This commentary is by Andrew Gentile, an electrical engineer located in Sheffield.
The Caledonian Record recently published a story about Jay Peak launching a “ground-breaking carbon reduction project.” The $1 million project will augment the resort’s existing propane heating system with a three-megawatt electric boiler.
The project, funded mostly by taxpayer money, is expected to result in a net decrease of 2,500 tons of carbon per year.
Antora Energy, the most obvious beneficiary of the project funds, says, “Using our software, Jay Peak will switch from its existing propane boilers to a new electricity-powered system when local renewable energy is abundant and power prices are low, enabling Jay Peak to reduce energy costs and emissions.”
This project doesn’t seem to make sense from an engineering standpoint, and ironically it will probably result in a net gain in carbon. Like many other green energy projects, this one appears to be a NIMBY approach to carbon emissions. It is true that while the electric boiler is in service, there will be less carbon emitted specifically at Jay Peak. However, it is also true that whatever carbon savings occur will be more than offset by even more carbon being emitted at the power plants that will provide the electricity for Jay Peak.
Antora Energy’s software cannot change the routing of the electric grid, nor can it select where Jay Peak’s power comes from. There is no high-voltage switching apparatus controlled by Antora software. Jay Peak is going to use whatever electricity that shows up on its line, which is almost certainly not large enough to support a 3-megawatt load. The only thing the Antora software can change is the billing address for the electricity consumed.
This seems to be an accounting trick disguised as engineering.
I called Efficiency Vermont to ask for the calculations it used to justify this project. They told me that they could not share that information, even though it is being paid for by tax dollars. So, I did my own calculations.
Let’s consider what it means to save 2,500 tons of CO2. In order to save 2,500 tons of CO2, the new electric boiler would have to offset the amount of energy that would have been produced by the propane, combusted at 90% efficiency, which is typical. The electric boiler would have to run continuously, at 100% efficiency, for about 3,200 hours.
Heaters don’t run continuously; they run no more than 50% of the time, even in very cold weather. Therefore, the new electric boiler would have to run at least nine months per year to realize the stated carbon target. And this includes the assumptions that all of the heating load would be electric, and all of the electricity would be provided by renewable sources during “periods of abundance,” whatever that means.
Aside from the fact that these numbers don’t add up, the most glaring defect with this project is that electricity in the U.S. comes mostly from coal and natural gas power plants. Using more electricity from the grid will result in more fossil fuels being burned, regardless of who uses the electricity and where it is used. Even if the Antora software could somehow physically appropriate renewable energy during periods of abundance — which it cannot — then it would just be shifting the fossil fuel-generated electricity onto other customers who might otherwise be using this abundance of renewable energy.
When Jay Peak switches to electric heat, the grid will inevitably produce more electricity. Using more electricity will require burning more fossil fuels. A typical coal power plant is less than 40% efficient; a natural gas power plant is approximately 45-55%. Due to the inherent inefficiency of electric generation, electric heating uses more fossil fuels than propane for the same BTUs delivered. The most sensible path forward to use the least fossil fuels at Jay Peak would be to continue using its propane boiler, which is twice as efficient as most electric generation.
If renewable power is Vermont’s goal, then biomass power is by far the best solution. Our state has a tremendous supply of renewable biomass. Instead of wasting money chasing carbon ghosts and playing accounting shell games, Vermont taxes could instead be used to install a biomass steam plant specifically for Jay Peak.
Aside from the assurance that all the heat used at Jay Peak would be coming from a local renewable resource, a steam plant would also provide full-time, permanent skilled jobs for a manager, five or six boiler operators, and several local fuel suppliers. And if the plant were equipped for generation, the plant could also deliver electricity, reducing the overall cost to Jay Peak. Three megawatts could bring in over $300 per hour all summer long when there is no heating demand.
Private companies are making money off of what appears to be nothing more than carbon fear-mongering, and they are being paid with Vermont tax dollars. Jay Peak will probably end up paying less for heat, but that’s about the only positive that I can see in this project.
If you are reading this, and you are concerned that your tax dollars are being wasted, you should contact your representative and ask them how they justified this decision. This project will not benefit Vermonters or the environment.
