will not be commencing the subsequent LRP II RFP process. Additional details will be provided over the coming days to RFQ applicants regarding the next steps associated with the cancellation of the LRP II RFQ process. The IESO will also not proceed with the current EFW procurement.

I like what the Federal Government is doing about Emissions, CleanTech and Energy Storage

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) is the new name for Environment Canada. I mention this because the Federal Government is in unchartered territory;

Our Prime Minister is planning the following:

• Invest an extra $100 million more in supporting clean-tech companies
• Shift federal subsidies away from fossil fuels and into renewables
• Create a $2 billion fund to support projects aimed at cutting carbon emissions
• Partner with the private sector to unlock venture capital
• Support energy efficiency and electric vehicles
• Work with the provinces to combat climate change through carbon pricing and developing green power sources

If you have questions about clean tech or emissions reporting, please contact us at info@ortech.ca

F.I.T 5.0 Application Window Extended to October 31

The time the Application Period will be opening on October 31st has been updated; the Application Period will now open at 11:00:00 a.m. EPT.  This has been updated on the Defined Terms for the Current Application Period page. 

Defined Terms for the Current Application Period

The following table shows the defined terms for the FIT 5 application period that are referenced in the FIT Rules, Version 5.0 as being located on the FIT website. 

1.The base capacity available is 150 MW. This will be combined with capacity that has become available from any contract terminations under small FIT and microFIT as per the April 5, 2016 direction from the Minister of Energy. The total procurement target, including the CCSA targets, will be calculated and updated by December 31, 2016.
2.The Indigenous CCSA is subdivided into the First Nation CCSA and the Métis CCSA.
 CCSA = Contract Capacity Set-Asides

Minister Phillips Announces Procurement of 5,000 MW of Renewables by 2030

Have you been waiting for Alberta to commit to Renewables?   Well, it has happened.

Today at the 4th Annual Alberta Power Symposium, Shannon Phillips, Minister of Environment and Parks and Minister Responsible for the Climate Change Office, announced in her keynote address that Alberta will procure 5,000 MW of additional renewable energy capacity by 2030. This will support the Government's firm target of having 30 per cent of Alberta's electricity generated by renewable sources such as solar, wind and hydro by 2030.  

 CanSIA President & CEO, John Gorman, made the following statement:  

 "For too long, discussions about climate change have focused on what we can't do. Now that renewable technology costs have reached new lows, it's time to focus on what we can do with our tremendous renewable energy resources. Today's announcement sets a renewable energy target that is achievable while establishing Alberta as a progressive and leading jurisdiction in the global effort to reduce emissions. Solar energy is ready to be a big contributor to a strong and clean Alberta economy."

 The remainder of the Government of Alberta's press release can be found here. 

Content Source:  CanSIA

New studies to open door to 99.9% wind turbine reliability from Wind Energy Update

From Wind Energy Update

Improving turbine reliability to 99.9% will require new data analysis approaches across the industry, according to a researcher linked to Sandia National Laboratories.

“We’re no longer talking about 50 or 60% reliability,” said Carsten Westergaard of Texas Tech University, a Sandia affiliate. “A good turbine is probably 98%. We want to go to 99.9%. And you can’t just do that with a logistics mindset.”

In a paper due to be published in Probabilistic Prognostics and Health Management of Energy Systems, Carsten says existing data acquisition and analysis techniques are insufficient to develop models that can improve reliability above current levels.

“Understanding wind farm reliability from various data sources is highly complex because the boundary conditions for the data often are undocumented and impact the outcome of aggregation significantly,” it says.

Sandia has been tracking multiple wind farm supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) streams since 2007, through its Continuous Reliability Enhancement Wind (CREW) project, but has reached the limits of how this data can help in understanding reliability.

At the same time, the financial models widely employed by the industry are of only limited use in enhancing reliability, since they tend to focus on the cost of faults rather than what causes failure.

 Benchmark averages

Westergaard said benchmark averages drawn from current data sets might fail to account for the impact of discrete events such as lightning strikes.

Lightning typically causes multiple small fractures which the industry has become adept at spotting and repairing, often within a week or two instead of over 12 months as was previously the case, Westergaard said.

However, being able to repair the damage does not mean asset owners are closer to understanding why it happens in the first place.

 “Out of a thousand turbines you may have three major lightning strike damage incidents a year, on a fleet of, say, seven different types of turbine,” Westergaard explained. “That’s not enough to get clever on. It’s an area where shared knowledge would really be good.”

To date, he said, the wind industry has not been good at sharing data. This means current reliability benchmarks may be inaccurate. In the case of lightning, benchmarks are based on experience gained in the North Sea.

But the North Sea has an average of 50 days a year of lightning, which means conditions are not comparable to California, which has almost zero, or Texas, which has 75.

Complex analytics

In order to overcome this problem, Sandia is working to make it easier to aggregate wind industry data so that more complex analytics can be applied to gain a greater technical understanding of reliability.

A first step in this process is to create a common format for data that allows different sets to be integrated. Sandia is currently developing a common data-tagging framework that can be used on future and past data sets.

Westergaard said the framework could be incorporated into an audit process to ensure it is used across the industry. This could help asset owners gain a greater understanding of the causes of failure and ultimately lead to “a 1.5% reduction in faults,” he said.

It is hoped the work will also uncover fault patterns that cannot be predicted on a single-turbine basis.

One of the more surprising findings in Westergaard’s work is that identical turbines can have very different performance and reliability profiles even on the same wind farm.

Westergaard said this could be because of the way each turbine interacts with others, and with other elements in the environment. Such variability is not fully captured in current reliability and performance models.

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Turbine fault counts based on data over 1.5 years, showing massive variability between machines (source: C.H. Westergaard, S.B. Martin, J.R. White, C. Carter and B, Karlson, ‘Towards a more robust understanding of the uncertainty of wind farm reliability’, to appear in Probabilistic Prognostics and Health Management of Energy Systems).

 “We’re so used to thinking of a turbine as a turbine, but we’re not really thinking of it as an element that is interacting with other elements,” Westergaard said. “Looking at the data, it was mind-blowing in its diversity.”

The Sandia initiative to standardize, integrate, analyze and understand reliability data is still in its early stages and the development of a proof-of-concept system is dependent on further funding.

If this is forthcoming, Westergaard said the proof of concept could start yielding results in around a year’s time.

Scott Abramson, director of operational excellence at Duke Energy Renewables, one of the largest asset owners in the US, welcomed the prospect of better knowledge about turbine reliability and performance.

 “As an owner-operator, we find there is a large disparity in operation and downtime between technologies,” he said. “When we look at information or data from wind turbines, it is most helpful to have it broken down by specific technology.

 “Ths allows us to analyze and compare data most accurately.”

 This article has been released in conjunction with the 3rd Annual Wind O&M Canada 2016 (Nov 29-30, Toronto

 For further information please contact Kerr Jeferies t Wind Energy Update at kerr@windneergyupdate.com or call +44 (0) 207 375 7565