crown hydro for our clean energy future. presentation overview crown hydro a clean energy future...
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CROWN HYDROfor our clean energy future
Presentation overview
CROWN HYDROa clean energy future
• Current electricity sources• Environmental impact• Public health impact
• Individual demand• Governmental standards and incentives• Independent power producers
• Impoundment v. diversion, energy mix• Location of Crown Hydro• History of hydro on the river
• Thorough, collaborative process• Primary and ancillary benefits• President Obama: New Energy Economy
crisis
solution
details
context
Electricity sources
CROWN HYDROa clean energy future
.
Coal:environmental impact
CROWN HYDROa clean energy future
• U.S. DOE and EPA: coal plants emit 40% of carbon dioxide in U.S., the primary cause of global climate change
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: threatens human populations and ecosystems with worsening heat waves, floods and droughts
• ABC News/Stanford University: 88% of Americans believe global warming threatens future generations
• Fox News:82% of Americans believe in global warming
.
Coal:public health impact
CROWN HYDROa clean energy future
• Sierra Club:coal-fired power plants are the largest man-made source of mercury pollution in the U.S., and the largest contributor of hazardous air pollutants
• MN Department of Health:one in five women of childbearing agehave high enough levels of mercury intheir bodies to cause birth defects
• American Lung Association:24,000 people a year die prematurelybecause of pollution from coal-firedpower plants
Individuals:demand clean energy
CROWN HYDROa clean energy future
“The most important thing individualscan do to combat the climate crisis is tobuy clean electricity for their homes.”-Al Gore, winnerNobel Peace Prize, 2007
Policy 6.2.1 Minneapolis will… encourage analysis and implementation of sustainable energy generation within the city including
energy produced by renewable fuels…
Elected leaders:set standards, incentives
• Minnesota: 25% by 2025 – Renewable Energy Standard
• Minnesota: incentive for hydro energy
• U.S.: production tax creditfor hydro energy
CROWN HYDROa clean energy future
Crown Hydro:Independent Power Producer
• Crown Hydro is proposing to create a small, run-of-river, hydro energy facility under the west bank of the Mississippi, downtown Minneapolis
• It will have two 1.7 megawatt turbines placed 42 feet below ground
• It will run only at times of average and above-average river flow – about 60% of the year
• It will generate enough electricity for at least 2,000 households
• It is clean, renewable, still, silent, and invisible
• The same amount of energy from coal would emit18,000 tons of CO2 per year
CROWN HYDROa clean energy future
Large hydro:impoundment / dam
CROWN HYDROa clean energy future
Manitoba Hydro:
• 5000 megawatts of clean, renewable energy
• Dam creates height difference that generates mechanical energy
• Ecological impact - erosion, flooding
• Electricity transmitted from Canada
Small hydro:diversion / run-of-river
CROWN HYDROa clean energy future
Crown Hydro:
• 2 megawatts of clean renewable energy
• Water is divertedfrom and returnedto river with naturalelevation drop thatgenerates energy
• No harmfulecological impact
• Locally-produced, sustainable
• Used where it is produced, less energy lost in transmission
We need all renewableenergy sources
• Hydro:• cheapest• existing infrastructure
• Wind:• larger potential in Minnesota• need transmission lines from rural areas
• Solar:• great potential• small-scale production here
• Biomass:• cleaner than coal or
natural gas
• Geothermal• in development
CROWN HYDROa clean energy future
View from above
CROWN HYDROa clean energy future
intake
tailrace
View from river
CROWN HYDROa clean energy future
View from downtown
CROWN HYDROa clean energy future
History: a working river
CROWN HYDROa clean energy future
Fathe
r Hen
nepin
nam
es F
alls
saw m
ill to
buil
d For
t Sne
lling
Crown
Roller
Mill
built
Sioux,
Ojib
we la
nd
lumbe
r, th
en flo
ur m
illing
tunn
el co
llaps
e, u
nder
mine
d fa
lls
first
hydr
o ele
ctric
plant
in U
.S.
1680
1821
1850-60’s1869
1876
1879
1882-19331895-19681897-1987
Main
Stre
et st
ation
Lower
Dam
stat
ion
Henne
pin Is
land
1908-present
Corps
of E
ngine
ers s
tabil
izes a
pron
, spil
lway
Crown Hydro development:an in-depth approval process
CROWN HYDROa clean energy future
Minn
eapo
lis p
lans M
ill Ruin
s Par
k with
hyd
ro,
adde
d ca
pacit
y is d
enied
for N
SP
1980’s
com
mun
ity in
put,
new si
te se
lecte
d. M
PRB neg
otiat
ions
2000-2009
RDF gra
nt a
warde
d, p
rivat
e fin
ancin
g se
cure
d
2002
Power
Pur
chas
e Agr
eem
ent w
ith X
cel E
nerg
y
2003
Crown
Hydro
app
lies f
or F
ERC licen
se
1990
envir
onm
enta
l, eng
ineer
ing, w
ater
flow st
udies
1991-1999
Crown
Hydro
is a
warde
d FERC lic
ense
1999
future
study
hist
oric
reso
urce
s im
pact
future
lease
from
MPRB
future
final
FERC app
rova
l
Partnership with the parks
• Crown Hydro is asking to lease the required land from the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board for the term of the FERC license
• Crown Hydro pays 100% ofcosts for equipment, construction,maintenance, insurance, andtakes over stewardship of theraceway tunnels
• Crown Hydro will pay$300,000 to the MPRBeach year
• MPRB Comprehensive Plan:89% of residents supportcorporate partnerships as asource of additional revenue
CROWN HYDROa clean energy future
Benefit
CROWN HYDROa clean energy future
• Clean, renewable energy for at least 2,000 homes – that’s more than 1% of householdsin Minneapolis
• The same amount of energyfrom coal would emit18,000 tons of CO2
each year
• Parks: $3 million over next 10 years in new revenue forMinneapolis parks
• Jobs and infrastructure: private investment in infrastructure, constructed and run with Union Labor
• Stewardship: strengthen tunnels,provide stringent inspectionsand full insurance andindemnification for park board
• Even more clean energy:state and national modelfor small hydro
Ancillary benefits
CROWN HYDROa clean energy future
• Water flow: Will Crown Hydro impair the aesthetics of the falls?
• Historic site: Will Crown Hydro impair historic resources?
• Private use of public land: Is this an appropriate private use of public land?
Questions from neighbors
CROWN HYDROa clean energy future
• Engineers retained by the MPRB, using information provided to them by University of Minnesota St. Anthony Falls Lab, have determined the total impact of Crown Hydro’s water diversion will not be visually discernable
• MPRB will have the discretion and authority to shut off diversion to maintain flow
• Average water flow over the St. Anthony Falls is 12,000 cfs
• The current demonstration intake structure diverts about 150-250 cubic feet per second of water. The Crown Hydro intake structure will be adjustable for water flow, and cannot exceed the maximum diversion of 1,000 cfs. A transducer that measures the water level in the river will transmit a continuous signal that will reduce diversion as flow decreases, and shut off completely when flow declines toward 1000 cfs.
Water Flow:Will it impair the aesthetics of the falls?
CROWN HYDROa clean energy future
• The project is sited within the St. Anthony Falls National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) Historic District, inside the St. Anthony Falls Waterpower area, and the West Bank Milling Area
• The FERC license requires that Crown Hydro work with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) to develop a plan to determine if there is historic impact and to define that historic impact
• It there is historic impact, Crown Hydro must work the SHPO, with input from the Federal HSPC and the Minneapolis HPC, to determine if and how it can be mitigated – and vital historic resources protected – by appropriate measures in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA)
Historic Site:Will it impair historic resources?
CROWN HYDROa clean energy future
• Typically the use of public land is required for clean, renewable hydro projects like Crown Hydro, as many waterways are public assets. The Mississippi River is under the jurisdiction of the state.
• As an independent power producer, the energy will be sold to a public utility, and subject to the same consumer protections
• Minnesota statute 103G.535 says “the public health, safety, and welfare of the state is promoted by the use of state waters to produce hydroelectric power” and further “a political subdivision… may provide by a lease or development agreement for the development and operation of… hydroelectric power generation plants by an individual, a corporation, an organization, or other legal entity”
• Crown Hydro has offered generous public revenue sharing
CROWN HYDROa clean energy future
Private use of public land:Is Crown Hydro an appropriate use?
Crown Hydro will provide clean, renewable,locally-produced, distributed energy.
This project honors the proud history of the Mississippi River, represents an important infrastructure investment for our future, will generate millions of dollars for parks, and create good Union jobs.
It is safe, sustainable, and unobtrusive.
Right idea, right time
CROWN HYDROa clean energy future
Small hydro- big difference
To learn more visitwww.CrownHydro.net
“There's no better driver that pervades all aspects of our economy than a new energy economy. That's going
to be my #1 priority.” -Barack Obama
CROWN HYDROa clean energy future