Energy & Waste 4.2: Renewable Energy Generation

Generating electricity locally can help stabilize our energy costs; reduce hazards, power losses and costs associated with bringing fuel and power from off-Island; and provide a strong new sector to our year-round economy and labor market. The main potential local sources for renewable generation – wind, solar, and geothermal – can provide the Vineyard’s power needs while appreciably lessening our carbon dioxide emissions. Energy generated from biomass, septic waste, or solid waste may also supplement our needs. 

There are three sizes of facilities:

-   small, residential-scale, or on-site, facilities serving the relatively small energy demands of the individual landowner,

-   medium, municipal-scale facilities for individual users with large energy needs or serving a cluster of energy users, and

-   large, utility-scale facilities providing power to a broad community of users.

Wind, especially the stronger winds offshore, offers the best opportunity for utility-scale generation, which is needed if we are to meet much of our Island's energy needs. Relatively large amounts of land are needed for utility-scale solar and wind facilities, and large wind turbines could have significant local impacts, which is another inducement to erect wind powered facilities offshore.

Well before 2050, the Vineyard could generate enough renewable energy to supply our electricity needs and to offset the carbon from the fossil energy we would still likely need to import, based on the projection that energy efficiency measures will reduce demand by 50%. Any number of potential combinations of energy source type and scale could achieve energy self-sufficiency. One largely decentralized scenario of mostly on-site, municipal-scale wind and solar facilities would have a capital cost of about $1.4 billion. A more centralized scenario of utility-scale facilities would produce the same energy at about half the cost.

The Commonwealth’s draft Ocean Management Plan, released in June 2009, calls for permitting 166 utility-scale turbines in the waters of Dukes County, namely south of Noman’s Land Island (part of Chilmark and including waters of Aquinnah) and south of the Cuttyhunk Island (town of Gosnold). These 3.4 megawatt, 440’ high turbines  would produce a total of 600 megawatts. The Plan also suggests that the federal government plan for a large wind farm between and beyond the two State areas. If these projects go ahead, there would be far more renewable energy produced in the waters around the Vineyard than we consume. It is important to ensure that these projects are well designed and that they maximize the community benefit to the people of Dukes County.

Objective E4:  Pursue local, utility-scale generation of energy.

The simple fact is that our energy demands far exceed the energy generation capabilities that can be provided by current on-site, residential-scale generation technologies.  The only practical and most cost-effective way to produce substantial amounts of our energy needs would be to use utility-scale energy generation. This would most likely involve town planning boards, the utility company, conservation groups, and state and federal officials identifying the best on- and off-shore sites for clustering utility-scale wind turbines.

§  Strategy E4-1:  Develop a legal structure to allow for private investment (i.e., shares) in local energy generation facilities.  Allow for flexibility and cooperation in the harnessing and use of renewable energy. A neighborhood might have one or two superior sites for, say, wind towers, that could support the entire neighborhood, but current state law prevents the power from a private generation facility being transported across property lines. The commonwealth’s efforts to allow electricity generated at one farm to be allocated to other farms across the state may pave the way for the non-farming private sector.  

§  Strategy E4-2:  Establish an electrical cooperative or Island utility company.  Community ownership of generation facilities can pass on savings in energy production costs directly to the community members in the form of reduced electric bills.  Community ownership might be in the form of sales of shares in energy projects or the establishment of a Vineyard public utility company. Because a community-owned entity that could contract for, finance and manage utility-scale electrical generation facilities and future storage facilities is more likely to reduce user rates, it would also be more likely to gain public support of necessary projects.

·  Strategy E4-3:  Prepare maps or a plan that designates the best sites for clustering utility-scale wind turbines and photovoltaic solar panels.  The preparation of a Wind Energy Facilities Siting Plan for Martha's Vineyard would allow for balancing available energy sources with other community considerations. Town planning boards, energy committees, utilities and Island conservation groups should participate in evaluating potential sites and gaining public approval of sites through public outreach and education. Analysis of potential locations for wind turbines should consider factors such as average wind speed, airport restrictions, environmental and scenic impacts, proximity to the electrical grid, access to major roads for construction, and proximity to abutters.

·  Strategy E4-4:  Explore renewable energy generation with site-specific sources.  Work with the island's refuse organizations and wastewater commissions, State Forest management and Island farmers to explore the potential for using the island's construction waste and woody biomass, and possible use of gases for energy generation. Due to the smaller amount of energy that might be gained from these sources, these sources are more likely to be municipal-scale or even smaller, rather than utility-scale.

Objective E5:  Optimize potential for on-site, residential-scale energy generation.

Current technologies do not enable us to economically produce all of our energy needs from on-site, residential-scale generation facilities.  Nevertheless, such on-site facilities are an effective strategy to help curtail use of fossil fuels as it eliminates transmission losses and reduces the size of the generation facility, which can reduce concerns about visibility of facilities scaled for larger generation. All sites should be thought of as potential energy generation locations.  Solar electric and wind systems can generate power for the Island year-round whether or not the buildings they are associated with are occupied.  Solar hot water is particularly beneficial for buildings occupied year-round and for sites with high hot water demand.

·  Strategy E5-1:  Identify sites with advantageous access to renewable energy sources.  Use mapping and other technologies to identify areas with particularly good wind resources or with soils suitable for geothermal installations. Include in the evaluation proximity to the electrical grid. Prepare for public consumption a list of sites or areas that might benefit most from available energy sources. This could be part of the Wind Energy Facilities Siting Plan (Strategy E3-3).

·  Strategy E5-2:  Require the positioning and construction of new development take into consideration solar energy options and to provide for the incorporation - now or in the future - of renewable energy.  Orient buildings to maximize solar gain, solar energy generation and day-lighting opportunities.  Position buildings so as not to shade each other.  Prepare buildings to enable installation of solar hot water and solar electric systems in the future if site has south-facing roof or ground area.

·  Strategy E5-3:  Promote conversion to more energy-efficient building and hot water systems.  Target existing homes with electric hot water heaters; for new construction, require or provide incentives for year-round housing when there is solar access and on any buildings that will be using large amounts of water, such as hotels and restaurants. Implement program to promote use of clean-burning, efficient wood-fired appliances and to upgrade from outdated wood stoves to meet highest EPA standards.

·  Strategy E5-4:  Develop information and incentive programs for property owners to encourage on-site energy generation.  Provide information on available equipment, funding options, zoning and interconnection issues for all technologies.  Funding options might include property tax breaks, low interest loans, funding from Island Energy Fund and feed-in tariffs (once an Island utility company is established).

·  Strategy E5-5:  Investigate renewable energy options specific to farmers.  Costs of farming operations may be lowered, the cultivation season lengthened, and waste reduced by providing supplemental heat to farm greenhouses with solar thermal technologies or using of biogas digesters for use with animal manure and farm waste to generate on-site energy.

Objective E6:  Develop capacity and a regulatory framework to encourage and support the development and installation of renewable energy generation.

The public’s confidence in investigating using renewable energy can be greatly boosted by providing unbiased, clear information in the rapidly evolving industry, which is partly accomplished through fully trained installers and maintenance personnel. Well crafted regulations on where and how renewable energy facilities can be developed can help assure the community that all aspects of such facilities are being taken into account.

·  Strategy E6-1:  Create training programs for workers needed to support the growing renewable energy industry.  Provide ongoing education for electricians, plumbers and the construction community to insure that there are knowledgeable installers and maintenance teams available on the Vineyard.  Enact a certification program for renewable energy installers using a nationally recognized program and offer certification courses and testing on-Island. Provide vocational program at the high school to train students as renewable energy installers or energy efficiency technicians.

·  Strategy E6-2:  Adopt development regulations that encourage renewable energy generation.  Town bylaws and MVC DRI development guidelines can encourage appropriately scaled energy generation facilities to minimize uncertainty while still protecting neighborhood character. Where possible, it would be desirable for such regulations to be standardized across the Island. 

·  Strategy E6-3:  Improve consumer education and protection by providing current information on products and practices.  Provide ongoing and updated list of available, tested products to improve consumer education and protection. For example:  Provide information on products available that are appropriate in historic districts or new products that are ready for widespread application.