the RPS Case Study and apply basic financial analysis to renewable energy projects. Much of this is related to the material inEGEE 102(Links to an external site.)

.(Feel free to refer back to that course for help.) Also note that this information is reviewed in this course at the end of Lesson 1.

Show all calculations

PA Alternative Fuel Certification [1] EIA-860 Plant Name Fuel Types at Facility Total Nameplate Capacity [2] Certification Start RTO PA PA-394331-SUN-I evengood, Darvin (95571) Solar 0.0069 2011-02-23 PJM PA PA-394219-SUN-I C Esbenshade Solar 0.08712 2011-02-23 PJM IL PA-15063-SUN-I Steve & Mary White Solar Power (p) Solar 0.003135 2011-09-08, 2011-02-23 PJM PA PA-393844-SUN-I Hanjaras, Hanjaras, James & Melanie (95634) Solar 0.0092 2011-02-23 PJM PA PA-393841-SUN-I Johnson, Arthur (95633) Solar 0.01012 2011-02-23 PJM PA PA-393847-SUN-1 Muench Power Solar 0.01012 2011-02-23 PJM PA PA-393857-SUN-I Mellencamp Solar 0.0047 2011-02-23 PJM PA A-393833-SUN-I Lavine, Ernest Residence Solar .0050 2011-02-22 PJM PA A-394284-SUN-I Harmony Beverage Solar 0.099825 2011-02-22 PJM PA A-393934-SUN-I Weldship Corporation (p) Solar .19136 2011-02-27 PJM PA A-393831-SUN-I Matt Caplinger Solar 0.00378 2011-02-22 PJM PA PA-394642-SUN-1 Charles Patterson (p) Solar 0.00816 2011-02-22 PJM PA A-393832-SUN-I SHAYNESG1 Solar 0.00559 2011-02-22 PJM PA A-393825-SUN-I PV Kraemer Solar .00315 2011-02-22 PJM PA A-393829-SUN-I Francisville East Solar 0.0483 2011-02-22 PJM PA A-393952-SUN-I Bob Zimmerman Solar 0.014784 2011-02-22 PJM PA PA-393830-SUN- Funks Solar 0.02184 2011-02-22 PJM PA PA-393828-SUN-I Kang, Tep Residence Solar 0.01034 2011-02-22 PJM PA A-393827-SUN-I Jacobson, Robert Residence Solar .00361 2011-02-22 PJM PA A-393826-SUN-I Neal Residence Solar 0.00552 2011-02-22 PJM PA A-393822-SUN-I Coombs Residence Solar 0.0038 2011-02-21 PJM PA A-393819-SUN-I Sweigert Residence Solar 0.00702 2011-02-21 PJM PA A-393933-SUN-I Hafer Petroleum (p) Solar 0.09867 2011-02-21 PJM PA A-393818-SUN-I The Rohrer Company (p) Solar 0.0198 2011-07-16, 2011-02-21 JM PA A-393821-SUN-I Najjar Family--State Colleg Solar .00414 2011-02-21 PJM PA A-393823-SUN-I Van Buren, Michael (95605) Solar 0.00516 2011-02-21 PJM PA PA-393820-SUN-I C Forry Solar 0.00828 2011-02-21 PIM PA PA-393988 WadelG Solar 0.00387 2011-02-21 PJM PA PA-393817-SUN-I Martin pmc Solar 0.009555 2011-02-19 PJM PA A-393816-SUN-I Lindenmeyer, Leonard Solar 0.007755 2011-02-19 PJM PA A-393937-SUN-I Gomba, Paul Solar 0.004515 2011-02-19 PJM PA A-393813-SUN-I Laicha Solar 0.007755 2011-02-18 PJM PA A-393814-SUN-I Stoltzfus, Steve (95577) Solar 0.01012 2011-02-18 PJM PA A-393815-SUN-I National Magnetics Solar .24518 2011-02-18 PJM PA A-393896-SUN-I J.R. Peters Solar .19734 2011-02-18 PJM OH A-36064-SUN-I Ilsco Solar 0.0247 2011-02-18 PJM PA A-393846-SUN-I Bajek Solar Solar 0.00748 2011-02-18 PJM PA PA-393812-SUN-I Josh & Rachel Miller Residence(p) Solar 0.00996 2011-02-18 PIM PA PA-393862-SUN-I Petzold Residence Solar 0.00945 2011-02-17 PJM\fBackground In 2004, Pennsylvania enacted the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards (AEPS) Act ("Act 213"), which provides "for the sale of electric energy generated from renewable and environmentally beneficial sources, for the acquisition of electric energy generated from renewable and environmentally beneficial sources by electric distribution and supply companies and for the powers and duties of the Pennsylvania Public Utility wonkily inclined. Commission." Here is the full text of the Public Utility Commission's Implementation Order, if you are so The type of policy covered by the AEPS Act exists in other states where it is most often called "Renewable Portfolio Standards." For a full description of RPS programs across the country, including definitions, data and summary maps, see the Database of State Incentives for Renewable and Efficiency (DSIRE) website (You can search for Renewables Portfolio Standard under "program type."). DSIRE is well-known, and dare I say the "go to" website for information about national and state-by-state energy policies in the U.S. Among other things, the AEPS Act established that a certain percentage of the electricity sold in Pennsylvania must come from renewable energy sources and a specific percent must come from solar energy. (The latter is often referred to as a "solar carve out," for obvious reasons.) The exact percentages that must come from solar per Act 213 are shown here. 0.50% 0.40% 0.30% 0.20% 0.10% 0.00% 6/1/07 - 5/31/08 2/28/07 - 5/31/07 6/1/08 - 5/31/09 6/1/09 - 5/31/10 6/1/10-5/31/11 6/1/11 -5/31/12 6/1/12 - 5/31/13 6/1/13 -5/31/14 6/1/14-5/31/15 6/1/15-5/31/16 6/1/16-5/31/17 6/1/17 - 5/31/18 6/1/18-5/31/19 6/1/19-5/31/20 6/1/20-5/31/21A Short Note Regarding Energy and Financial Calculations Most of this should be a review from EGEE 102, but this will help provide some perspective on this case study (and help you with this week's assignment!). . If electricity costs $0.15/KWh and you use 100 KWh, it will cost you: $0.15/KWh x 100 KWh = $15.00 . There are 1000 KWh in a MWh . A commonly-used economic indicator in renewable energy and energy efficiency projects is "simple payback." Simple payback indicates how long something will take to pay for itself, ignoring ongoing costs such as maintenance. To calculate simple payback, you simply (no pun intended) divide the upfront cost (after incentives) by the annual savings you will realize by implementing the measure. For example, let's say I spend $5 to buy an LED to replace an incandescent bulb. I calculate that it will save me $4/yr in electricity costs. My simple payback would thus be: upfront cost/annual savings = $5/$4 per yr. = 1.25 years. . As indicated above, SRECs add value to your solar PV array. Let's say you have an array that will generate -6,000 KWh/yr, which is 6 MWh and thus 6 SRECs. Because Pennsylvania has a "net metering" law, the utility must pay you the same for electricity generated by your system that you pay them for electricity that they supply. (This varies a bit by state, but most net metering states require the utility to pay at or near the full retail price that you pay). So if you pay $0.12/kWh, they pay you $0.12/kWh for each kWh your system generates. (The power company will not actually "pay" you for this. It will just take this off of your monthly bill.) Net metering also means that if you generate more electricity than you are using - say, on a nice summer day or sunny winter day - then that extra electricity will be used to compensate for times when you are using more electricity than you are generating. It goes beyond the scope of this course, but the amout that the utility "pays" the customer varies from state to state, as indicated above. It may just be the generation/supply cost, the transmission cost, and/or the distribution cost. The utility always recoups at least some of the cost through a monthly customer fee. . Net metering is a very important (and increasingly controversial in some states) incentive for solar, but remember that SRECs provide an additional incentive. In the glory days of 2008, you would have gotten: 6 SRECs x $230/SREC = $1,380 in addition to your savings (this does usually come as a check). But in 2015 you would have probably received: 6 SRECs x $20/SREC = $120. Quite a big difference, eh? That is why SRECs are such an important policy mechanism. They can substantially alter the financial calculation for renewable energy systems