integrating land conservation and renewable energy goals in california: a study of costs and impacts...
TRANSCRIPT
![Page 1: Integrating Land Conservation and Renewable Energy Goals in California: A Study of Costs and Impacts Using the Optimal Renewable Energy Build-Out (ORB)](https://reader035.vdocuments.mx/reader035/viewer/2022062519/5697c0111a28abf838ccbbbb/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Integrating Land Conservation and Renewable Energy Goals in California:
A Study of Costs and Impacts Using the Optimal Renewable Energy Build-Out (ORB) Model
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Study Questions
• Can a 50% Renewable Portfolio Standard be achieved and avoid impacts to important natural habitats?
• How do different levels of protection affect the environmental impacts, land and water use requirements, and incremental cost to electricity consumers of renewables development?
• How can models be used to achieve better environmental outcomes in high level energy and transmission planning?
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Optimal Renewable Energy Build-out (ORB) Model
• ORB developed by Grace Wu, methodology vetted in peer-reviewed scientific journal*
• Four renewable technologies: solar PV, CSP, wind, geothermal
• Four categories of environmental restriction based on conservation value : Category 1-4
• Four 2030 RPS scenarios: 33% in-state, 40% in-state, 50% in-state, 50% WECC-wide
*Wu et al, Environmental Science and Technology, 2015
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RPS Calculator Model
• Version 6.0. Existing model used by the California Public Utilities Commission
• Develops plausible renewable energy scenarios for the future, organized by “Super CREZ”
• Results inform California Independent System Operator transmission planning process
• Used to plan for future system need, including transmission and long-term procurement planning
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How the ORB model interacts with the RPS Calculator
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Environmental Protection Categories
Category 1
Category 2
Category 3
Category 4
• Each category contains all the land in previous categories plus additional land
• These categories are based on a combination of legal development restrictions, regulatory assessments, scientific literature and NGO priorities
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Environmental Protection Category Definit ions
• Category 1: Areas with legal restrictions prohibiting energy development as identified in previous renewable energy planning efforts, including WREZ & RETI 1.
• Examples:– National Parks and National Monuments
– Existing conservation and mitigation banks under conservation easements
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Environmental Protection Category Definit ions
• Category 2: Areas with administrative and legal designations by public agencies in order to protect ecological and social values . Includes “avoid” and “Category 2” areas identified in WREZ and RETI 1 studies, respectively.
• Examples:– Areas designated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as
critical habitat for threatened and endangered species
– Areas designed by the Bureau of Land Management as Special Recreation Management Areas
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Environmental Protection Category Definit ions
• Category 3: Areas with ecological, economic or social value.
• Examples:– Prime Farmland
– California Rangeland Conservation Coalition Priority 1 conservation areas
– The Nature Conservancy portfolio areas and ecologically core desert lands
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Environmental Protection Category Definit ions
• Category 4: Lands with broad-scale ecological value based on regional models and studies
• Examples:– California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Essential
Habitat Connectivity Areas
– California Rangeland Conservation Coalition Priority 2 Conservation Areas
– U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Desert tortoise Priority 2 high quality contiguous habitat linkages
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Using the protection categories, we can represent levels of “constraint”
Category 1
Category 2
Category 3
Category 4 Constraint Level 4
Constraint Level 2
Constraint Level 3
Constraint Level 1
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Lands available meeting technical development criteria after removing Category 1
Resource availability
Constraint Level 1
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Lands available meeting technical development criteria after removing Category 1 & 2
Resource availability
Constraint Level 2
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Lands available meeting technical development criteria after removing Category 1, 2 & 3
Resource availability
Constraint Level 3
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Lands available meeting technical development criteria after removing Category 1, 2, 3 & 4
Resource availability
Constraint Level 4
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How the ORB model interacts with the RPS Calculator
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Cost premium for most scenarios is minimal
33% in-state 50% in-state50% WECC-wide
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How the ORB model interacts with the RPS Calculator
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Environmental exclusions change the mix of land cover types and the spatial distribution of sites selected to meet 50% in-state RPS
Selected sitesConstraint Level 1
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Environmental exclusions change the mix of land cover types and the spatial distribution of sites selected to meet 50% in-state RPS
Selected sitesConstraint Level 2
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Environmental exclusions change the mix of land cover types and the spatial distribution of sites selected to meet 50% in-state RPS
Selected sitesConstraint Level 3
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Environmental exclusions change the mix of land cover types and the spatial distribution of sites selected to meet 50% in-state RPS
Category 4 reduces Sacramento Valley wind and pushes solar development toward the north
Selected sites
Constraint Level 4
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Examples of Land Use and Conservation Impact Data Available for Comparative Scenario Analysis
Calif
orni
a La
nd A
rea
(sq.
km)
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Key Results
• 50% renewables portfolio with a low impact to important natural areas can be achieved at a cost premium of 2% or less.
• Environmental constraints increase geographic diversity.
• Solar PV land impacts can be largely avoided.
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For More InformationErica Brand
California Energy Program [email protected]
http://www.scienceforconservation.org/downloads/ORB_report