The objectives of this project are to: (1) inform western state air and energy officials of opportunities to use energy efficiency and renewable energy measures as tools to meet the requirements of the regional haze rule; and (2) to provide resource information sufficient to incorporate energy efficiency and renewable energy measures into State Implementation Plans.
To achieve these objectives the project will: (1) prepare a draft guidebook which explains the opportunities and procedures for incorporating efficiency and renewable energy measures under section 308 and 309 of EPA's regional haze rule; and (2) conduct a workshop of western state energy and air officials on effective means of using energy efficiency and renewable energy measures to meet SIP requirements under the regional haze rule.
Beginning with the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, which established the Grand Canyon Visibility Transport Commission (GCVTC), there has been an on-going collaborative effort among diverse interest groups and the states to evaluate regional haze and develop plans to reduce such haze. This collaborative effort led to the establishment of the Western Regional Air Partnership (WRAP) --a key purpose of which is to implement the recommendations of the GCVTC-- and has extended through the development of the regional haze rule which was issued by EPA in 1999. The WRAP has established a committee, the Air Pollution Prevention Forum, to develop strategies to implement the renewable energy and energy efficiency goals of the GCVTC. This long history of collaboration among interest groups and among states provides a solid foundation for using regional haze SIPs to promote renewables and energy efficiency.
The regional haze rule issued by EPA in 1999 is particularly important to regional energy and air quality decisions in the western United States. States have two options for complying with the rule. Section 308 is a traditional approach to SIPs with a minimum of regional collaboration. Section 309 is a regional compliance approach that incorporates the regional action recommendations of the GCVTC. Those recommendations include specific goals for renewables and efficiency (e.g., achieve 10 percent of electricity generation from renewable resources in 2005 and 20 percent in 2015). The Commission's recommendations also call for implementation of an emissions cap and trade program in the event voluntary actions are insufficient to meet emissions objectives. The cap and trade program will likely include additional opportunities to use efficiency and renewable energy measures to achieve compliance.
The SIPs project will build on the work underway by the WRAP's Air Pollution Prevention Forum. The Air Pollution Prevention Forum has already developed draft renewable energy recommendations and has begun working on an energy efficiency report and recommendations as well.
Energy efficiency and renewable energy are effective means of dealing with the underlying causes of air emissions. However, historically little effort has been made by western states to use efficiency and renewable measures as part of air pollution control strategies. There are at least three opportunities to incorporate efficiency and renewables into State Implementation Plans in the West: (1) specific renewable energy/energy efficiency measures can be incorporated into a SIP as a control measure or as an assumption in the modeling of emissions growth; (2) energy efficiency and renewable energy generation could qualify for emissions allowances under a cap and trade program; and (3) under Section 309 of the regional haze rule, there are specific requirements regarding renewables and efficiency that must be included in a state regional haze SIP. However, these opportunities are not well defined and there are few examples of efficiency and renewables being an explicit part of SIPs in the West.
Reducing regional haze is a significant challenge in the 12-state WRAP region. While certain air pollution problems can be readily attributed to a specific source (e.g., power plants, forest fires), regional haze involves many diverse emission sources over broad multi-state areas. The regional nature of the haze problem provides an opportunity to promote the use of renewables and energy efficiency in the SIPs of 12 states. Regional haze SIPs also provide new opportunities to promote efficiency and renewables through mechanisms such as regional emissions cap and trade programs. Finally, regional haze offers an opportunity to promote multi-state actions, such as transmission reform, which are necessary to exploit renewable resources in one state where the market may be in another state.
The opportunities to effectively utilize regional haze SIPs to promote renewables and efficiency are particularly great in the West because of: (1) the long history of collaboration among interest groups and among states in evaluating regional haze and developing plans to address regional haze; and (2) the high quality of the renewable resource base in the region.